Super Cardio

I mean in theory this sounds interesting, but the problem is that you can only absorb so many carbohydrates and convert them into glycogen over a certain period of time. Also the gastric emptying rate varies from individual to individual and is also determined by the type of food you are ingesting. Then there is the issue of adaptation response. A 220lb bodybuilder doing cardio all day is going to undergo some type of adaptation response no matter how many carbs or protein you eat in a day. And that adaptation response will probably occur in the form of your body losing muscle mass and increasing ratios of slow twitch muscle fibers to become more efficient at cardio and aerobic activities vs. anaerobic activities which utilize different types of muscle fibers (a.k.a. fast twitch). Another issue of course is that exercise is stress, no matter how you look at it. If you want to lose fat, that means you need to create a caloric deficit of SOME kind and the biological processes that create caloric deficit through exercise usually also produce catabolic hormones. And, almost every kind of exercise is going to cause some sort of stress and if you don't allow time to recover, you're setting yourself up to get injured which is going to keep you off training and you're going to lose a ton of muscle mass recovering from injury.

As much as I hate it, and DO NOT endorse it, I think the only method that has proven effective for the average person is the ketogenic diet that tricks your body into converting fat into energy through ketosis. But I don't think this diet would be appropriate for you, and I think anyone that does it should consult a knowledgeable doctor first. There are other ways to lose fat w/o losing muscle that include manipulating insulin and cardio timing, but is too complicated to get into here.

Personally, I think the amateur bodybuilder should focus a lot less on the "bulking" phase. You don't need to gain a bunch of fat to put on muscle, you just need to be patient. You only have so much natural testosterone, insulin, IGF and HGH to begin with. So if you're training beyond your maximum capacity to grow and heal, you're just wasting calories anyway.The average person doesn't need to pile on tons of fat and calories to get muscle. Look at Julien Greaux, the guy is lean all the time.

Frankly, I think people overcomplicate this whole thing. There is a very small percentage of elite class bodybuilders out there, and most of them have diets and supplement regimens that are beyond the average person. For the average person, you just need to look at your RMR (BMR) and think "gee if my basal metabolic rate is 2000kcal a day and I only work out for one hour and burn maybe another 1000kcal a day in exercise, what is going to happen if I eat 7000kcal a day?" Well I can tell you, you're going to get fat. Vice versa, if your BMR/RMR is 2000kcal a day and you're working off another 1000kcal a day in hard exercise and you only eat 2000kcal, well you're going to lose some tissue mate, and probably not all of it is going to be fat. Personally, I think people just need to slow down a bit, eat more sensibly and make sure they are adequately recovered between workouts.

Just my opinion though.

Here's my take on this...

First of all, this doesn't sound all that fun if you ask me. For those who are a little more hardcore, fun might not be an issue, but I digress!!!

Also, for those that have kids or busy family lives, I'm not sure it's all that practical to do, even on a weekend!!

Regarding the practice itself, if you do this at a relatively high intensity, there is the potential for overuse injuries, though it clearly depends on just how hardcore you want to be. In addition, if you do go the high intensity route, hunger increases linearly in this case, which means you might have to fend off a growling stomach...and if you don't, you just might negate the calorie deficit you just created. In a similar vain, I'll remind folks that when participating in chronic endurance training, most folks do not lose weight. Recovery nutrition takes hold and the expected weight loss is not realized. The type of training you're talking about might be a snapshot of that particular situation (one day).

On the other hand, if you go the less intense route, the calorie expenditure might not increase all that much in the first place, meaning that it might be pointless at the outset...

I agree that there are many variables to consider...your glycogen stores will be of primary concern. As these decrease (which they are sure to do), your body will switch to fat as a fuel source, provided the intensity is low enough or you've reached a steady state pace that you're able to maintain. If you avoid carbohydrate, you will HAVE to decrease intensity because your primary fuel sources will become fat as well as amino acids...and the amino acids need to be shuttled to the liver first to be converted to glucose. As long as you're exercising and avoiding carbs, amino acids won't be used to "maintain muscle mass" as most think. They will be converted to glucose in the liver in order to provide a viable energy source. If you provide carbohydrate, then there will likely be some benefit to lean tissue. The carbs you do eat will be used primarily to maintain blood glucose. Carb intake (from things like Gatorade) increases oxidation of sugar, which peaks at around 60-90 minutes after ingestion, though some studies indicate it can occur to a degree within 10-15 minutes or so.

Hope this helps...

B

Brian Zehetner MS,RD,CSSD,CSCS
JamCore and Myfittribe "Nutrition Guy"

This is a lot like what you go through during field training in the Marines or also when I head to Yosemite every year to hike and climb.

In the Marines we would do conditioning marches, which could last several hours, we would stop every 45-60 minutes to rest and refuel.

One thing I will say is that of you plan on doing this do NOT play the low carb game here, you will get messed up. This is one of the areas where things like cliff bars are useful, you get what you need. You do not need to go super high carb either, but just keep your meals the day before balanced. And most important, stay hydrated big time.

And yes doing this once a week, combined with a good training regimen during the week and proper eating will be very effective.

First of all i'd like to know why you'd want to do this. Secondly, i'd think that if you're putting your body through moderate intensity cardio then you're taking in a shake, you should wait a bit longer than 15 mins before going again... unless you want to puke all of it back out. The idea behind it kinda makes sense to me, but if you're doing this just one day per week... I don't know. Is your goal doing this for over-all fitness?