Upping cardio!

[Oh Furious One]

Alright, so I know some guys here actually know what they’re talking about when it comes to fitness and conditioning. I have 47 days to get fitter, so about six weeks and I have some questions. Right now, I have a decent fitness base but I want to get both fitter and stronger. I’m willing to do everything and anything within my power to ensure I’m in the best possible condition given the time frame. I’m currently only doing four cardio sessions a week, and I’m looking to up this significantly by four, so eight sessions a week.

I understand the nutrition requirements and I do have a quality diet created by a club nutritionist. Although I am concerned about losing any muscle or weight because I have already lost seven kilos over the pre season through illness and struggled to put it back on. I also understand the importance of not burning myself out and the need for rest. That’s why I’ll be adding more swimming into my program to take the toll off my legs. My target heart rate zone is 160bpm but after one hours of exercise, the average bpm is always between 155 – 160.

My routine is looking something like this...

Monday –

9am: Push up/Sit up routine. Including 12x12 sets of flat, incline and decline push ups with a 10 to 1 to finish.

6pm: Football training. Various drills and exercises. Always high intensity, combines cardio and strength conditioning.

Tuesday -

9am: 30 minutes medium intensity swimming. 50 minute heavy weights session covering entire upper body. Chest, Shoulders, Back, Arms.

5pm: Two hours of intense cardio. Sprints and endurance runs mixed with ball work, jump rope and etc.

Wednesday -

6pm: Football training. Various drills and exercises. Always high intensity, combines cardio and strength conditioning.

Thursday -

9am: 30 minutes medium intensity swimming. 50 minute heavy weights session covering entire upper body. Chest, Shoulders, Back, Arms.

5pm: Two hours of intense cardio. Sprints and endurance runs mixed with ball work, jump rope and etc.

Friday -

6pm: Football training. Various drills and exercises. Always high intensity, combines cardio and strength conditioning.

Saturday -

9am: 30 minutes medium intensity swimming. One hour of intense cardio. Sprints and endurance runs mixed with ball work, jump rope and etc. 10 to 1 push ups/sit ups.

6pm: One hour of heavy weights session covering entire upper body and lower body. Chest, Shoulders, Back, Arms, Thighs, Calves, Hamstrings.

Sunday –

Rest day, nothing at all.

Now my questions are…

A) Will this improve my fitness significantly within the 47 day time frame?
B) Is this too much? Will I burn myself out?
C) Will this much cardio even with a decent diet hamper my attempts to put weight back on?

 

[rhino49]

Alright, so I know some guys here actually know what they’re talking about when it comes to fitness and conditioning. I have 47 days to get fitter, so about six weeks and I have some questions. Right now, I have a decent fitness base but I want to get both fitter and stronger. I’m willing to do everything and anything within my power to ensure I’m in the best possible condition given the time frame. I’m currently only doing four cardio sessions a week, and I’m looking to up this significantly by four, so eight sessions a week.

I understand the nutrition requirements and I do have a quality diet created by a club nutritionist. Although I am concerned about losing any muscle or weight because I have already lost seven kilos over the pre season through illness and struggled to put it back on. I also understand the importance of not burning myself out and the need for rest. That’s why I’ll be adding more swimming into my program to take the toll off my legs. My target heart rate zone is 160bpm but after one hours of exercise, the average bpm is always between 155 – 160.

My routine is looking something like this...

Monday –

9am: Push up/Sit up routine. Including 12x12 sets of flat, incline and decline push ups with a 10 to 1 to finish.

6pm: Football training. Various drills and exercises. Always high intensity, combines cardio and strength conditioning.

Tuesday -

9am: 30 minutes medium intensity swimming. 50 minute heavy weights session covering entire upper body. Chest, Shoulders, Back, Arms.

5pm: Two hours of intense cardio. Sprints and endurance runs mixed with ball work, jump rope and etc.

Wednesday -

6pm: Football training. Various drills and exercises. Always high intensity, combines cardio and strength conditioning.

Thursday -

9am: 30 minutes medium intensity swimming. 50 minute heavy weights session covering entire upper body. Chest, Shoulders, Back, Arms.

5pm: Two hours of intense cardio. Sprints and endurance runs mixed with ball work, jump rope and etc.

Friday -

6pm: Football training. Various drills and exercises. Always high intensity, combines cardio and strength conditioning.

Saturday -

9am: 30 minutes medium intensity swimming. One hour of intense cardio. Sprints and endurance runs mixed with ball work, jump rope and etc. 10 to 1 push ups/sit ups.

6pm: One hour of heavy weights session covering entire upper body and lower body. Chest, Shoulders, Back, Arms, Thighs, Calves, Hamstrings.

Sunday –

Rest day, nothing at all.

Now my questions are…

A) Will this improve my fitness significantly within the 47 day time frame?
B) Is this too much? Will I burn myself out?
C) Will this much cardio even with a decent diet hamper my attempts to put weight back on?

just a few points, u shouldnt do a heavy session of weights in the same area, ie upper body, within 2 days of each other, you need to give your muscles time to rest, u are doing heaps of cardio and it would make it hard to put on weight, u will just have to eat heaps heaps and heaps, but with the amount of cardio that will be hard, u need to really load up heaps on the complex carbs like rice, pasta etc.

 

[Groove]

What are you aiming for? 47 days til what?
In my opinion that is too much cardio, you will burn out.

 

[Oh Furious One]

I've been lifting onwards to three years now. 48 hours rest is fine, has always worked for me. I have the nutrition part down pat too. I'm more concerned on the cardio part and whether or not its too much. I've been doing four sessions of cardio a week since November and now I need to up it. I've had no swimming in my program until now, so this will take some toll off my legs. 46 until the season starts.

 

[Manunz]

I've been lifting onwards to three years now. 48 hours rest is fine, has always worked for me. I have the nutrition part down pat too. I'm more concerned on the cardio part and whether or not its too much. I've been doing four sessions of cardio a week since November and now I need to up it. I've had no swimming in my program until now, so this will take some toll off my legs. 46 until the season starts.

How much are you benching?

 

[Sylvia Saint]

How much are you benching?

You really should be asking "how much are you deadlifting" or "how much are you power cleaning", but anyway...

I know from experience that lots of hardcore cardio is a real pain in the arse if you're trying to put on weight at the same time. But strength is more important than size, and you can definitely get stronger and fitter at the same time, even if you're bodyweight doesn't change.

 

[Oh Furious One]

Over the pre season I did a lot of resistance training. This was when I had the extra 7kg on my frame and I was only concerned with strength and fitness. But here lays the problem. I need to get fitter and I’m committed to eight sessions of cardio a week. But at the same time I need to put back on 5kg to get to my playing weight. Of course, fitness is more important so I’d sacrifice those five kilos but ideally I’d like to do both.

I'm going to start this new program tommorow and go through a week and see how I feel on the Sunday. Hopefully with enough rest and good nutrition I'll be going alright.