Cardiovascular Training
The frequency of your cardio sessions is going to depend upon your personal goals. If you are really focused on getting lean, you may want to add more cardio. Think of cardio as a tool to help you expend more calories. This will help your fat burning equation: expend more energy (calories) than you consume.
I would suggest doing 3 to 5 intense cardio sessions per week. Keep the duration of each session around 20 minutes. I feel that some cardio is important not only for its fat burning effects but for your overall health as well. Again, you can vary your cardio schedule depending on your goals.
Nutritional/Supplementation Planning
Now that you have increased your workout intensity, it is even more important to pay attention to your nutrition and supplementation.
In order to fully respond to the stimulus of training, you need to make sure that your nutritional demands are being met. Establishing a good nutritional plan will help to make sure you have all the fuel you need to make the most out of your efforts in the gym.
During your first segment, you started by cleaning up your diet and focusing on protein consumption. Now it is time to take things a step further. Developing good nutritional habits is often the most difficult and most overlooked element of a successful exercise program but also one of the most important. Let’s start creating good habits now.
Your body works better if you spread your nutrition out over multiple, smaller meals every few hours as opposed to 2 or 3 big meals with a long time span in between. This will help keep a steady flow of nutrients available to help you build muscle. It will also help to keep your metabolic rate elevated to assist you in burning fat. Obviously, two very desired effects.
