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Is Your Cardio A Waste of Time?

By Kim Ball

Yes, I've done it before. I've performed massive amounts of long cardio sessions in an attempt to lose fat. I've chosen aerobic exercise ('cardio') instead of strength training in order to get that slim, lean look. Did it work? It worked in the beginning. There were some initial results. But actual, measurable results over time were minimal.

Sure, I'm a former high-level athlete. So I just kept blaming my lack of results on my high fitness level. I thought that maybe my body needed more challenge than I had been giving it. And it did! But that wasn't only because of my athletic ability. The body always needs a new stimulus in order to keep progressing, no matter what your fitness level. Plain and simple.

See, the human body adapts to exercise over time. Once the body adapts, it becomes more efficient. That means it burns less calories for the same activity. In order to burn more calories, one has to add more time or more intensity. With aerobic work, exercisers tend to simply add more time. That leads to three possible problems.

One, most people continue to do the same exact cardio routine week in and week out. They don't add more time or intensity. They also continue to believe that this approach is still helping them. Are any of these people seeing results? Should I inform them that they're wasting a bunch of precious time?

Two, most exercisers run out of time and simply stop progressing at a certain point. They are still dedicating large amounts of time to aerobic activity. They are still putting a lot of effort into a strategy that they believe is beneficial for fat loss (this was my approach!). But, obviously, their efforts are insufficient. An example of these people? Overweight individuals who perform marathons?

Three, some exercisers perform aerobic activity whenever they have a spare moment. Aerobic exercise is all they ever have time to do because they've progressed so far!

These are the troubles in which so many exercisers face. With a goal to shed excess fat, many men and women implement an exercising strategy that includes walking, running, aerobics, and long sessions on the cardio machines at the gym. They might include some strength training, but aerobic exercise seems to take priority. Yet, it seems that these hard-working exercisers find it more and more difficult to stay lean, get lean, or just lose fat in general. How can this be?

Why long 'cardio' may lead to fat gain?

Let's think of how the body works. When an exerciser performs a fairly intense strength training session, the body immediately responds by breaking down its muscle. Over the 24 - 48 hours after that exercise session, the body adapts to this muscle breakdown by building more muscle (and stronger muscle). This is why strength training results in increased strength and increased muscle mass over time. Not just because of the strength training itself, but because of how the body adapts after the strength training.

By this same principle, many top-notch fitness experts believe that the body adapts to aerobic exercise by storing more fat. If a cardio session primarily breaks down fat, then shouldn't the body adapt to that fat loss by storing more of it? That extra fat will ensure that the body has enough fuel for the next mega cardio session. Is this why the 'cardio junkies' make little to no progress in the fat loss department even after hours of exercise every week?!

It's time for us to really re-evaluate this 'cardio' obsession. It's time to put aside outdated methods and attempt new strategies for fat loss. Simply put, most trainers and exercisers have been going about this fat loss thing ALL WRONG. Like I mentioned earlier, I've even tried this faulty approach before. Let's determine how we can all reach our goals the right way!

Why long 'cardio' became such a popular choice for fat loss?

The cardio obsession is not unfounded. In addition to the many health benefits of aerobic, cardiovascular exercise (decreased blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels, improved blood flow and heart function, increased control of blood sugar, etc), long cardio does burn calories and it does burn fat. In fact, over the same time span, steady-state cardio burns a larger percentage of calories from fat than strength training. This is why the 'fat burning zone' was created. Target ranges of 50-70% max heart rate or even 60-80% max heart rate have been suggested because these 'zones' of low to moderate intensity were shown to burn the most fat calories.

This research data caused most exercisers and trainers to implement lots of long, steady-state aerobic exercise. Many add this type of cardio to their strength training programs as a source of extra calories burned (especially fat calories!). However, many, many people have interpreted this information by deciding that aerobic training is superior for fat loss. They believe that strength training solely grows muscle and cardio solely burns fat. This is simply not true.

Why strength training should be emphasized for fat loss instead?

Yes, the purpose of strength training is to build muscle. I won't deny that. However, muscle is the body's fat-burning equipment. It doesn't just sit around in your body all day like an annoying houseguest. Muscle burns calories 24 hours a day. Therefore, the more lean muscle you have, the higher your metabolism, and the more fat you are able to burn. (And, no, it is NOT easy to put on muscle? ladies, you won't magically turn into a bulky bodybuilder over night!)

If we focus on the exercise session itself, strength training doesn't seem to compare to cardiovascular exercise on a fat burning basis. Strength training is usually performed at a higher intensity, so it burns more carbohydrates and less fat. To most, this does not appear to be optimal for fat loss.

However, there is also a phenomenon that is coupled with strength training. Following high-intensity, anaerobic exercise, metabolism increases for an extended amount of time. This increase in metabolism causes extra calories to be burned for up to 48 hours after strength training! The higher the intensity of the strength training session, the longer the metabolism remains elevated, and the more calories burned during exercise recovery.

If we zoom out from our close perspective on what happens only during exercise, and we look at the bigger picture (what our bodies are doing over a 24-hour period), then we can clearly see that strength training causes you to burn a large amount of calories and body fat over the course of the day.

Why are so many exercisers eliminating strength training from their arsenal? Seems silly, doesn't it?

Is 'cardio' bad?...

NO! Walking, running, swimming? none of this is bad for your body. Eating a Big Mac every day for lunch is bad for your body. Aerobic exercise is 100% healthy. And long cardiovascular exercise has its place. Endurance athletes, marathoners, and those who run in 5K and 10K charity events need to train aerobically for long periods of time.

Steady-state cardio can also be used in an initial program for beginners or as a way to increase one's overall activity. Otherwise, continuous aerobic exercise as a beneficial fat-loss weapon has been greatly over-emphasized for way too long.

Let's look at the reasons why steady-state cardio can be ineffective toward our fat loss goals:

The new 'cardio' prescription for fat loss?

Since adding more time to your aerobic exercise simply makes you more efficient at aerobic exercise (which means that you burn less calories), your new strategy should include an increase in intensity. Your cardio needs to be shorter, faster, and more intense.

Do you want to burn a lot of calories in a shorter amount of time AND experience an elevated metabolism for the rest of the day? Then your best bet for a cardio workout is High-Intensity Interval Training (often referred to as HIIT).

HIIT involves performing your preferred cardiovascular exercise for only 15-20 minutes. During that shortened time frame, a series of short, high intensity bursts and longer low intensity intervals are performed. When an exerciser begins HIIT, the low intensity intervals will be fairly long. In following weeks, the low intensity intervals can be progressively decreased, the high intensity intervals can advance to greater intensities, and more interval sets can be completed.

This type of cardiovascular training is so much more effective for fat loss! The intensity of the exercise causes you to burn more calories in less time, and it helps to raise your metabolism for a period of time after you have finished. If you implement interval training on the days in between your strength training, you will be sustaining an elevated metabolism all week!

The take-home message?

Long 'cardio' is a completely healthy form of exercise. It is an important training modality for specific sports and activities. However, if your primary goal is fat loss and overall weight loss, lengthy cardio sessions are completely ineffective. High intensities of strength training and interval training are your most beneficial weapons against fat. Quality of your workouts over quantity? that's the new golden rule!

About the Author:

Kim Ball is the owner and sole trainer of Deliberate Movement in Long Beach, California. She specializes in fat loss and spends much of her focus on correcting poor nutritional habits. She holds a masters degree in both exercise physiology and nutritional sciences. Sign up for her FREE monthly newsletter at www.deliberatemovement.com