why cardio is ineffective....

mainyia1988 · January 2011

just want to share this*_*

By this I mean that the benefits are extremely minuscule when compared to the fat loss that can be had in less than ½ the time by implementing interval training. Most people are able to slash their workout time in 1/2 by using intervals instead of cardio and aerobic exercise.

Now there have been cases where people do maintain their fit body and successfully lose fat by doing aerobic exercise, but these cases are very limited people who are also combining their aerobic exercise with several days per week heavy strength training at least 10 hours per week (not counting extracurricular recreation).

However, This Is Not Your Average Joe Lifestyle?

So the next time you head down to the gym, check out the people who are working in the cardio section of the gym, and then take a look at the ones in the strength training section and make a visual comparison of their bodies. Who do you think has the fitter bodies? Well of course, most definitely the individuals that are participating in the strength training exercises.

In addition, those individuals who participate in Yoga and Pilates classes also have impressive bodies. Ah, so here you have it.. What seems to be the key element in all of these scenarios?

NUTRITION:

Although Interval training, and regular exercise is vital for fat loss, another key element of fat loss lies wherein the specific diet and nutrition the person is utilizing. Strength training, and Interval training is useless and ineffective when not used in combination with a healthy diet. There are more ways than one to change your entire body and make it look beautiful and truly sculpted! You have to use interval training and eat for ultimate fat loss.

So This Is Why You Won’t Find Cardio In An Intense Structured Program.

When the majority of individuals consider cardio, they can relate it to spending countless hours on the elliptical machine, jogging, stair stepper, and a significant amount of time accrued on the treadmill. However, this type of exercise routine is more than enduring as it can become monotonous, boring, AND dreadful to work so hard with the same old routine to burn minimal amounts of calories per workout and barely touch any body fat.

The good news is, if you have grown increasingly unmotivated by your cardio workouts and menial results- is that you can try a different tactic for fat loss that will cut your workout time in half and burn the same amount of fat and calories, boost your fat burning capacities even after your workout has ceased, increase endurance and stamina, and stimulate the growth of lean muscle all the while.

There Is a Solution To Your Cardio Woes!

This work is termed Interval Training , and is also referred to as “HIIT” or “High Intensity Interval Training.” What this type of workout consists of is a combination between high-intensity cardio exercised and low-intensity periods of recovery which shaves time from the duration of your cardio routine and burns more fat off your body than longer cardio workouts.

adrienne4791 · January 2011

Thanks for sharing

Very interesting stuff! Where do you find out the info?

nabrown382 · January 2011

thanks for posting this! i just started a combination of 'cardio interval training' and 'metabolic muscular training' classes, and i definitely burn more calories in an hour of one of these classes compared to when i do just cardio. and i feel like i get a better workout too! much more energy throughout the day...

Markrimba · January 2011

So........................how do you interval train. What is it? ive lost over 15 pounds this month (finally) by eating right ;(no diet); and working out. ( honest). but Im up for doing it better.
Mark

audreamk · January 2011

Can you give an example of something that you've described, like a layout of what to do when one is working out? Your information is awesome and makes alot of sense...I just need a visual. Thanks! All the best with everything!

Naomi91 · January 2011

Thanks! im still sticking with my long distance runs :] i find them very effective haha

Pinoy_Pal · January 2011

I prefer HIIT's as well...I can always find 20-30 mins. a day to do them, I keep my fat%'s in check, and I also get to hold on to some lean muscle mass.

Janworkingitout · January 2011

Thankfully for me ignorance was bliss! I didn't know cardio from strength, what each one did, etc. So I did nothing but cardio...walking dvd, no less, and lost 60 lbs! I have not added any strenghth training yet, but I do plan to very soon.

ginnyroxx · January 2011

my zumba classes are far from boring or monotonous

nabrown382 · January 2011

So........................how do you interval train. What is it?

it's basically alternating periods of high intensity and low intensity during your exercise session. check out http://www.livestrong.com/article/125354-interval-workouts-weight-loss/ or http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/interval-training/SM00110 for more info.

mainyia1988 · January 2011

i used to do long distance jog, in less then three months i lost 40 pounds

bikerbiz · January 2011

Good timing...I was just reading in Men's Health about a study that showed lifting weights before running help people burn twice as much fat as those who only did the cardio. Why? "Resistance training stimulates the release of fat-burning hormones..." It seems to work for me--my rowing sessions are always harder and stronger after I do strength training.

mainyia1988 · January 2011

well its quite like rest for 30 seconds and go back to a faster pace

jbug100 · January 2011

I have just started some HIIT. I like it because it does break up the monotony of the endless hours on the elliptical. I have to say that I feel like I have not done a complete workout because it only takes a half hour. I think both types of exercise have their places in a fitness program.

modernfemme · January 2011

The headline is a little misleading, but cardio should definitely be paired with strength training and vice versa. I mix yoga with cardio almost every single day and it's helped my metabolism immensely as well as my weight loss and inches off my body.

lloydrt · January 2011

I guess were all made up genetically different. I wont dispute your article, Im sure its working for so many. Those of you who are doing cardio and its working, stay with it

I lost 80 lbs in the first 5 months of y weight loss on a tread mill. I started at 10 mins a day, thats all I could do, I used to weigh 350 lbs and that combined with exercise asthma limited me from doing inter training, of which your article speaks about. Ive dropped 104 lbs so far.......

I m still doing cardio, its about 3/4 of my work out, along with 1/4 working out with weights.....literally, I was so big and ashamed, I stayed out of the weight room and used the cardio room with all the older folks, lol

Im still making cardio my priority, because, and again, this applies to me and my genetic make up, its all I can handle Im 55, not exactly a spring chicken here.........Im using the weights now, I go in the weight room and use weights as well

Ive just lost my 104th pound in 10 months, and three weeks........Ive got about 20 or so to lose, but I gotta say , my symptoms of exercise have just about all but disappeared, and now I can do more weight trainging....

Some morbidly obese people , like I used to be, may be able to start out doing cardio, its very hard to weight train at 350, but they may want to work their way up to weight strength training, like I have and reach sucess.........thank you for listening.........Lloyd

jen0619 · January 2011

Where did this come from? As in what is your source, where did you get this from.

I do both always have but I am just curious as to where this came from.

mainyia1988 · January 2011

well, i was only looking around for clues and tips i only thought of sharing this

runningneo122 · January 2011

My experience has been that if I am running in the afternoon every day, no matter how many miles, all I do is maintain. Fasted cardio yields consistent 2-3 pound loss/week when I run at least 30 minutes every morning B4 b'fast.

Lyadeia · January 2011

Just for clarification since there will be some people to no doubt drop all their hard efforts with cardio...

Interval training can be classified as cardio as well, just a different type. :flowerforyou:

I love HIIT and other interval workouts. I get bored with steady state things like treadmills, anyway. If I want to run, I go outside and run through hilly neighborhoods where you can easily do your own intervals. And the HRM gets...ah...happy when you do that. :bigsmile:

lloydrt · January 2011

thanks for the article, may, its informative........again, were all made up different, i.e, our age, our genders, weights, life styles, etc, so its good that you did post it.......it helps us to make decisions

Again, as I pointed out, my health, last year limited me from doing certain things in the gym......with having asthma, I was limited

That is why I started out on the tread mill, only 10 mins at a time, and now can handle 2 hours on it, or an eliptical.........this also really really helps me get my heart rate up, which I want to, esp after the age of 55, you want to keep your ticker going strong....

I now see the difference in my arms, pecs, and esp on my waist, now that Im beginning to use weights , about 3 months now, but slowly but surely, its making results that are obvious

thanks for the posting, it helps us all make decisions in our quest for better health........Add me as your friend if youd like....Lloyd

edorice · January 2011

Can you document where you got this information from please?

jen0619 · January 2011

well, i was only looking around for clues and tips i only thought of sharing this

What website or source is it from though? or is it off the top of your mind?

wanderinglight · January 2011

I agree with the spirit of the post, but the "article" (is it an article, or just one person's musings?) is full of grammatical errors and therefore tough to believe as a cited source.

I am a believer in high-intensity interval training, but I also know that cardio can work for people. It's just that anyone can get into a rut, and that includes zoning out on the Elliptical while watching Barefoot Contessa. If you are not pushing yourself then you won't see changes.

Oishii · January 2011

OMG! This explains so much! My 3 year old is an interval training instructor!

'Mummy hug me!' - strength training
'Run away train!' - cardio (I'm the carriage!)
'Train!' (as one goes past and we slow to a halt) - breaks in the cardio

I wondered why I seemed to burn more than the overall 2 mph we travel at would suggest

. Kind of justifies our stopping at so many coffee shops

_Bro · January 2011

Interesting Thread..

"The reason that High Intensity Interval Training works better [than normal cardio] for fat loss is this:

When you do a cardio session at the same pace the whole time, your body goes into what is called steady state. This means that your body has adjusted itself to the speed you are going and tries hard to conserve energy (calories). You will be able to avoid this and burn more calories and FAT by doing the interval training." (Source: http://davedraper.com/hiit-cardio-training.html)

Also, "A study at Laval University in Quebec, Canada found that HIIT cardio helped trainees loose nine times more fat than those who trained the traditional way (moderate speed for 20-60 minutes)."

I followed a HIIT program on the elliptical machine and with weights and had good results.
Furthermore, I did the fasted cardio... This worked for me but your mileage may vary.

Also, keep in mind HIIT is not just about cardio/running... it is done with weights as well.

Here's a link to a pretty good article with nutritional information:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wotw40.htm

Dakota1235 · January 2011

would love to know WHERE the article came from, what website, journal, etc, who wrote it?

Thanks

velix · January 2011

I agree with the spirit of the post, but the "article" (is it an article, or just one person's musings?) is full of grammatical errors and therefore tough to believe as a cited source.

I am a believer in high-intensity interval training, but I also know that cardio can work for people. It's just that anyone can get into a rut, and that includes zoning out on the Elliptical while watching Barefoot Contessa. If you are not pushing yourself then you won't see changes.

I agree completely - and HIIT - when used as your sole form of cardio can also slow things down ... I have been working with a personal trainer for the last year and a half - I have always done HIIT (alternating low V02max of 8 and a high of max 14) - but recently, to break out of the plateau he has decided to do 3x HIIT and 3x endurance cardio @ a V02max of no more than 10....this is because HIIT and "endurance" cardio burn different things. I am told (by my trainer who is finishing his kinesthesiology degree) that HIIT burns carbs (glucides) best, and endurance burns fat (lipids).....

can dig out some journal articles ....

velix · January 2011

Interesting Thread..

"The reason that High Intensity Interval Training works better [than normal cardio] for fat loss is this:

When you do a cardio session at the same pace the whole time, your body goes into what is called steady state. This means that your body has adjusted itself to the speed you are going and tries hard to conserve energy (calories). You will be able to avoid this and burn more calories and FAT by doing the interval training." (Source: http://davedraper.com/hiit-cardio-training.html)

Also, "A study at Laval University in Quebec, Canada found that HIIT cardio helped trainees loose nine times more fat than those who trained the traditional way (moderate speed for 20-60 minutes)."

I followed a HIIT program on the elliptical machine and with weights and had good results.
Furthermore, I did the fasted cardio... This worked for me but your mileage may vary.

Also, keep in mind HIIT is not just about cardio/running... it is done with weights as well.

Here's a link to a pretty good article with nutritional information:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wotw40.htm

very good response

thanks!

mainyia1988 · January 2011

will im not sure which site it was i was just reading it was interesting...

123lgoldie · January 2011

i'm only doing cardio for the now and high impact fitness classes like aerobics, body attack etc and losing weight and losing fat is working for me and i've not touched weights

why cardio is ineffective....

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