As advanced bodybuilders approach a bodybuilding competition, cardio becomes more and more important. While there are always those blessed with spectacular genetics that don’t need to do any cardio, they are few and far between. The rest of us require 30 to 90 minutes, 5 or 6 days per week, in order to shed enough body fat for our muscles to look their best onstage. Calories can only be dropped so far if you wish to retain muscle mass. Supplements such as ECA (ephedrine/caffeine/aspirin stacks) help as well. But when it comes down to it, cardio is what sheds the body fat.
Cardio should be completed first thing in the morning, for up to 45 minutes. Doing it BEFORE eating any food will ensure the body uses stored body fat, not food in the body, for energy. Cardio should be performed at a moderate rate, limited to 70% heart rate capacity at the very highest. The bodybuilders should do up to 45 minutes of cardio maximum. After that, the body begins using muscle stores for energy, and the exercise quickly becomes very counterproductive. Remember – when the clock hits 45 minutes, walk away from the machine!
For those with slower metabolisms and higher bodyweights, a second round of cardio training might be required in the afternoon or evening, directly following training. This cardio session can last up to one hour. As it is done upon the completion of weight training, the body has likely utilized any food present during the weight training session. At this point, as no food is available, the body will use stored body fat for energy during this cardio session.
Advanced bodybuilders often engage in split weight training session as well. For example, the bodybuilder will train chest in the AM, then triceps in the PM. This kind of training allows the athlete to better isolate body parts and give each body part a better workout. At the same time, however, it does interfere with multiple cardio sessions. It’s very hard for the body to recover from two weight sessions and two cardio sessions in the same day. Bodybuilders in pre-contest mode would be best served by limiting weight-training sessions to one daily, when engaging in multiple daily cardio sessions.
