Over the last few weeks I've seen so many Facebook statuses updates saying things like "Can't wait for gym tonight for my 2 hour cardio session" or "I'm going on holiday in a few weeks, I seriously need to get acquainted with that treadmill" and it gets me all frustrated!
Well what's wrong with that I hear you cry, after all if someone is doing cardio they are at least attempting to lose fat. Sure and let's be honest, the only reason anyone is doing cardio is for the "result".
The thing is though that 'result' maybe a completely different one to what you may have hoped for, and I can tell you from experience there is nothing more utterly demoralizing than pounding the streets for hours upon end day in day out aching like crazy only to gain fat!!
Like I've said before, during my fatter days in my 20s long slow cardio is all I did - yep cardio made me fat?
How? Well the answer is quite easy. I was doing that much go slow running that I was eventually breaking down muscle. Science lesson here for you...
Our primary source of energy is carbohydrate, but when that runs out we switch to our 2 other energy systems which are protein and fat. Protein is stored in our muscles and fat underneath our skin (adipose tissue). So during these drawn out 45 minute to an hour runs I was doing every other day I would quickly run out of stored carbohydrate (often I was doing these runs on an empty stomach first thing in the morning where carbohydrate stores are at their lowest because we've been asleep and not eaten for 8 or so hours).
So I'd quickly switch to fat and protein - so yes I would be burning fat, however id also be burning protein (muscle) and as I've explained before we do not want to burn muscle because muscle my friends is metabolically active which means it needs calories to survive.
So by preserving muscle we increase our ability to burn calories at rest. And now I'm using protein for energy I'm breaking down muscle - therefore when that run is over, yes I've burnt some fat, but I've also burnt muscle, so now my ability to burn calories at rest has DECREASED!!
Also I'm not sure if you're aware but a steady 45 minute run may burn a whopping 300 calories if you're lucky, that's equivalent of ONE TENTH of a pound of fat. Exercise like this for a massive ten hours a week and you'd be lucky to lose a pound!
Due to the large amount of steady cardio I was doing I was insanely hungry all the time so I was eating more than I should be and it was all the wrong stuff (heavy starchy bread, pasta, rice, cereals and at all times of the day - In short, I was over eating, my metabolic rate had slowed and hence this is why I was FAT from Cardio!
Another thing, if you are one of my bootcampers or personal training clients you have heard me talk about the 'after burn' or the 'after effect' which is what we get more of from using resistance/bodyweight and interval training methods. This is where we get maximal calories burnt not only during but after the session too.
Go slow cardio gives you no prolonged metabolic benefit - Did you know that with higher intensity exercise such as intervals and bodyweight circuits it is possible to continue to burn calories for up to 48 hours post workout? But you know what else is true? Long duration, low intensity cardio provides virtually NO prolonged elevation in metabolism. In fact, with slow-go cardio, metabolism returns to baseline almost IMMEDIATELY following the exercise session. Now see why I was such a fatty?
And I did this all through my twenties, if I gained weight I just increased the cardio, man I was always tired or injured and thoroughly frustrated - thank god I discovered weights/kettlebells/bodyweight training and intervals when I re-trained as personal trainer at 27!
At my 30+ Boot camps and Booty camps I currently have the lads and the girls do short and sharp hill sprints, very tough and very effective - find a hill near you and give it a shot.
Like I've said before I've done all the time wasting for you and if your following my updates the chances are your interested in getting leaner, fitter and healthier so there's really no time to waste. Do yourself a favor, cut down the cardio, use bodyweight, resistance and interval training combined with clean nutrition consisting of loads of veggies, some fruit, plenty of fish and meat, nuts, seeds, eggs. Cook in coconut oil, drizzle your veg/salad with olive oil and get a high quality fish oil to supplement all this with and you will really start to feel the difference both physically and mentally.
Mark Tregilgas
PS - Before all you cardio lovers slate me, if you enjoy your steady, controlled cardio you don't have to give it up all together, just realise if you are training for ultimate fat loss purposes it is not the answer. By all means do it for enjoyment (if that's you) but make time to focus on the training which is going to provide you with the maximal metabolic response as well.
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