Routines or Diets to Improve Cardio?

**Quoth** · 07-02-2009, 07:26 AM

Title says it all, basically I run daily, hit a spin bike every other day and yet by the time I hit the end of the night in a jiujitsu class im completely gassed and get subbed instantly with complete muscle fatigue stopping me from doing much.

I was wondering if anyone knew any routines or diets that would help my cardio keep up and/or keep my muscles from fatiguing too fast.

paolo27th · 07-02-2009, 10:32 AM

How long and how fast do you run? And when do you do your running/spinning? If you do it before BJJ class it`s only normal that you are done by the end of it.
Also, what does your BJJ class entail? Do you guys do alot of live drilling and rolling? Any conditioning?
And what do you eat? And when?
Also, how old are you? Belt? How long you been training for? Your resting HR? Height/weight/bf?

**Quoth** · 07-03-2009, 04:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paolo27th

How long and how fast do you run? And when do you do your running/spinning? If you do it before BJJ class it`s only normal that you are done by the end of it.
Also, what does your BJJ class entail? Do you guys do alot of live drilling and rolling? Any conditioning?
And what do you eat? And when?
Also, how old are you? Belt? How long you been training for? Your resting HR? Height/weight/bf?

wow ok lets try and cover as much as I can lol, I run in the morning usually jogging 1/2 the track down the street and sprinting the other half alternating 1/4's. The class is 5:30 to 8 each night so there is plenty of time to recover each day.

um class is 20 minutes or so of warm up, sprints stretches crunches etc, then the rest of the class is drills, watch the instructor then roll with a partner etc, then the last 30 minutes of each class is free spar, switching partners every 5 mins.

I try to eat small meals spread out over the day. I read a couple of things that said eating smaller meals was easier for your body to burn off. ok scrolling back to your questions......

im 21 white belt still, about 7 months training, resting hr probably 90 or so, 5'11" 185lbs no idea on the body fat. geez now i feel like im filling out a singles add lol

my biggest thing is I expected my cardio to be able to keep up by now, not sure what I could do to raise it up and stop gassing myself.

Cash Bill 52 · 07-03-2009, 04:31 AM

Your resting heart rate seems a little high for a 21 year old. Did you read this?

How to finally solve your conditioning problem

It's long, but well worth the read. I just got a heart rate monitor. My resting heart rate is 64. I want to get it into the 50's.

paolo27th · 07-03-2009, 04:36 AM

Ok, a resting HR of 90 is high, I mean, freakin` high! When and how did you check it? Try to check it as soon as you wake up in the morning, possibly with a HR monitor. But if that`s where`s at you`ll definitely have to work on improving cardiac output. That means you`ll have to be doing higher volume, lower intensity cardio for some time.

I`m not sure I understood your running routine. How long is it exactly? In any case I think you do too much high intensity work -also thinking of the spinning -and with your resting HR that can`t be good.

Also your BJJ class is 2,5 hours? That`s pretty long for one session, and you seem to be doing plenty of conditioning there too. You may be overdoing it. You could always try to cut down your morning workouts and see if your condition improves.
When you work on high volume high intensity you may find you actually get weaker, it`s when you slow down afterwards and give your body time to fully recover that you see improvements. So try to dial in a deload week once in a while - I personally have an easy week every 3-4 hard ones.

Lastly, with 7 months of training you are probably not yet efficient enough in using your technique and need to rely on your conditioning way too much. As you learn to relax, flow and become more technical you`ll find your gas will magically last longer and longer. Also, since you`re still a white belt, you should really be concentrating as much as possible on BJJ and a bit less on conditioning.

**Quoth** · 07-03-2009, 04:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paolo27th

Ok, a resting HR of 90 is high, I mean, freakin` high! When and how did you check it? Try to check it as soon as you wake up in the morning, possibly with a HR monitor. But if that`s where`s at you`ll definitely have to work on improving cardiac output. That means you`ll have to be doing higher volume, lower intensity cardio for some time.

I`m not sure I understood your running routine. How long is it exactly? In any case I think you do too much high intensity work -also thinking of the spinning -and with your resting HR that can`t be good.

Also your BJJ class is 2,5 hours? That`s pretty long for one session, and you seem to be doing plenty of conditioning there too. You may be overdoing it. You could always try to cut down your morning workouts and see if your condition improves.
When you work on high volume high intensity you may find you actually get weaker, it`s when you slow down afterwards and give your body time to fully recover that you see improvements. So try to dial in a deload week once in a while - I personally have an easy week every 3-4 hard ones.

the 90 was a guess I just took my HR sitting here (ive been idle for an hour or so) and its 80, is that still too high? im not sure what the optimal is.

and I didnt explain the running very well, basically I sprint a quarter of the track, then jog a quarter, then sprint a quarter, then jog a quarter. Usually Ill do that for a mile each morning (4 laps at this track)

then..... repeat. hope I explained that right.........

paolo27th · 07-03-2009, 05:08 AM

80 is still very high. It should be somewhere under 50.
I think you need longer runs and you need to keep the intensity lower. If you can get yourself a HR monitor it`s a good start. You can find a cheap one on ebay it`ll do the job for now.
Check out the thread Cash Bill 52 mentioned. You`ll find details on how to develop cardiac output.

Xuchilbara · 07-03-2009, 09:43 AM

Have you been training for 7 months now? Or doing the cardio and everything else for 7 months? If you have been putting in hard training for over 7 months you probably shouldn't be gassing out that fast or have a heart rate that high. Im on a similar boat as you though. I used to "train" but was half assing it more then I realized and not really putting that much into it as I should. I'm about your age and my heart rate was the same, in the 90s. After I buckled down and really stove to push myself, my RH dropped to the 60s and my overall cardio and muscle stamina improved. It sucked though, as I absolutely hate cardio and thought I was going to have a heart attack or start crying from the shin splits.

jacketwrestler1 · 07-03-2009, 10:48 PM

wow well HIIT, squats, and milk. That solves all problems. but yeah your HR is extremely high mine is 54 at 17 years old.

kenzo242 · 07-04-2009, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quoth

Title says it all, basically I run daily, hit a spin bike every other day and yet by the time I hit the end of the night in a jiujitsu class im completely gassed and get subbed instantly with complete muscle fatigue stopping me from doing much.

I was wondering if anyone knew any routines or diets that would help my cardio keep up and/or keep my muscles from fatiguing too fast.

To answer the original question both are important components to achieve good overall conditioning. But I suspect nutrition is lacking because most people don't know what to eat nor when to eat it.
First you need to know how many calories to consume. Plug in the appropriate values in this equation:
Harris-Benedict Method for Calculating Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years) = BMR (un-adjusted for activity)

Then use this equation:

Activity Factor for Calculating Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)
· If you are sedentary: BMR x 1.2
· If you are lightly active: BMR x 1.375
· If you are moderately active (You exercise most days a week.): BMR x 1.55
· If you are very active (You exercise intensely on a daily basis or for prolonged periods.): BMR x 1.725
· If you are extra active (You do hard labor or are in athletic training.): BMR x 1.9

This value will be the amount of calories needed to maintain weight. You can cut that # by 500 cal/day to lose 1 lb/week.

Once you know how many calories to consume 60%/20%/20% should be from carbs/protein/fat, respectively. This will break down how many grams (4 cal/gram-carbs and protein and 9 cal/gram for fat) you'll need of each macronutrient.
Sample: Let's say you need 2000 calories. Take 60% of that (1200 cal) and divide by 4 and you get 300 grams of carbs needed/day. Do this for fat (9 cal) and protein (4cal) with their respective percentages and divide by their cal/gram to get grams/day.
Once you have this info make sure you eat clean and nutrient dense versions of each. For carbs, stay away from sugars in candy soda etc...lean cuts of protein or plant based proteins and the good fats found in nuts,avacados and olive oils. Eat lots of different colors of fruits and vegetables everyday and after all is said and done, your overall well being and energy will improve.

Your cardio sounds good so I didn't feel the need to address it.