How much cardio is best for a 50 yr old female whose goal is muscle hypertophy?
I have been working with this client for 4 months. She is lean and strong, but her ultimate goal is muscle hypertrophy. I have educated her to the fact that she cannnot achieve the same results as a man, due to testosterone levels, and she realizes this. Any and all advice as to how you would train her, moving forward, would be appreciated. How much cardio can she do and still gain the mass? Thank you in advance.
It depends on the person that you are training and how her body will respond. I have a client with a similar goal and to be perfectly honest, it was very easy for her to put on muscle. But I understand she’s the exception, not the rule.
If hypertrophy is the ultimate goal, then be sure to avoid long, slow bouts of cardio. HIIT works best with my clients with the same goals. She may also need to work with a nutritionist as well since food selection is extremely important for any kind of body change (hypertrophy, weight loss, endurance training).
Another thing to look is what rep scheme you are using with the client… The 6-10 range is optimal for that.