What's the Right Cardio to Lean Out? A Q&A by Megan Jendrick

Written by Shoshana Pritzker Tuesday, 31 August 2010 20:21

Hi Megan!

I'm desperately trying to lean out while maintaining my muscle. I work out 5-6 days a week and incorporate an upper and lower body split into my routine, usually lifting 15-18 reps per set. For my cardio, I try to incorporate jump rope, sprints on treadmills or other explosive movements that will really fire up my metabolism, while simultaneously preserving my muscle. Problem is, I feel as though for the time and effort that I put into the gym (and I have included these types of workouts for over a year) I really haven't seen the results I'm looking for. I am very conscious of what I eat, and really abide by the rules of clean eating, however maybe I'm not eating clean enough. My question for you is what type of cardio should I be performing, as well as how frequently, in order to lean out while still maintaining my lean muscle? In addition, should I be incorporating a different routine into my workout (in terms of reps, splits, etc) to better help achieve my leaner physique?

I appreciate your help!

-Lauren


Hi Lauren,

Thanks for writing!

You left out a couple of details I generally like to know, such as your age and weight, but I will do my best to give you some advice with the information you’ve provided, and I think you’ll really like the results you see.

First, you mentioned doing this routine for over a year, so I would highly suggest changing things up. I change my own training up several times each year because the body is so resilient at adapting to stimulus relatively quickly, so to continue seeing results you have to throw the occasional “curve ball” at it. That isn’t to say you can’t come back to what you’re doing if you really like it, but I wouldn’t keep any one particular routine for more than a couple of months.

Try working each muscle group once a week, making sure you’re not neglecting your abs, lower back, calves and glutes (muscles that most people avoid working directly). Since you’ve been doing higher repetitions for quite some time now, drop those down and increase the weight you’re using – try going for 8-12 repetitions per set. You didn’t mention how many total sets you’ve been doing, but with higher weights you can generally lower the volume initially (if you’ve been doing quite a few) and still see nice results.

As for cardiovascular exercise, try doing lower-intensity, longer duration work for a few weeks, and then start spicing it up by mixing in sprints. Two of my personal favorites are the elliptical trainer and the StairMill. I usually hit each one of these for 25-35 minutes at about 65-70% of maximum heart rate, three to four times each week (usually alternating between the two).

Lastly, as I’ve covered often in my column, it’s possible you’re doing too much in trying to reach your goals. Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing, and exercise is one of those things. I usually like to see people working out no more than five days per week, which allows them to get adequate recovery between training sessions. Give that a go and in a few weeks, please write back and let me know how things are progressing!

Best wishes,
Megan

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