The Cardio Myth

"In order to loose weight you have to do tons of cardio. For best results do an hour in the morning, then come back in the afternoon for another half hour. Oh yes, running will work great."

Wow what a bunch of BS and for aspiring bodybuilders not only utterly false but also detrimental.
First of all, your goal should not be "loosing weight" but rather "loosing fat". Since muscle mass weighs more than fat, the more muscle you build up, the heavier you appear on the scale. So forget the scale and focus on the reflection in the mirror and take weekly progress pictures.
Second, while some form of aerobic exercise is necessary to a certain extend to help burn fat, it will not work wonders by itself without a proper diet or exercise plan. Actually excessive endurance training or cardio exercises at a high heart rate (approx. 70-80%) may cause muscle loss. Especially if combined with a drastic diet. 

Fat is most efficiently burned in a heart rate zone of between 60% and 70%, the so-called weight control zone or fat burning zone. Exercises performed at a heart rate within this this zone in addition to proper nutrition cause the body to burn fat without excessively breaking down muscle. The result is a better, leaner physique. 

I always like the analogy of comparing the body type of a marathon runner with the body of a sprinter. This is a good example that tons of cardiovascular exercise (marathon training) does not necessarily result in a great physique and that it can actually have an adverse effect, especially if you are training to loose fat and maintain as much muscle mass as possible. 

Now when it comes to cardio exercises for bodybuilders, it does not always have to be the same boring routine on the treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical machine. Think outside the box if you are not a fan of monotonous routines and try different ways to get your metabolism going.

Metabolic Circuits

Personally I am not a big fan of these timed circuits but a lot of people like them and have seen great results. The idea is basically setting up a course with several exercises (bodyweight, machine, free weights/kettlebells, etc.) then perform each exercise for a certain amount of time, use your "rest period" to change stations, and once completed, repeat the entire circuit several times. 

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

My preferred choice for fat-shredding cardio. You can either do it outside (hills, stadium, track or street) or in the gym (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike) as the concept is the same. Do a high intensity exercise (sprint, uphill run, higher level/speed on the machines) for a short period of time (10-60 seconds) followed by a 30-120 seconds rest period (walking, jogging, reduced level/speed) and repeat the entire cycle several times. 

Speed Drills

Just think of your good old football days or whatever sport you played. Remember the dynamic warm-ups you used to do before practice? Yep, exactly the ones during camp in the middle of August. Well it turns out, that those exercises like high knees, side shuffles, backpedals, sprints, cariocas, etc. make for a great cardio workout. So combine a couple of them and do each exercise for 20 yds., with a couple of short and long sprints at the end.

Barbell or Dumbbell Complexes

Basically a timed circuit consisting only of barbell or dumbbell exercises performed at a high speed back-to-back without any rest. Only take breaks in between circuits, then repeat circuit several times.

Prowler 

Talking about an ass kicking workout. Pushing or pulling a sled, a car, weights, etc. is one heck of a workout  and definitely a challenging but fun alternative to any treadmill. 

Jump Rope

Yep, it's exactly what you read. Just grab a good ol' jump rope and start jumping. While it is a great way by itself to get your heart rate up and metabolism going, you could also incorporate it into a circuit or design a circuit of various jump rope exercises.  

Personally I see cardio as an evil necessity and don't even try to make it fun or exciting. Honestly all I do care about is the end result and go through the motions. I trust my trainer's expertise in this subject and do what he suggests. 

Currently he wants me to do daily 25 minutes of high intensity interval training of my choice. I have tried various routines and have seen the best results by doing the weight loss cycle on the elliptical machine. Compared to doing timed sprints on the treadmill, the elliptical puts less pressure on my joints, especially my knees, and generally feels better. I don't think I need to be in constant pain and the elliptical works has been proven to work the best for me. It increases my metabolism and lets me get a good sweat going.

This week I had some minor interruptions of my training routine, as I first went to Columbus, OH for the Arnold Sport Festival and then on an overnight business trip to Phoenix, AZ. However since my trip was just overnight and I got back at a decent time I was able to do my regular cardio and back workout Tuesday morning and just had to postpone cardio and abs from Wednesday morning to the evening. Well, now I'm back on track, which means...

Back on the elliptical