Do Bodybuilders Do Cardio? Let's Take A Look!

Do Bodybuilders Do Cardio? Exercises focusing on the cardiovascular system are frequently discussed among those interested in bodybuilding and fitness. If you ask one bodybuilder, they will recommend a certain kind of cardio for fat reduction, while another would tell you that cardio isn't vital for losing fat.

So what kind of cardio do bodybuilders engage in? Bodybuilders use a variety of cardio in their workouts, from supersetting their exercises inside their program to power walking for 30 minutes after their workout. Bodybuilders, in general, avoid doing high-intensity cardiovascular exercise since it would detract from their attempts to get stronger in the weight room.

This article will look at three professional bodybuilders and their recommendations on cardio training, when to perform cardio (assuming that you need to in the first place), and what NOT to do to maximize fat and minimize fat muscle loss. These recommendations will be based on when to perform cardio and what NOT to do to maximize fat loss and reduce muscle loss.

Do You Need To Do Cardio To Lose Fat?

To put it simply, no. Nevertheless, it has the potential to make the procedure somewhat less complicated.

The key to successful fat reduction is creating a calorie deficit in your diet. You may reduce the amount of fat on your body by eating a little less than you require consistently throughout the time.

Although this may appear to be a simple task, everyone who has successfully obtained a skinny physique will tell you that the last phases of a fat loss phase are pretty tricky since feelings of hunger accompany them.

Cardio might be helpful since it can enable you to burn an additional 300–600 calories every session, allowing you to consume an extra 300–600 calories daily. When doing cardio during a period dedicated to fat reduction, striking the right balance is all required. If you do it, you can eat a little bit more (but you need to work out more), but if you don't, you usually don't need to do cardio. If you do it, you can eat a little bit more (but you need to work out more) (unless you cannot eat less and are not losing more weight, you need to add cardio).

Recommendations For Cardiovascular Exercise For Bodybuilders From Professional Bodybuilders

The following are three ideas about cardio exercise during a bodybuilding program provided by professional bodybuilders. In addition to these three professional bodybuilders, I also highly recommend that you read what Dr. Mike Israetel has to say about cardiovascular conditioning during a cut or fat loss cycle. It will allow you to get the most out of your efforts to lose fat while preserving muscle mass.

Dorian Yates

6X Dorian Yates, current Mr. Olympia, recommends all bodybuilders participate in cardio throughout the year to improve their cardiovascular health (heart health), increase their metabolism, and build better endurance in preparation for fat loss cycles that involve weight training with shorter rest periods. In addition, the more cardiovascular exercise you undertake, the more food you may consume!

The best form of cardiovascular exercise for Dorian is power walking. Dorian claimed that he never got into riding or treadmill training since he found them both boring. Before eating breakfast on four of the seven weekdays that fell within Dorian's offseason, he would engage in a thirty-minute power walking session. During the phases of his training leading up to competitions, he would perform cardio workouts twice a day, six days a week. He would power walk in the mornings and ride a bike in the evenings for 30 minutes per session.

As he expressed it, he "looked like Frankenstein on speed" because the intensity of his power walking was fast-paced and brisk, enough that he would be out of breath at times and to the point that he would describe himself as "looking like Frankenstein on speed."

Franco Columbo

Franco Columbo is widely regarded as one of the most legendary professional bodybuilders. During the Golden Ages of Bodybuilding, Arnold Schwarzenegger often worked as a training partner with Franco Columbo.

According to Franco, many people believe that going for a run or hammering away on a treadmill is necessary for losing weight, but Franco thinks this is not the case. He claims that running and treadmill use is not required.

Not only is cardio not necessary for achieving a leaner physique, but traditional bodybuilders rarely include it in their workout routines.

Franco stated the following while he was discussing with Muscular Development Magazine:

People have difficulty grasping the concept that lifting weights may count as cardio. I don't understand why people believe that the only form of cardio is jogging.

“The cardio results from exercising for three hours daily, with thirty seconds of rest between sessions.” Franco is not claiming that cardio is not necessary for general. He does make the point that they exercised for around three hours each day, which is aerobic activity at any level. An excellent kind of low-intensity fitness is walking about and being active outside the gym in everyday life. This can be a perfect form of fitness.

Lee Priest

Bodybuilding professional Lee Priest, born in Australia, divides the duration of his cardio workouts into two distinct periods.

The first is during the "off-season," he is trying to pack on as muscle as possible in preparation for the next season. According to Lee, he does not perform any organized cardiovascular exercise at the gym during this period. Strolling is the limit of his cardiovascular exercise; examples are going to the shop or walking around the food court. It would be counterproductive to his capacity to gain muscle mass to increase his caloric expenditure during this period outside of weight training.

During the "in-season" portion of Lee's training, his cardio program consists of low-impact activities that he performs on the StairMaster, bike, or treadmill at moderate exertion (walking). He claims that sometimes he will watch television or others working out at the gym during them. He suggests keeping a consistent pace and not overexerting oneself in any way.

The point is not to put on weight so that you can't lift heavy or recover; instead, the idea is to move around as much as possible.