Expert: Brandon Briggs, MS - 11/1/2008

Question
Hello Brandon. i am 19 years old and have been body building for almost a year now. i have had some great progress in my strength and muscle mass, but my stamina when doing any kind of aerobic excersise is very low. Basicly i get tired very fast about 1 minute after running. This is because i had cancer about ten years ago and part of both lungs was removed (about a quarter of each lung). I am realizng now that working on my stamina and fitness is more important than gaining muscle and strength, because during all of the boxing competetions i have at the university, id loose if i dont knock out the opponent out in about two minutes, because i would start feeling breathless and too tired to carry on. But in the first two minutes id perform as if nothing is wrong. I want to know if there is a training program suitable for me to increase my fitness and stamina from the low level im in while maintaining muscle mass. In short, have the physical abilities of a normal wrestler or a kick boxer. Thank you.

Answer
Musa,

What I suggest is to start a cardio program that consists of 5 days a week. and doing weight training 3 times a week. You will maintain muscle mass during your training and be able to increase your cardio. Your cardio should be done in intervals. Start with walking with elevation on a treadmill then increase into 1-2 min of running. Keep this up for up to 40 min. You should be able to do something like 5 min of walking 1-2 min running. On days you are doing strength training complete that part first then do your cardio. Don't forget to warm up before doing anything. % min of walking should be sufficient.

Let me know if I can help further.

Brandon