We all know a few guys that are ripped year-round with a nice 6-pack, yet will never break 170 pounds on the scale. And we all know a few people who are large and strong, but have never seen their midsection measure anything less than 40 inches. Achieving one of those goals isn’t tough for us, thanks to genetics. We all have a tendency to be a little smaller and leaner, or bigger and bulkier. Achieving that middle ground – bigger and lean at the same time – is the ultimate challenge when it comes to bodybuilding dieting. It is tough, but can be achieved if you first build up an appreciable level of muscle mass though consistent heavy training and big eating. The, you follow it up with a LOW INTENSITY cardio program that burns fat – not muscle. Here are some tips for designing your ideal fat loss cardiovascular exercise regimen which won’t cost you the muscle that you worked so hard to achieve.

Choose the incline over the speed. Most people think running the best cardio, because you burn the most amount of calories in the shortest period of time. This would be true, if you were trying to get lean in one day. However, dieting down in a process that takes months, not days. Your goal isn’t to burn fat today. Rather, you wish to accelerate your metabolism so that you are a fat burning machine indefinitely! Instead of running on that treadmill at 7 mph, cut it back to 2.5 mph, and choose a 7 on the incline. You’ll be pumping your thighs and working your tail off, but you won’t be breathing at 150 BPM and burning up muscle to maintain your pace. Keep it slow and moderate, and your fat burning results will be the same.

Low impact rocks. Yes, you might be able to go into your back yard and run sprints for an hour. But your knees will be sore in the morning, meaning you can’t repeat this tomorrow. And after doing it for 2 years, there’s a good chance you might have medical issues with the joints and tendons which will slow down your cardio goals for a lifetime. Try keeping it slow and moderate while keeping the minimal amount of impact affecting your knees.

Variation is the way to go! Your body adapts very quickly to any routine you throw at it. Using the same machine every day will allow your system to get lazy, and quickly. You’ll stop burning fat, your muscle will slowly erode, and change will halt. This isn’t your goal. Rather, a radical transformation of your body is your goal! Change things up each week, using at least 2 (and preferably 4) different cardio machines each day. Always low impact & intensity, but always changing too, will let you keep your muscle while shedding fat like never before!