If you came here from the WLC System Manual, you should have already learned all the cardio guidelines you need to know…
BUT, I wanted to summarize all of those points right here on this page to ensure you made note of each of the below cardio guidelines.
Ensure you pay special attention to each of these guidelines and follow them closely depending on your goal of either building lean muscle or burning body fat.
If you follow these guidelines, you will get the most out of your cardio workouts and get AMAZING results!
13 Guidelines to Strictly Follow for Your Cardio Workouts
- Always include 2 to 3 cardio sessions for 30 minutes medium intensity in your program at a minimum unless you are a very skinny person who has trouble gaining weight with huge amounts of food. If you have trouble gaining weight, eat more.
- Lower the number of cardiovascular sessions during muscle building cycles to the minimum of 2 to 3 sessions per week.
- Keep cardiovascular sessions constant (2 to 3) during muscle building cycles.
- Increase energy expenditure thru cardio during fat loss cycles as needed to increase
fat loss. Follow the cardio plan of progression for fat loss. - Increase cardiovascular exercise before decreasing calories in diet.
- Maximum cardio session duration is 1 hour.
- Use HIIT to continue fat loss when a plateau is reached. HIIT is an advanced form of cardio for people in good cardiovascular condition. Ensure you do not stress your body too much with combined HIIT and weight lifting workouts as weight training is a form of HIIT as well.
- Maximum of 12 cardio sessions per week at a maximum duration of 1 hour each. This should tell you that you most likely won't decrease calories much before increasing cardio. You can always opt to decrease calories slightly, but the recommended method for maximum fat loss and no muscle loss is to increase calorie expenditure through cardio. The vast majority will never need the maximum amount of cardio but some may need.
- Start with 3 sessions per week for 30 minutes each. Adjust on a weekly basis to facilitate fat loss.
- Alternate activities, experiment with audio books, watch movies, see the outdoors, try new things, and have some fun while you build your dream body.
- Remember that every time you complete a cardio session, you have less fat than before you started! When you want to skip a cardio session, remember that you are burning fat directly from your body and you'll look better when you finish.
- Be consistent with your cardio and don't skip workouts.
- Use the time during cardio to be productive. Visualize body fat melting off of your body, review your goals, and visualize yourself meeting those goals. You can use cardio time to program your mind to help you meet your goals. You'll learn more about this in the planning section of this website and within the WLC System.
Cardio Is ONE of the MOST Important Things You Can Do…
Cardiovascular exercise should be one of your top priorities!
If you follow all of the cardio guidelines we have given you in the WLC System, you will always get the most out of each cardio workout and you will never waste time.
So many other people spend hundreds of hours in the gym each year doing cardio but getting next to nothing in return.
If you listen to me and follow the WLC System, you'll see why Cardio is so important.
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