I'm so very confused about cardio
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kuranda10
Posts: 593 Member
I've been told by trainers and coaches (I was a figure skater and off-shore sailor) that the only thing that burns fat from a females abs in cardio.
Everything I've been reading for the past few weeks has been telling me that cardio is bad.
My primary source of exercise is walking the dogs about a mile a day (24-30 minutes) and pilates 2x a week. I have asthma and I walk the dogs in a trail like environment, so my HR if definitaely elevated.
So if cardio is in fact now bad for you, what can I do to counteract the dog walking? I would love to lose the tummy.
Everything I've been reading for the past few weeks has been telling me that cardio is bad.
My primary source of exercise is walking the dogs about a mile a day (24-30 minutes) and pilates 2x a week. I have asthma and I walk the dogs in a trail like environment, so my HR if definitaely elevated.
So if cardio is in fact now bad for you, what can I do to counteract the dog walking? I would love to lose the tummy.
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cardio in and of itself is not "bad for you, " per se. i think that conventional wisdom with regard to cardio being the be-all end-all is changing. walking your dogs is a very normal, functional activity. i walk 15-30 mins a day most days.
the cardio that is going to elevate cortisol is sustained, high intensity endurance stuff. high intensity is better reserved for short bursts with rest interspersed. you might be well served to incorporate some kind of strength or resistance training into your routine.0 -
What I have heard is not that it is bad, but only doing cardio is not enough, it does burn fat, but strength training is needed to add muscle and balance out your exercise program.0
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so if I go back to doing step-aerobics, it isn't going to hurt my fat loss?0
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No exercise burns fat specifically from abs. You burn fat and lose weight exactly where your body's genetic code has predetermined it will lose and at which rate. If your body likes to hold onto fat in the abs, the only thing to be done is to generally decrease total body fat percentage until the entire body has lost enough fat that it shows up there, too. You can't "spot lose" fat.
I have thunder thighs. I've lost 87lb and I still have fat there. I do cardio, HIIT, squats. Still fat. It's one of the places I keep more fat. It's my genetic predisosition. My body fat % is something like 24%, but if I get down to 18%, I'm willing to bet there will still be some fat there. My arms are nice though. I'm losing fat in the thighs too, but my body composition is such that I keep a little more fat there than other parts of my body. Thunder Thighs, forever!
Cardio isn't bad. It is excessive cardio that is bad for you. You don't really need to do more than 30 min, and definitely not more than an hour. I'd keep your cardio as is. You can up the pace a little if you want but it's fine. As @tmdalton849 said, you could benefit from some lifting or add another day of Pilates into your routine. Strength training, as in exercises that strengthen your muscles like lifting weights or bodyweight exercises, tends to increase muscle mass which leads to an increase in metabolism.
Regardless, you can't exercise away a poor diet. So stay on plan. Be consistent. Leave your cardio as it is, maybe add some more resistance/strength training. It takes time and calorie deficit to burn fat, wherever it is on your body that it decides to release it and like I said, that's up to your particular arrangement of DNA.
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Bad for what? Human species have walked for hours every day and they lived just fine. Now if you are a powerlifter who wants to compete at highest level, its bad for your strength. Walking is one of the best fat burning exercises.0
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Maybe what you've been interpreting as 'bad' is that cardio increases hunger, leading to a higher chance of binge eating if you are trying to eat at a deficit?
Cardio is good. It's good to get your blood moving. But overdoing it by sweating out three hours on an elliptical is more likely to sabotage healthy eating efforts than to boost them.0 -
I've been told by trainers and coaches (I was a figure skater and off-shore sailor) that the only thing that burns fat from a females abs in cardio.
Everything I've been reading for the past few weeks has been telling me that cardio is bad.
My primary source of exercise is walking the dogs about a mile a day (24-30 minutes) and pilates 2x a week. I have asthma and I walk the dogs in a trail like environment, so my HR if definitaely elevated.
So if cardio is in fact now bad for you, what can I do to counteract the dog walking? I would love to lose the tummy.
Reading where? There is a broscience style notion that cardio reverses any work you spend on strength training. I don't think they've really thought that through, because that would mean they'd need to do extra workouts just to counteract things like grocery shopping or walking from the car to work every day.0 -
octobubbles wrote: »Maybe what you've been interpreting as 'bad' is that cardio increases hunger, leading to a higher chance of binge eating if you are trying to eat at a deficit?
Cardio is good. It's good to get your blood moving. But overdoing it by sweating out three hours on an elliptical is more likely to sabotage healthy eating efforts than to boost them.
I would agree. Or maybe the OP heard that cardio may increase your muscle mass and cause weight gain? IDK. I will say that cardio isn't necessary to lose weight on a Keto WOE. (I am living proof of that, and I'm sure there are many others that can attest to that). Soon, I want to start some cardio to get my muscles toned up (they are atrophied right now).
I hope this helps,
Dan the Man from Michigan
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I would agree. Or maybe the OP heard that cardio may increase your muscle mass and cause weight gain? IDK. I will say that cardio isn't necessary to lose weight on a Keto WOE. (I am living proof of that, and I'm sure there are many others that can attest to that). Soon, I want to start some cardio to get my muscles toned up (they are atrophied right now).
What I've read in various places is that cardio release cortisol which stops fat loss.
And honestly, I hate sweating in any form, so if it is making my fat loss stall, I'm not real excited to continue with it.
I know I need to add weights to my program, but muscle memory is no joke. With my previous training, my muscles respond quickly, so I need to lose the layer of pudge first, otherwise I actually increase in size.
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You're mostly walking, right? You don't have to worry about increased cortisol levels unless you're doing pretty intense exercise.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18787373
They didn't see high levels until 60% VO2Max, which corresponds to heart rate of around 130bpm for old guys like me.0 -
Ok, so, my 30 mins on the elliptical with heart averaging between 142-159 was not so good then?0
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Cortisol levels vary through-out the day, mostly dependent on your metabolic needs. This study found levels dropped during exercise for post-menopausal women:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14504954/
Cortisol decreased by 36% during exercise and a further 14% during the next 2 h, a loss higher than the normal diurnal decrease.
Appears to be more complicated than "good" or "bad." Like anything else, it might become bad if the levels remain high chronically. Resting a day after a good workout is probably a good idea.0 -
Well I am not post menopausal yet LOL! I do try and rest a day after a workout like that, but I do them 4-5 ...maybe I should slow one day down.0
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I'm not post menopausal yet either!
I mostly walk, but was was doing step-aerobics for about 30 minutes every day (and didn't lose more the 2 kg that month). I stopped the aerobics (got too hot) and started losing again, which gave some credence to what I was reading. Because of the asthma, it doesn't take long to get my heart rate into the 130s0 -
I would agree. Or maybe the OP heard that cardio may increase your muscle mass and cause weight gain? IDK. I will say that cardio isn't necessary to lose weight on a Keto WOE. (I am living proof of that, and I'm sure there are many others that can attest to that). Soon, I want to start some cardio to get my muscles toned up (they are atrophied right now).
What I've read in various places is that cardio release cortisol which stops fat loss.
And honestly, I hate sweating in any form, so if it is making my fat loss stall, I'm not real excited to continue with it.
I know I need to add weights to my program, but muscle memory is no joke. With my previous training, my muscles respond quickly, so I need to lose the layer of pudge first, otherwise I actually increase in size.
I hate sweating too... Then don't do any intense exercise (as others say). I have been Keto for almost 8 months, I have exercised like 5 times (walking for 10 minutes, twice. 30 minutes at Planet fitness (but that was mostly cleaning their machines) and I walked up my hill at my property twice. I have a desk job.
I have lost 75.5 lbs in that time period.
I hope this helps,
Dan the Man from Michigan
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But exercise is not really for weight loss. It is for health. You don't have to get sweaty really, just be active a little bit every day. Your lungs and heart will thank you for it.0
