brought to you by www.FunFitnessSolutions.com
Rethink Your Cardio
Do less and lose more fat!
by Sandy Joyce
If you've been unsuccessful in your fat loss efforts, despite spending hours and hours on the treadmill, read on. It looks like cardio may not be the best method for fat loss after all!
What Is "Cardio" Anyway?
Before we begin, let's get a clear definition of what cardio is. Cardiovascular training, better known as "cardio," is a term used to describe aerobic activity.
Aerobic exercise is any activity that uses large muscle groups in a continuous, rhythmic fashion for sustained periods of time. Popular forms of cardio include walking or jogging, riding a stationary bike, and doing the ellipticals and cross-trainers at a gym.
The Basics
When people ask me if cardio is necessary, I always ask them what their goals are. If overall health and fitness is important to you, then yes, some cardio is necessary. There are many benefits to doing cardiovascular exercise. Cardio...
• Reduces stress
• Helps burn fat
• Helps you get better sleep
• Elevates metabolism
• Prevents injury
• Leads to the secretion of fat-mobilizing hormones
• Reduces the risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes
• Increases lung capacity
The Bad News
The bad news is that cardio has been given way too much credit. It's often misunderstood and overdone. Doing too much cardio, either at one time or too often, will result in the breakdown of muscle tissue. This in turn will lower your metabolic rate and eventually lead to fat gain. Not good.
Experts agree that if a person's main goal is to build a little muscle, cardiovascular training at a moderate to high intensity for longer than 20 or 30 minutes at a time will greatly hinder her results. Why is this important to you if you're trying to lose fat? Because when you're trying to lose body fat, you should be trying to build muscle!
In fact, muscle is the only compound in the body that burns fat and calories. Your metabolism depends on it. The last thing we want to do is lose muscle, which is why resistance training is more important than cardio for long term fat loss!
How Hard Should You Work?
How hard you work is directly correlated with how long you work. The harder you work, the shorter your body can work. You want to work at an intensity level you can maintain for your entire workout. If you want to be done in 20 minutes, work at a pace that'll make you tired in 20 minutes.
If you have nothing better to do with your time, you may choose to work at a low to moderate pace for a longer period. Why you'd choose to do that, I don't know. Raising your intensity level is a great way to burn extra calories and save time!
If you're already somewhat lean and only want to lose 5 to 15 pounds of fat, I recommend doing one or two 20-minute cardio sessions a week. If you're more than 20 pounds overweight, I recommend doing three, or at the most, four, 20-minute cardio sessions a week, on non-weight training days. My clients do an additional 20 minutes of cardio on weight training days – 10 minutes before lifting and 10 minutes after. And that's it.
The truth is, if you can do 40, 50, or 60+ minutes of cardio, your intensity level is too low. The pace you're working at isn't challenging enough.
Best Time for Cardio
Doing cardio first thing in the morning seems to be the method of choice if fat loss is your main goal. Performing15 to 20 minutes of cardio at a moderate to high intensity is sufficient at that time of day. Why? Because before we "break the fast" by eating breakfast, glycogen stores are low and our bodies rely on a higher percentage of fat for energy.
If you chose to perform cardio at this time, make sure you eat a good-sized breakfast, high in protein and moderate in carbohydrates, within an hour after training. This will help keep muscle breakdown to a minimum.
Another good time for cardio is immediately following your weight training routine. A quick 10-15 minutes of cardio at this time is beneficial at burning body fat because our body is in a state very similar to how it is upon waking up: glycogen stores are low due to the demands of weight lifting. Therefore, performing cardio at this time causes the body to rely on more fat for energy.
How to Get the Most Out of Cardio
1) Redefine your definition of cardio. Cardio simply means "heart healthy." It doesn't have to be performed in a gym or for a set amount of time. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator, taking your kids or dog for a walk, or jumping rope in the middle of the day can help you maintain a healthy heart. Be creative. Take a few minutes for some stair climbing or speed walking. That extra activity really adds up.
2) Try different cardio machines at the gym. When something is new to us, our bodies have to work harder to perform it efficiently and adapt. Keep your body guessing and prevent boredom by switching it up often. For example, if you perform cardio at the gym three times per week, do the treadmill the first time, the bike the second time, and the cross-trainer the third time.
3) Don't use cardio as a crutch. It does not make up for bad eating habits. Those calorie counters on the cardio machines aren't even very accurate. Studies have shown they overestimate, some by almost double! So don't think you can eat junk food all day and "make up for it" on the treadmill.
4) Lift weights more than you cardio.
5) If you're brand new to fitness, start off doing cardio three times a week at a comfortable pace for 20 minutes at a time. (This could even be in the form of a walk around the neighborhood.) Once you work up to that, you can start increasing your intensity level so that you're tired after 20 minutes.
6) No one needs to exceed 30 minutes of cardio at a time. Use the extra time to lift weights and plan your food for the week. That's what will give you the results you want!
Revamp Your Cardio Routine
This program can be done using a treadmill, bike, elliptical, or cross-trainer. These routines are best performed on non-weight training days. If you're new to exercise, start off walking on the treadmill or using a stationary bike. If you consider yourself intermediate or advanced, try the elliptical or cross-trainer.
Beginners Program
Using a treadmill, begin walking at a pace that's easy for you. Keep this comfortable pace for three minutes. At the end of three minutes, increase your speed so that you're working hard for one minute.
For example, you may start off using the speed of 2.5 with no incline and work at a comfortable pace for three minutes. Then, increase your speed to 3.0 and walk faster for one minute. Return the speed down to 2.5 and walk comfortably for another three minutes. Repeat this cycle until you reach 20 minutes. Make sure you "cool down" for at least two minutes before you get off the machine.
If you feel like this was easy, then congratulations! I hope it is somewhat easy the first time you try it. You should feel good about that and make a note of it. For the next workout, you should increase the speed slightly. Maybe try working at 2.6 for three minutes and 3.2 for one minute. This is just an example of how to gradually increase the intensity.
Intermediate and Advanced Program
You can choose any cardio machine you like, but I prefer the cross-trainer because your entire body is up and moving. This gets your heart rate up faster and therefore burns more calories.
Warm up for three minutes on a resistance level that's moderately comfortable for you. At the end of three minutes, increase the resistance level by three and increase your speed so that you're working hard – sprinting or running – for one minute.
For example, using the cross-trainer, you could choose to warm up on resistance level two and work at a comfortable pace for three minutes. Then, increase the resistance level to five and sprint for one minute. Return back down to level two and move comfortably for another three minutes.
Repeat this cycle until you reach 20 minutes. If you feel like this was easy, then you should increase the resistance level and your speed the next time you perform this workout.
To make this more difficult, instead of using a 1:3 ratio, where you work hard for one minute and work comfortably for three, try using a 1:2 ratio where you'd sprint for one minute and work comfortably for only two minutes. If you're really advanced (or just plain crazy) you can try a 1:1 ratio. The bottom line is that you should be tired in 20 minutes.
Conclusion
Cardio has its benefits and its proper place in a fat loss plan. We just have to be careful not to overdo it. Very few people like the actual "act" of doing cardio. Most people do it because of the results they think they're going to get from it. Trust me, lifting weights and eating properly will get you the results you want, and faster!
If you're still convinced that cardio-only will give you the sculpted body you dream of having, do me a favor. The next time you're at the gym, take a look at the people on the cardio machines, then compare them to the people in the weight room. Who's leaner? You'll find the people in the weight room are leaner, and by a long shot. More isn't better; better is better.
When it comes to cardio, keep it short, keep it intense, and keep your muscle!
About the Author
Sandy Joyce is a personal trainer who specializes in helping women of all ages lose fat. She has a reputation for not only getting women into great shape quickly, but helping them adopt lifelong healthy habits.