Q CARDIO CONFUSION
HOW TO TRAIN
READERS ’ QUESTIONS
ASK M . E
WE ANSWER ALL YOUR TRAINING , NUTRITIONAL OR SUPPLEMENTATION QUESTIONS TO ACHIEVE YOUR BODYBUILDING GOALS
Questions answered by Muscle Evolution ’ s team of experts .
“ FOR SOME INDIVIDUALS WHO STRUGGLE TO INCREASE MUSCLE MASS , IT WOULD EVEN BE ADVANTAGEOUS TO LIMIT ANY SORT OF CARDIO TO A BARE MINIMUM , OR EXCLUDE IT ENTIRELY FOR A PERIOD OF TIME .”
Q CARDIO CONFUSION
Should I combine lifting weights with cardio ? Gregory from Alberton
AExercise scientists have investigated combining weight lifting with endurance training and found what is known as “ the interference effect ”. Doing both ( cardio with lifting weights ) compromised muscle gains . If you want to boost your rate of strength and increase your muscle mass , you need to limit your cardio sessions . The magnitude of this interference effect seems to depend on the frequency , volume and type of cardio you do .
What about lower volume and lower impact cardio sessions such as cycling instead of jogging or running , then ? In a study conducted by Fyfe et al . ( 2016 ) it was found that both high intensity and moderate cardio exercises seem to elicit the interference effect to roughly the same degree . A cardio routine of moderate intensity might be a better choice if your goal is to boost your gains in strength and muscle mass . For some individuals who struggle to increase muscle mass , it would even be advantageous to limit any sort of cardio to a bare minimum , or exclude it entirely for a period of time . This , of course , will change if your goal is to become fit for a particular sport or get shredded for the bodybuilding stage . Then cardio should form an integral part of your training programme .
HOW TO TRAIN
QIs a fixed split better than a flexible one ? Stewart from Cape Town
AStrength athletes and bodybuilders have debated the issue of flexibility in training for decades . Is it better to follow a rigid training protocol or allow lifters to change things as they see fit ?
Colquhoun et al . ( 2017 ) compared two groups of powerlifters who followed either a fixed or a flexible programme and found no statistically significant differences . The flexible model did perhaps provide a slight increase in sticking to a particular training routine . Both groups had significant increases in squat , bench press and deadlift strength over 9 weeks of training , with no significant differences between groups . Athletes tested were well-trained , which makes this finding particularly applicable to experienced lifters who are perhaps better equipped to autoregulate their training .
18 Muscle Evolution