Q CARDIO CONFUSION
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“ 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.
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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.
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