Good forms of aerobic exercise are: stationary bike, jogging (this can also be done on a treadmill), fast walking (also can be done on a treadmill), stair stepper, fitness rider, rowing machine, sets of sprinting, or any other form of cardiovascular activity that would raise your heartbeat to the fat burning zone.
-: Frequency of Aerobic Exercise :-
As far as frequency is concerned, I feel comfortable recommending 2 to 4 sessions of 20–30 minutes each for male bodybuilders in the off–season. If a contest is approaching, then I would gradually increase the activity to no more than two sessions per day, 7 days a week of 45 minutes each on the worst case. Remember, it is those long hours in the bike that cause bodybuilders to look like POWs in the stage the day of the show so if you are doing 2 sessions of 45 minutes every day make sure that you take plenty of glutamine (15–30 grams per day) in addition to having at least 7 meals per day. For women, due to their higher concentrations of estrogen in the blood and due to the fact that they have less muscle mass than a male, more frequent aerobic activity is beneficial. Therefore, I recommend an off season plan of 4 sessions of 20–40 minutes and if a contest approaches, I would gradually increase the activity to no more than two sessions per day, 7 days a week of 45 minutes each on the worst case.
-: Cycling of Aerobic Activity :-
During the off season, you may choose to cycle you aerobic activity in the following manner in order to prevent your body from adjusting to a specific pattern:-
1. Change the type of aerobic activity.
2. Cycle the duration of the activity. For example, a male bodybuilder that performs 3 sessions a week may do 20 minutes of aerobics on weeks 1& 2, 25 minutes on weeks 3 & 4, and finally 30 minutes on weeks 5 & 6. A female bodybuilder can use the same pattern as well (e.g. 4 sessions performed for 20 minutes on weeks
1&2, 30 minutes on weeks 3 & 4, and finally 40 minutes on weeks 5 & 6). This form of cycling will not only keep the workouts interesting but it will also prevent the body from permanently adjusting to a given length of the activity. Remember, that as soon as the body adapts, it will be tougher to reach the fat burning zone and therefore it will be harder to use aerobic exercise as weapon against fat.
