Why all the Cardio?
Publish On 04-10-2009 , 12:04 PM
Here is a great video that shows why doing to much cardio is not needed on order to change your body. Proper nutrition, and higher intensity interval workouts for conditioning and strength. Now, not all cardio is bad, it's just that, it should not be the only thing you do. Vary your workouts and activities. Find enjoyment in what you do. Why hate doing something and waste your precious time. Eat right, train smart.
Here's a few more thoughts and facts:
If I were to ask people what results they would like to get out of their workouts, the number 1 answer is “losing weight or to get thinner”. As I stated in my January article, I see the same thing going on in gyms and fitness centers, people doing the same workouts, month after month, year after year. The amazing thing is they look the same aesthetically or sometimes worse. I was just talking with someone in the gym this morning and they stated that they “hate” cardio, and I asked them, than why are you doing it? Life is too short to hate your workouts. It seems like everyone does it because everyone else is or they do not know any better. Now I not saying that performing Aerobic work is wrong, that’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is there is a better way and it’s good to mix up your workouts or routines and why dread doing anything? The typical program people follow is 30-60 minutes of continuous aerobic activity, 3-5 days per week. There are volumes of research out there that tells us that this is not a good approach to take when you are seeking to improve on results overtime and looking to loss the “fat”. Out of all of the scientific research out there I would like to share a few from an article that hit the head on this subject from Charles Poliquin, a world renowned strength coach of Professional and Olympic athletes as well as thousands of non-athletes.
Continuous aerobic work plateaus after 8 weeks of training, so anything more is counter productive. Now that is certainly an “eye opener” considering what most people do. Aerobic training worsens power locally and systematically, in other words, it makes you slower. If you are an athlete or a “weekend warrior” who likes to participate in athletic events or team sports that require speed, agility and jumping ability, it is the last thing you would want from your cardiovascular training program.
The more lower body aerobic work you do, the more your vertical jump worsens. The more aerobic upper body work you do, the more your medicine ball throws worsen. If you are doing anything athletic, you want to train specifically for the demands of that sport or activity. A sprinter would not train like a long distance runner and vise-versa. Aerobic training increases adrenal stress which can make you fatter and produce other undesirable health consequences.
According to Dr. James Wilson (author of “Adrenal Fatigue- The 21st Century Stress Syndrome’) “normally functioning adrenal glands secrete minute, yet precise and balanced, amounts of steroid hormones”. When one does too much continuous aerobic exercise, the adrenal glands are stressed in a way that can upset this delicate balance which could lead to adrenal fatigue. Other symptoms associated with adrenal fatigue are; tiredness, arthritis, anxiety, depression, reduced memory, insomnia and with respect to this article; the inability to lose weight. These are just a few of the facts that I wanted to share with you. I will cover a couple more in next month’s article.
So what should you be doing instead if you want to sculpt your body, burn fat, get lean, etc, try skipping the “cardio” and focus on proper nutrition, total-body multi-muscle resistance training and Interval training (covered in my January Article) which will improve both your aerobic and anaerobic fitness. Look to build “everyday” strength and fitness like; the ability to carry groceries or children, or climb stairs as fast as possible and playing with your kids without getting out of breath. Save time and get more health benefits than the “Dreaded Cardio”.
Continuous aerobic work is basically exercise induced castration”.- Poliquin
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