What You Don't Know About Cardio Could Be Destroying Your Fat Loss

What You Don’t Know About Cardio… ...Could Be Destroying Your Fat Loss Attempts By Robin Buck Creator of “The Fitness Boot Camp Programme” This is a FREE e-book This e-book may be freely distributed as long as all links and content remain 100% intact Copyright HFP Consulting. All Rights Reserved Is Long Slow Cardio Ruining Your Results? When most people think of an exercise programme for weight loss (or more specifically fat loss), they conjure up images of hours and hours spent performing long, slow boring cardio exercise. Nothing could be further from the truth and this report will show you why… I have seen many, many people at the gym performing the same cardio routines on the same cardio machines. The result…the same physique that they walked into the gym with 6 months ago!! Here is a real world example that will hopefully explain this fact a little better: I have witnessed thousands of overweight individuals each year who complete marathons. Personally, I have never run a marathon and I view completing a marathon as an incredible feat. Now, my aim here is not to give overweight marathon runners a hard time. In fact, quite the opposite, I applaud all those marathon runners for their aerobic fitness and determination. But, my point here is to illustrate that the aerobic fitness needed to complete a marathon doesn't have anything necessarily to do with creating a fat loss effect. If it did, then all those (or at least the majority) who completed marathons would have fantastic physiques. But, when I have stood on the sidelines supporting marathon runners, it would appear that they come in all shapes and sizes. So, this raises an interesting question. If you are capable of two to three hours of steady state running and are still not burning enough fat, now what? Well, you have two options. Either you increase the intensity of your running or you can try four hours of running. I don’t know many people (other than professional athletes) who can devote four hours on a few days of the week for exercise. Do you? So, this leaves us with only one option…increase the intensity of your cardio workouts. The Nasty Side of Long Slow Cardio If you are a beginner or have been out of exercise for a while, many personal trainers will be tempted to start you off with slow to moderate pace cardio routines. There are a number of fantastic health benefits to this method. Heart disease, cholesterol, blood pressure and many other conditions can benefit immensely from low intensity cardio routines. However, you need to be made aware of a few things. Imagine starting an exercise programme and your local “personal training hero” asks you very politely to perform 1000 push ups on your first day. I am sure you would politely decline and never return. But, this is exactly what happens when you launch into that 15-20 minutes on the treadmill. Your feet will hit the ground well over 1000 times during this “low intensity, beginner” routine. Research (Jones et al., Sports Med. 18(3): 202-214, 1994) has shown that the intensity required by the average sedentary person trying to improve their cardiovascular system will likely create too much strain on the body – in fact in this study there was a 50-90% injury rate in the initial six weeks of training. The muscles and joints are easily overtrained and injured when they are deconditioned. Long slow cardio is never my first choice with beginners or overweight people. I always start with a proper assessment to identify any potential weaknesses or muscle imbalances and then address these with the appropriate functional stability and strength training. Long slow cardio can lead to some “nasty” overuse injuries that will stop your fat loss attempts dead in their tracks. What About the Fat Burning Zone? Just in case you are still not convinced. Perhaps you “have a friend” or a “personal training guru” whispering in your ear about the Mysterious “Fat Burning Zone”. Well, I am sorry to burst that bubble, but the Fat Burning Zone is somewhat like flying pink elephants – it Copyright HFP Consulting. All Rights Reserved does not exist. It is a misinterpretation of the energy systems. The fat burning zone is a concept that the body burns a greater amount of fat at lower intensity aerobic exercise than it does at higher intensities. This is a misinterpretation. Alwyn Cosgrove (one of the most well respected fat loss experts in the world) has this to say: “It’s true that the body burns a greater percentage of fat at lower intensities than at higher intensities, but taking this to its logical conclusion – the body will burn a greater amount of fat as a percentage lying on the couch than doing anything else right? And we know how good lying on the couch works for fat loss.” Here is an analogy that drives this point home: Would you rather have 90% of Matthew's life savings or 10% of Mark's life savings? Now some people immediately respond that they will take the 90%. However, we do not have all the information to make an informed decision yet. What if I told you that Matthew had one(1) Rand and Mark had a million(1000 000) Rand. Now, you realise that you could get 90 cents or R100 000. So taking the lower percentage is definitely going to work out better for you. This is the same when it comes to exercise and fat loss. It is the total number of calories burned that counts, not the percentage. Percentage is relative. You may burn a higher percentage of fat at a lower intensity exercise, but in a high intensity exercise you burn a greater total number of calories, and ultimately that is what counts!! OK. Let’s leave out long slow cardio. So, What do You do in Your Workouts? In terms of fat loss - calories burned are the most important factor. And aerobic training (long slow cardio) burns fewer calories than anaerobic training (high intensity cardio) and weight training overall. Even if you do not burn more calories during the workout, you will burn more overall due to something called EPOC. This is because anaerobic training (high intensity cardio and interval training) and resistance training have the added benefits of increasing your metabolic rate after exercise. This means that you will burn more calories while sitting at your desk or lying on the beach after your workout, over the next 12–36 hours. Resistance training should form a major part of any fat loss or weight management programme. Building muscle will increase your metabolism. This is very good because your metabolism is basically how many calories you burn each day. It is largely dependent on how much muscle you have and so if you increase muscle, you increase your metabolism. In Conclusion: If your goals are “Fat Loss” and you are healthy, then forget long slow cardio. It is definitely not the most effective method. This is what you should include: 1. Functional Stability Training These are exercises specifically to improve the efficiency with which your muscles work. This will ensure that you will get the most out of your workouts. 2. Full Body Strength Training Do not waste time with isolation exercises (working one muscle group at a time). Use full body exercises that maximise the amount of muscles you use. This will reduce the amount of time you need to train and will increase the number of calories you burn. 3. High Intensity Cardio Training / Interval Training These are generally alternating bouts of fast and slow cardio (walking, running, cycling, swimming). Copyright HFP Consulting. All Rights Reserved If you want workout programmes that incorporate the above principles, be sure to check out these amazing programmes: www.FitnessBootCamp.co.za www.hep.co.za/wellness.html “The Ultimate 4-minute Workout Programme” 4 minute Boot Camp Workouts 4 minute Bodyweight and Dumbbell Workouts Launching in August 2008… email [email protected] for more details About the Author Robin Buck is a Health, Fitness and Performance Coach who has spent the last 14 years studying how the body moves and responds to physical activity. He is constantly in pursuit of strategies that produce the best results for his clients in the shortest possible time. He holds an honours degree in Physiotherapy and is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist. Robin is the creator of the “Fitness Boot Camp Programme” and the “Ultimate 4-Minute Workout Programme”. Disclaimer The information contained in this e-book is intended to be solely informational and educational. It is assumed that the reader will consult a medical or health professional before beginning any weight loss, physical fitness or nutrition programme. The author shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any of the information contained in this ebook. The user assumes all risk for any injury, loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by using any information described in this ebook. Copyright HFP Consulting. All Rights Reserved.

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