Doing cardio twice a day?

ajmac729 · 03-03-2008, 03:28 PM

Hey guys,

I was wondering if you could help me out here. I'm trying to get in better shape and was wondering if doing cardio twice a day would be beneficial or not?

My weekly routine is cardio 20 to 25 minutes on a treadmill at 5mph/5 mins, 6mph/5mins, 6mph with a 5 incline/5 and 7mph with a 5 incline for 5 mins, 5-6 times a week and weights (low weight, hi reps) 5 times per week at about 25 minutes per session. So my question is, should i try to fit a morning cardio session in before work, maybe do some HIIT or perhaps just some rope skipping for 20 minutes?

I've been losing weight at an ok pace, but yesterday I attempted to put in some road work on a hill and I could barely run it for 3 minutes. Granted the hill was incredibly steep, but with the exercise I've been doing, I figured I could go for longer. My lungs were burning. Which made me question how in shape I am. So what do you think? Sorry for such a long post. Just trying to cover all the details

Revok · 03-03-2008, 04:10 PM

No one can answer your question but you. I'm trying to lose some weight and have been making very good progress with 2 or even 3 cardio sessions a day.

My advice: listen to your body, make sure your diet is tip-top and try to stay away from exercises that put a lot of stress on particular body parts and thus will require recovery time (e.g. sprints - maybe if you can do them on grass, but I'm stuck with just roads until summer). Burpees, jumping rope, circuits, bag work and miscellaneous rosstraining madness are my day-to-day. Just be smart about what you're asking of your body, and you won't have any problems.

zapamy · 03-04-2008, 01:29 AM

To be efficient with your weight loss make sure to put in some strength training time. It builds muscle duh right, but I also read on bodybuilding.com that a higher percentage of calories burned during weight training is from fat. The article also said that you burn more calories from cardio, but only 10% of them are from fat.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/likness10.htm

Brent Schermerhorn · 03-04-2008, 01:47 AM

For me (everyones different) but 2x a days are great for losing weight and upping my cardio...
Usually i gear the fist early workout towards weight loss ie: long slow paced cardio...then get some rest and eat right and do the actualy cardio like HIIT, burpess etc....
I think the key is knowing when to back off though and making SURE you eat right and getting nutrients so you dont get sick.
I usually end up doing a 1 workout day with the next day off to get rested up at least once a week...

Shadow Smurf · 03-04-2008, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajmac729

Hey guys,

I was wondering if you could help me out here. I'm trying to get in better shape and was wondering if doing cardio twice a day would be beneficial or not?

My weekly routine is cardio 20 to 25 minutes on a treadmill at 5mph/5 mins, 6mph/5mins, 6mph with a 5 incline/5 and 7mph with a 5 incline for 5 mins, 5-6 times a week and weights (low weight, hi reps) 5 times per week at about 25 minutes per session. So my question is, should i try to fit a morning cardio session in before work, maybe do some HIIT or perhaps just some rope skipping for 20 minutes?

I've been losing weight at an ok pace, but yesterday I attempted to put in some road work on a hill and I could barely run it for 3 minutes. Granted the hill was incredibly steep, but with the exercise I've been doing, I figured I could go for longer. My lungs were burning. Which made me question how in shape I am. So what do you think? Sorry for such a long post. Just trying to cover all the details

why are you doing low weight high reps....? and by god why 5 sessions of weights per week too? 0.o; please explain the logic behind that.

you're doing plenty of cardio with 2 sessions a day, you could burn yourself out if anything maybe thats why you failed on the hill sprints.

Shadow Smurf · 03-04-2008, 01:54 AM

please post your diet as well please.

ajmac729 · 03-04-2008, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shadow Smurf

why are you doing low weight high reps....? and by god why 5 sessions of weights per week too? 0.o; please explain the logic behind that.

you're doing plenty of cardio with 2 sessions a day, you could burn yourself out if anything maybe thats why you failed on the hill sprints.

I've heared low weight high reps helps with muscle endurance as opposed to just mass? Seeing how I'm going to be starting BJJ soon, I figured endurace would be crucial. Perhaps I've been misinformed about the types of lifting I should do. As for 5 sessions per week, ususally I work out M,T rest on W, TH F and then ususally put in weights on a saturday or sunday depending on how I feel.

I feel tired, but not physically. I look forward to working out everyday. It just workin 9 hours a day before I work out is what tires me out. Would you reccomend more rest? I've lost weight and my strength is still intact. So what I do appears to be alright. Sorry for the longest post of my life.

My diet is
Breakfast - 1 cup oatmeal and 1 scoop whey protein 7:15

low carb protein bar around 10am

lunch - could be chicken from the night before, or fish, maybe a tuna sandwich or a turkey sandwich along with a granola bar. thats at Noon

Post workout
2 scoops whey protein around 7:00

Dinner - Chicken, Fish, Sometimes a sandwich. But normally its just chicken breasts with rice and veggies or fish with rice and veggies. 8:00

And thats pretty much it. I drink at least 8 water bottles a day. Obviously it varries from day to day, there could be salad in there or some steak. But mostly chicken and salmon.

Revok · 03-04-2008, 04:51 PM

Try to eat more meals a day. Aim for 6, and make sure every single one has something green and plant-like in it. Basically, get to D&S pronto.

Some will argue for heavy lifting as part of a weight loss regime. Personally I'm against it. You're not going to be making any significant strength gains, you can burn more calories doing endurance work, and heavy lifting needs recovery time, and that's time you could be doing burpees.

ajmac729 · 03-04-2008, 05:11 PM

D&S? Sorry, my mind is fried right now from work. Thank for all the advice, Revok.

Would you recommend doing heavy lifting every now and then, maybe throw it in once a week? or possibly less? As for burpees, if I run everyday, should i still try to encorporate burpess on the same day? With the little time I have to work out. I do cardio and weights in the same gym trip.

Also, how often would you recommend burpess and how many reps/sets would you recommend? Cuz I haven't done htem before, but they seem like they'd definitely put a beating on my legs.

ajmac729 · 03-04-2008, 05:11 PM

edit, double post