When people are on the journey of bodybuilding, they often tend to question whether or not it is more helpful to do strength training than cardio training. This is mainly because with strength training you are more visibly working towards bodybuilding and getting better fitness. However, something to keep in mind here is that the main goal for bodybuilders is not only to build muscle mass, but they also need to have shape and definition for those muscles.
Many bodybuilders who are looking to build muscles tend to often see cardio as something that works against it and destroys muscle. This idea has been refuted, but it somehow manages to keep on coming back. Today we will list some of the best cardio for bodybuilding so we suggest you keep on reading.
Facts About Cardio and Natural Bodybuilding
It is already quite a complicated process to figure out the best way for you to train to get more strength and muscle growth. All of this just gets even more complex when you throw cardio into the mix.
All of the rumors going around about cardio for natural bodybuilders are less than a nightmare! If you are a bodybuilder then you do not want to lose the muscles that you worked so hard to gain.
There is no use looking at pro bodybuilders either since most of them use anabolic drugs which help to counteract the drawbacks that cardio has on their muscle mass. However, it is still too soon to throw cardio out of the routine. Here are some of the best cardio exercises for people who are into natural bodybuilding.
Best Way to do Cardio for Bodybuilding and Natural Lifters
For most natural lifters, it is more important that when they are doing cardio, they either go all out and turn up the intensity, but not for long, or they could also go a bit slow and take it easy.
It is a lot more beneficial to do cardio after a weight training session than it is to do it before. You will be able to get rid of some extra body fat and this is even better after a leg workout.
The biggest drawback for bodybuilders who are doing cardio is that their cortisol levels are at risk of getting too high. What this means for them is that their body might get into a catabolic state. Basically what is going to happen is their muscle growth and gain are going to be hindered due to there being a breakdown of the muscle tissues.
Depending on your workout schedule, the best way for you to incorporate cardio into your daily workout regime is by doing it on the days that would be your rest days or you could do it on a separate workout session.
The important thing that you need to keep in mind when you are doing cardio while building your body is that: for natural lifters and bodybuilders, the main purpose of cardio is to be able to increase the definition of muscles and burn a bit more of the fat. This is why you need to make sure that you do it in moderation and try not to overdo it either.
Doing cardiovascular conditioning, or cardio, is not only good for getting a more lean and more toned body, but it is also a great thing for your health in general. If what you are aiming towards is building a lot of muscle then aerobic or cardio training should not be your number one priority. Cardio is important, but you need to moderate the amount of cardio you are doing if you want to hold onto your hard-earned muscles.
How to do Cardio for Bodybuilders
When you are building your muscles then you should consider doing cardio continuously with moderate to high intensity, but do not do it for too long.
High-Intensity Training
Here is a high-intensity cardio training that you could do besides your bodybuilding workouts:
- Do a five-minute warmup
- Follow this by doing at least 30 minutes of the sprint in intervals
- Sprint for a whole minute, then jog for 2 minutes so that you can recover, and then repeat
- Cool down for 5 minutes
High-Intensity Training 2
If the earlier training is a bit too extreme for you then you could tone it down a little bit by changing up the times. Here is what we recommend:
- Do a five-minute warmup
- Do sprint intervals of 25 minutes
- Do 30 seconds of sprinting, then one minute of jogging to recover, and then repeat the process
- Cool down for 5 minutes
Forms of Cardio
When you are doing cardio then it does not always have to be sprinting or running. You can do cardio in many different forms as well, such as riding a bike, elliptical machines, using treadmills, or something like stair stepper machines.
While you are doing cardio training, the main thing you need to make sure of is that you are doing your training within the amount of time that has been prescribed or that you are doing it at a level that is just intense enough for you to break a little sweat.
We recommend that you try to limit your cardio to at least 30 to 40 minutes a day and do it for about five to four days every week. This is the average limit that allows you to maintain your size while still doing enough cardio training to bring in more definition and burn more fat.
Final Words
Cardio training does not have to mean that you are going to get leaner and lose all the muscles that you worked so hard to earn. As long as you do it in a moderate amount you might even see yourself get more defined and toned muscles. We hope our list of the best cardio for bodybuilding was able to help you!
