Cardio... To Lose Weight and FAT!
How much cardio do you need?The number one form of exercise is cardio. AND you know why? Well because we all know that doing cardio burns calories, thus resulting in Weight Loss...
But hold on to your horses people... if doing cardio is so easy then why are so many people over weight? Why aren't those power walks, jogging 30 minutes a day, running on the treadmill working?
The other day a gentleman at my training facility walked up to me and asked me "how much cardio should I do?" And I said "what do you mean," and responded with "you know, I am following the treadmills Fat Burning Program (low heart rate), and I just want to know if 2 hours a day is enough to make me lose weight?"
"Your crazy," I said. "You only need less than a fraction of that!" He looked at me as if I was joking... I tried to explain to him that strength training combined with cardio was his best route, but he wasn't having it. "Thank you anyways, I'll just do my 2 hours cardio 4 days a week."
???
Let's take a look at my example on how much cardio you really need---
- Pretend my name is Joe Dirt and I am over weight
- My goal is to lose 20-30 pounds
- I have never exercised a day in my life
- I have a pretty crappy diet
- I begin to exercise (jogging, power walking, treadmill, stair climber, etc...)
Joe Dirt's cardio routine
Wk 1- jogs 3 x's a week= loses 8 pounds
Wk 2- jogs 3x's a week= loses 5 pounds
Wk 3- jogs 3x's a week= loses 2 pounds
Wk 4- jogs 3x's a week= loses 0 pounds
______________
Grand total of 15 pounds lost in the first month!
Now check out month 2
Wk 1- jogs 3x's a week= loses 1 pound
Wk 2- jogs 3x's a week= loses .5 pounds
Wk 3- jogs 3x's a week= loses 0 pounds
Wk 4- jogs 3x's a week= loses 0 pounds
______________
Grand total of 1.5 pounds lost in the 2nd month=16.5 pounds lost in 2 months!
Sounds great when you say you lost 16 pounds in 2 months but when you read between the lines you will notice that in month 2, your exercise almost seemed WASTED!
Yes these are just rough numbers that I pulled out my ASS but the concept is 100% dead on.
Cardio is not meant to be kept as your main form of exercise for weight loss--- This needs to be clear so that you are not confused like the gentleman I spoke to earlier.
Losing the first 8-10 pounds is easy, it's the aftermath that drives people insane.
Let's think about it... If you are beginning a BRAND NEW cardio exercise routine, your first mile may be challenging enough for your body to lose weight. Great isn't it? But then when you continue to do so, you will notice that your weight loss is coming to a stall and now your one mile a day turns into 2. Then after a few a weeks the same thing happens and you are now running 3 miles... then a few weeks later, 4...6, and so forth. If you don't believe me then try it!
This is what happens when people who jog, run on the treadmill, do power walks, etc. use cardio as their only form of exercise. You may think that cardio is your best bet to lose weight but it isn't!
Read that paragraph again!
Weight loss formula
{Weight loss= Frequency x Training Output (effort) x "Low Rest Intervals"}
If you are doing cardio as your ONLY form of exercise to lose weight then you are going to have to rack up 25 plus miles a week! That's insane. And last I checked Olympic athletes can run a mile in under 6 min, can you? I don't think so. So not only will you have to run from Long Beach to the city of Fullerton (~25 miles) on a weekly basis but that means your going to burn a lot of your precious free time, social hour, and miss your favorite t.v. shows like "Family Guy", and "Desperate Housewives."
So you are probably asking yourself, "well then how much freakin cardio should you do?" Not nearly as much as you think. The best way to lose weight is to do strength training mixed with complexes, and high intensity intervals.
Too much cardio is a waste of time. Save yourself some time. Train hard and run less.
Love Life
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