Common questions from those looking to lose weight or gain muscle: Should I use cardio? Intervals? How much? Erik Ledin's answers usually vary depending on each individual person–their goals, their timeframes, etc. But he does have a few general pointers.

1. Cardio/Inteval
for
Fat
Loss
and
Muscle
Gain?
By
Erik
Ledin
December
12,
2013
Common
questions
from
those
looking
to
lose
weight
or
gain
muscle:
Should
I
use
cardio?
Intervals?
How
much?
My
answers
usually
depends
on
each
individual
person–
their
goals,
their
timeframes,
etc.
But
there
are
a
few
general
things
I
can
say
here.
Cardio/Interval
for
Fat
Loss?
First
of
all,
for
fat
loss,
I
usually
like
to
put
the
main
focus
on
diet
and
nutrition,
secondary
focus
on
interval
training,
and
tertiary
focus
on
low
intensity
cardio.
If
you’re
not
eating
right,
the
exercise
won’t
do
you
much
good.
With
an
average
client,
I’ll
usually
assign
them
somewhere
between
one
and
three
interval
sessions
each
week
with
varying
work/rest
ratios.
I’ll
often
give
my
lighter
clients
more
cardio
because
their
calorie
intake
isn’t
going
to
be
that
big
to
start
with.
Here’s
an
example.
One
client
is
230
pounds
and
eats
about
3,450
calories
a
week.
Another
client
is
110
pounds
and
eats
about
1,650.
Right
off
the
bat
I
like
to
create
a
20%
deficit
in
calorie
intake
and
see
where
that
gets
us.
So,
if
you
do
the
math,
client
one
will
be
consuming
690
less
calories
and
client
two
will
be
consuming
330
less
calories.
If
they
stick
to
the
diet,
client
one
is
well
on
the
way
to
losing
over
a
pound
of
fat
per
week,
but
client
two
is
not.
So
I’ll
prescribe
client
two
some
additional
interval
or
cardio
to
get
a
reasonable
fat
loss
rate.
Cardio/Interval
for
Muscle
Gain?
If
gaining
muscle
is
the
goal,
I’ll
often
ditch
interval
training
entirely,
since
the
calories
you’d
lose
could
have
been
used
towards
gaining
the
muscle
you’re
looking
for.
If
it’s
your
heart
you’re
worried
about,
weight
training
will
provide
plenty
of
cardiorespiratory
benefits.
If
you
don’t
believe
me,
the
next
time
you’re
lifting,
take
your
pulse.
Erik
Ledin
earned
his
certification
as
a
Personal
Trainer
(CPT)
and
a
Strength
&
Conditioning
Specialist
(CSCS)
from
the
National
Strength
&
Conditioning
Association.
Additionally,
he
is
also
a
Certified
Kinesiologist
from
the
Ontario
Kinesiology
Association
(OKA),
as
well
as
a
Certified
Sports
Nutritionist
from
the
International
Society
of
Sports
Nutrition
(ISSN).
Erik
Ledin
is
a
regularly
attendee
of
the
national
conferences
for
NSCA
and
ISSN.
He
enjoys
converting
his
education
in
body
science
into
real
life
results
and
measurable
success.