how much cardio?

I honestly can't answer this question. Experts say 30-45 minutes of moderate aerobic activity at a minimum of five days a week.


Here's my breakdown:

Day 1 - 45-60 mins. Cross Training Cardio [increased speed run and (2) bike/arc trainer/elliptical] + 15-20 mins Core Strengthening + 10-15 mins. stretching

Day 2 - 12-15 mins HIIT RUN + 45-60 mins Upper Body Resistance Training + 12-15 mins. cardio machine + 10-15 mins. stretching

Day 3 - 45-55 mins LONG RUN (3-5 miles) + 30-45 mins. core strengthening/stretching

Day 4 - 12-15 mins HIIT RUN + 45-60 mins Lower Body Resistance Training + 12-15 mins cardio machine + 12-15 mins. stretching

Day 5 - Muscle Recovery
Day 6 - Muscle Recovery


MINIMUM: 168 MPW


AVERAGE MAXIMUM: 190  MPW


You have to take into account that my workout week is six days, and not seven. The reason for that is so that I'm not doing the same exercise the same day each week. See we typically fall into patterns when we perform similar activity.  In the gym, I can toss that up easily by simply increasing the weight on one apparatus, or increasing the speed on any cardio machine. But when we regularly eat the same thing or do the same things patterns develop. I just want my body to remain challenged, open, ready for adaptation. So in actuality, based on my 6 day week, I'm essentially getting five days of workouts on a typical 7 day calendar. And that means 5, not 4 days of cardio every seven days (on the average).  


If you take into account that all of my cardio is performed at increasing speeds or at speed intervals, then it's nearly doubling the intensity that is performed at a steady pace. My minutes could literally double (x2).