I am aware that too much cardio can stunt muscle growth. I do, however, want to burn fat in addition to gaining muscle mass. I have started intermittent fasting and the full body workout plan. How much cardio do I need to be doing to aid in fat loss while not stunting muscle growth? Thanks!
Preserving muscle mass when losing fat is 90% about what you feed your body with, if you eat 400g carbs and like 10g protein, you're not feeding enough protein in to preserve muscle mass, the other 10% is determined by exactly that, you don't wanna do 2 hours of high intensity cardio a day. Intermittent fasting is an incredible way to lose fat though, I lost 15KG with it already.
It's really hard to build muscle while losing fat, not impossible but I'd say it's much slower. Anyway, about cardio, you will be fine with 20-40 minutes cardio (of course depending on what you do), and I'd say anything above an hour is just unneeded, and you should do it on your rest day or every second day. Anything else you need, feel free to ask. :)
Thanks so much! Would you recommend not trying to lose fat at the same time as losing muscle?
Wait what? I guess you mean building muscle, right? lol
Well I don't know, but sometimes it's a natural process that you will build muscle at a calorie deficit (lose fat), people say it "sometimes" happens, and people say it happens in like your first year or something like that of training.
Depending on how much body fat % you have, if you're already close to a single digit or to 10% (maybe 11-14%) then you can do Lean Bulking, however if you have above >15-17% and higher, it won't be as efficient as simply losing the fat off by a calorie deficit.
Okay, so if I'm above the low teens in percent body fat I should work out at a caloric deficit, and if I'm below that I should not be at a caloric deficit?
Well to be honest, I don't see the need to go below 8% or something, it also becomes unhealthy.
And no, that's not what I really meant though, I meant if you are sitting close to 10% (like 11-14%), then you can start bulking on a lean bulk, but if you are higher than 15%, then it's better to do a calorie deficit. That's just my opinion.
Daniel Malo
Well then I share your opinion Gligor
I would say I am still above the 15%. Would you recommend using intermittent fasting to attain a caloric deficit?
Yes, but only yes if you can hold on to it, because it's not for everyone. There's also other benefits like preserving a little bit more muscle mass, increased GH during sleep, well I'm guessing you already know them since you already know about IF. I'm guessing you're Meso-Endo or something, so you will naturally preserve more muscle (but also a lot of times fat even when cutting, I know it's weird). Intemittent Fasting I think itself has a leaning effect and is a little bit more than a calorie deficit, but it definitely doesn't break the laws of a simple calorie deficit.
But just start doing cardio bit by bit, keep doing calisthenics training (extremely important, even though you will have increased % of bad days where you're not able to give your best, because you're in a calorie deficit, but you still want to do calisthenics), try eating less junk food which transitions into less calories, and just find and make your own nutrition program. About the fast, start with just 13 hours fasting and 11 hours eating, and then go to the traditional 16 hours fasting 8 hours eating, and like I said, find and make your own nutrition program of healthy foods - what satisfies you the most, because it will be different for everyone.
Matt
Gligor
Okay! Thanks so much for your help and your detailed answers!
Great replies thank you guys !