Will HIIT cardio hurt preserving muscle during cut?

[Bigtones74]

Hey guys,

I am currently on a cut and things are going very well. Adding cardio these past few months have helped big time (obviously lol).

However, I have watched a few Dave Palumbo videos and he mentioned if the overall goal is to lose fat, low intensity is the way to go. He mentioned that doing HIIT cardio in a depleted state might actually "burn" muscle and not fat. I was very confused by this because if low intensity burns fat and not muscle, why wouldn't HIIT do the same?

This is my current cardio schedule:

Monday-Saturday: 40 min Fasted cardio first thing in the morning. 3 days a week ill do the stair climber/rolling steps. other 3 days ill walk on the treadmill.

Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday: I'll do 10 minutes of HIIT right after my workout, so i assume I'm depleted here.

Sunday: I'll pick one other form of cardio (fasted) and do 30-40 min. (medium intensity).

Since I'm only doing 3 10 min HIIT sessions, do I really have anything to worry about?

Another option I was thinking is eliminating the HIIT and make all 6 days of fasted cardio the stair climber, instead of the treadmill because I tend to sweat a whole lot more walking those damn steps lol.

Just looking for some input/thought,

Thanks guys

 

[cbbram00]

Do you see Kai Green doing HIIT cardio? No he's on the stair master. It's really depends on your goals. Are you going for mass or aesthetics? I think HIIT cardio would be good for someone like a physique competitor who's not necessarily trying to gain large amounts of size. If size and mass are what you want to achieve I recommend avoiding it.

 

[Bigtones74]

Do you see Kai Green doing HIIT cardio? No he's on the stair master. It's really depends on your goals. Are you going for mass or aesthetics? I think HIIT cardio would be good for someone like a physique competitor who's not necessarily trying to gain large amounts of size. If size and mass are what you want to achieve I recommend avoiding it.

Very good point. I'm trying to burn fat, but not at an extreme rate. I think i might have been over doing it adding in the HIIT.

And you make a great point. I don't see many pro bodybuilders, if any at all, do HIIT. I think I'm just gonna switch out the treadmill days for more stair climber days.

Thanks for your input, much appreciated brother

 

[cbbram00]

You're welcome. I love the stairmaster. It's so effective with low intensity. Low intensity doesn't necessarily mean easy but you can put on your headphones climb those stairs and shed some serious fat.

 

[Bigtones74]

You're welcome. I love the stairmaster. It's so effective with low intensity. Low intensity doesn't necessarily mean easy but you can put on your headphones climb those stairs and shed some serious fat.

Me too. Like you said, even though it's low intensity, it ain't easy lol. Most effective low int. cardio imo.

 

[evox267]

Ya stairmaster gets me sweating like no other and my legs are always on ��

 

[DylanGemelli]

its about the volume as well... you dont want to do hiit 5 days a week if you are trying to add good size but you can still incorporate it a few times a week... you have to find the right balance for you... you dont have to cut it completely out either