When I go to the gym, there’s a certain “workout” plan that I tend to notice. I see countless individuals walk/jog on a treadmill, then they walk over to the open area to do a bunch of different ab exercises then leave. Now this obviously may not be the only thing these people do and it is certainly better than nothing. But I also tend to only see these people exercise this way. Then as I thought about other conversations I had with many people, when someone who is not familiar with the gym says they are going to “get in shape”, they usually say two things. I’m going to start eating better and start running on the treadmill. So it has been a common theme I’ve come across. When I have these conversations the first thing I try to tell people is that going on the treadmill doesn’t burn as many calories as people think. Cardio is important, but just going on the treadmill alone won’t make someone lose fat. To lose fat, a wholistic change to both eating and exercise needs to be made.
Rather than being my only form of exercise, I personally view cardio as a tool to burn a few extra calories. I also think it’s great to do for cardiovascular health and I can definitely say I feel better when I’ve been doing my cardio. The main problem I see with cardio, is people tend to believe the calorie count given on the different types of machines. They will jog on a treadmill for a short amount of time and think they have burned almost 1000 calories. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Those calorie counters should not be taken for exact measures, but instead used as a gauge. That number given by the machine should be a reference point for how much “work” you’ve done so you can remember how much effort you exerted. Then the next time you go back on that machine, you will know if you’ve put in the same amount of work or not.
Even though I think cardio is a great fitness tool, people looking to lose fat should not just pass up on weight training. Even though people may burn more calories during a cardio training session than they do a weight training session, the weight training will spark their metabolism more. This will help aid in more fat loss, which is why I believe people should incorporate both into their exercise plan.
To lose fat people will also need to change their eating habits along with exercising, which is why I wrote several articles on eating as well.
Ways to attack doing cardio:
Hugo absolutely LOVES his walks.
The main and most important thing I want to say about doing cardio is, you don’t have to stick to just the treadmill! Cardio can be anything that gets you moving. So if you like going into the gym don’t be afraid to try out other cardio machines. They are a good way to help break up the monotony of a treadmill. Also don’t discount doing activities outside of the gym such as swimming, biking, or even playing sports with your kids. I guarantee if you try to keep up running around with a few kids playing you’ll be winded faster than you can say time out. I also don’t want people to think I’m bashing running. I just feel like a lot of people assume it’s their best option but get burnt out on it quick. My personal favorite cardio is taking my dog for a walk. I have a hyperactive Boxer, so luckily he likes to keep a quick pace with me.
There is no set way on how much lifting and cardio should be done to achieve fat loss or just maintain a healthy lifestyle. It’s all about what you can fit into your schedule. A good rule of thumb would be at least 2-3 cardio sessions a week, which can be combined with almost any sort of weight training program. You could either pick a plan that’s only a few days a week then do cardio the other days of the week or you could pick a weight training plan that has you in the gym all week and you can just do your cardio after. The only advice I would give to cardio protocol would be to either do cardio after weight training if your doing both all in one session or a few hours apart from lifting if you are doing cardio first in your day (an example of this would be a morning walk with your dog then a lifting session after work).
So if you do decide to incorporate cardio into your exercise regimin, there are two main types.
HIIT (Pronounced Hit):
This is short for High Intensity Interval Training. It is a form of cardio that ranges from only a few minutes up to about 20. It is usually done in a circuit fashion and is very taxing to do. When performing HIIT, it is all about explosiveness and giving it all you got. A lot of people like to do this when they are short on time or just want to be efficient with their time, or as a good way to really change things up from your normal walking for an hour on a treadmill. When setting up a HIIT workout, ratios are usually used of work to rest. Common ones are 1:1 or 2:1. An example of a beginner HIIT workout could be treadmill sprints. You could sprint for 30 seconds then briskly walk/jog for 30 seconds, and continue this pattern for 5-8 minutes, which would mean you do 5-8 rounds. Other common HIIT workouts include bike/stairmaster/elliptical sprints, a rowing machine, kettlebell movements, and sometimes even weights.
LISS:
This is short for Low Intensity Steady State. It is a form of cardio that is not as taxing as normal training. It is when you perform an exercise such as jogging or biking at a pace that makes you breathe heavy but allows you to still be able to carry on a conversation. This type of cardio should be done in the 20 - 90 minute rep range. Many people associate this with staring at wall while walking on a treadmill, but like we’ve discussed, this is a great chance to get outside. My dog is always so happy when I ask him if he wants to go for a walk and his excitement makes the cardio session worth it alone. If the weather isn’t the greatest out, you could still pick other machines such as the stairmaster, elliptical, or bike. I try to always change it up so I do not get bored choosing the same exercise each time.