another noob + cardio

[iamChiLLz]

Hey all I have been doing a 5km run pretty much every second day for about a month now. I am on university holidays and have another month untill we go back. I am trying to build that base cardio level before I start powerlifting at the PL gym in the university.

When I first started it took me about 38 minutes to run the 5kms. Now it is down to 30 minutes. I am 6'7 and was 118kg a month ago with a pretty bad body fat % (I haven't checked weight since - I don't really want to know). I do think however that I am making progress, I THINK I am losing some of the fat, but my question is;

Where abouts does the fat go first (around the body) and in what order from then on? I figure this is a much better measureing tool for progress then shear weight seeing as once I start PL I will have no idea what mass is being on from the muscle and whats leaving as fat as I wish to continue this cardio all year round (also going to be doing basketball )

Oh also the other thing was what are the rules for eating around cardio?? I generally run 3 hours after my last meal and the second I have done post run core/stretching/shower I have a pretty large meal...

PSS I also run anywhere from 10pm to 2am and wake up around 3-4pm and go to sleep around 5-6am. (yeah messed up internal clock which will need to change when I go back to uni haha) It's good now because I get the roads to myself and its nice and cool.

(PSSS sorry for bad/mixed units of measurement)

 

[mutambo]

I don't know all the cardio-eating related uses, but what i do is: do my cardio in intervals (usually 16min-14min sesion). I build up for about 2 min to 80-70% of my capacity and then run 1 minute straight with 100% of my power. Then run 2 min again for 80%. After that 1 min for 100, well you get the principal. This helped my out far more then just jog for 30 min or somethin.
About the eating no clue, i eat what the **** i want and im still losing weight and building muscle.

 

[no_longer_afc]

I'll try this technique.

 

[Damocles]

You'll lose fat from all over, but you'll probably notice the loss in your calves and upper arms first, then your chest, then your abdomen, then your thighs and love handles.

As far as eating goes... don't eat anything right before your run. If you can get a good meal in about an hour, or an hour and a half, before you jog, do it. If you can't, just wait 'til after you run. Once you're finished running, eat a good recovery meal, but nothing huge. Running really doesn't burn off that many calories... though, you ARE a big guy, so you'll need more food than most people would.

And, mutambo's advice is good, but don't run like that all the time. Fartlek sessions, like what he described, are good for training some stuff, but if you're running a 5k in 30 minutes, you should stick to building up an aerobic base, before you start running like that often. Don't overdo intervals... and 100 percent effort might be a bit much to do every fartlek session. 85-90 percent is probably enough to make you want to puke if you're doing it for more than a few bursts in one session.