By As much as I’d like to shout from the rooftops that lifting weights surpasses cardio when it comes to fat loss — I wouldn’t be stating the entire truth here.
Cardio is necessary to get that shredded and defined look when it comes to being lean enough for a show. Not many people can get away without doing some form of cardio to shred down. No matter how great (in other words — clean) your diet is, you will still need to do some cardio.
Back in my bodybuilding days, I was only allowed cardio when showtime was approaching. The only amount of cardio I could do, was 20 minutes, using interval training as my strategy. The other times, I could walk or do a couple of spin classes regularly. This was not without monitoring my body fat and muscle mass. If, at any stage, I was losing muscle, that had to stop. This is one of the risks of doing far too much cardio. Some of us (I’m one of these people) lose muscle mass from too much cardio, then I would lose fat. Everyone needs different amounts of cardio, depending on how they want to look.
What kind of cardio is best (so you don’t lose muscle during the threading process)
Surprisingly, running affects your lower body’s strength and size because running induces more muscle damage. Walking and cycling are better choices.
HIIT causes less interference with strength training because it’s very similar to weight training. As with weight training, HIIT requires recovery. This is especially true when dieting to reach a single-digit body fat percentage. You can end up feeling tired, burnt out and irritable.
You may have noticed men and women in the gym who are muscular and entirely lean on a treadmill. They would most likely be performing low-intensity, steady-state walking or cycling. This intensity diminishes any prospects of losing muscle mass and is less taxing on the body (especially when dieting). The usual time frame for this exercise is 3–5 hours of lower-intensity cardio spread across four to five weekly sessions. If you think about it, walking to work or skipping public transport to use your legs should do the trick (and no need for the gym!).
If you want to look a certain way, you will have to alter your nutrition and your training.
Manipulating these two factors will help you shape your body and get you to those body fat digits right for you. Just a side note, please be aware of the implications when you have a low body fat percentage. It’s best to structure your goals in the most realistic way possible. It’s got to be a lifestyle habit and sustainable (as well as enjoyable too!) I wasn’t happy dieting for so long and would never go to those extremes again. I ate more then than I do now, which suits me just fine. Your goals and nutritional needs change as you age — and that’s perfectly ok.
To finish up here — bodybuilders DO need cardio — possibly a lot more than you do or think, and that cardio is usually lower-intensity. That’s the best way to lose that body fat without resorting to burnout and muscle wastage.
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