Relentless Pursuit: Burn Fat with Cardio without Losing Muscle

Presented by Allmax Nutrition

Shed the Fat Without Sacrificing Size

When do you do cardio and how much do you get up to before a show?

I follow the same approach as most people out there and do my cardio in a fasted state when blood sugar levels are at the lowest point in the day. I normally don’t do cardio in the off-season because I’m ingesting a lot of calories to grow, and I don’t want to burn those calories off doing cardio when I need to use them to recover from my weight training, which is intense. So, when I start a prep usually around 14 weeks out, I add in cardio gradually, starting around 30-35 minutes three to four days a week upon rising in a fasted state and almost always just doing medium intensity, steady state, which for me in 3.5-3.7 MPH at an incline of 3 to 5 percent on the treadmill. The most I’ve gotten up to is 50 minutes, six days a week. Some people need higher intensity to shed the fat off, like intervals or a stair climber, but I don’t and when I have in the past, I’ve sacrificed size for condition and now I’ve found what’s right for me.

Plan Ahead to Maintain Peak Condition

You’re always on stage in great condition, which not everyone can do. Even in doing multiple shows last year you never seemed to miss your peak, and I can’t say the same thing for a few other pros I follow. Some looked great in the earlier part of the year and faded away as the season went on, while others started off being in less than impressive condition but managed to sharpen up over the months. It’s rare for anyone to be consistent. How do you maintain that level of condition through so many shows?

That’s a great question and one I get asked quite frequently. First thing is, I do have a fast metabolism but that doesn’t mean I haven’t trained it to be that way. I’m very meticulous with my portions and meal timing, which is the best way to keep my metabolism elevated and track how well it’s working. I’m very blessed that my wife prepares all my meals, down to the gram, to make sure I know exactly what I’m in taking in. Therefore, I’m able to know when things need to be adjusted to make sure my body keeps changing. Since I do stay in good off-season shape, I’m able to reduce calories slowly during prep and never have to crash diet. This allows me to preserve any new muscle tissue that I accumulated during the “off season” or building season. As anyone that has ever prepped for a show or tried to get in the best shape of their life knows, you must plan ahead if you expect successful results. You must have meals prepared in advance to pull them out when it’s time to eat or you’ll get too busy and start missing meals or eating what you want instead of what you need to. So, plan ahead. Another phrase I like is, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!”

One final concept I’d like to address is “peak week.” I think the term “peak week” is overrated and misunderstood. There is no way you can suddenly look much better by doing any manipulations with water, sodium or carbs if you didn’t do your job up to that point and burn off all the body fat you needed to. I’m a big believer in being ready for a show early and then finding my best look of fullness, not trying to pull rabbits out of a hat and making magic happen when you aren’t truly lean enough.

Preserving Muscle While You Burn Fat

Josh, I know cardio is a must if I want to get leaner, and the warm weather is here. My concern is that I work too hard to build what muscle mass I have. In the past I have found I tend to lose some muscle as I drop the fat. Are there any supplements that could prevent that from happening?

There are some supplements that I take to aid in the fat burning and muscle preservation during cardio.

Upon rising, I take:

1 scoop of A:Cuts or AMINOCUTS, which has caffeine, green coffee and taurine to help in fat loss but also has all the essential amino acids to preserve muscle tissue during cardio, so it’s the best of both worlds.

Around eight weeks out from a show, I usually add in Rapidcuts, which is a pretty potent fat burner and keeps me going when energy from lower body fat levels starts declining.

Even though I don’t have to do long durations of cardio, I also use 3.2 grams of Beta-Alanine before cardio to help with endurance and buffering of lactic acid buildup.

With meal 1, I take: 
           

1 packet of Vitastack, which is a nine-pill, seven-function multivitamin including things like omega-3s and BCAAs, which most multivitamins don’t have.

I also add another 2 grams separately of Omega 3s with meal 1 for cardiovascular health and whole-body inflammation, as well as to help keep healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Another supplement I take with meal 1 is Allflex for joint health, which contains MSM, 3-Lastin and collagen.

Please send questions for this column to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website: www.teamwadefitness.com

Instagram: @ifbbprojoshwade and @teamallmax

For more information, visit allmaxnutrition.com

DISCUSS THIS ARTICLE ON THE MD FORUM

FOLLOW MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT ON:

FACEBOOK: MuscularDevelopment Magazine

TWITTER: @MuscularDevelop

INSTAGRAM: @MuscularDevelopment

YOUTUBE: http://bit.ly/2fvHgnZ