The case against cardio (my humble opinion)
Have you ever wondered why after all those cardio sessions you are just NOT seeing the body shaping results that you are looking for?
OK, sit yourself down and brace yourself for the truth
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Too much cardio will make you fat!!!
There I said it!!!
NOT CAN. WILL.
Here's why...
Low intensity cardio like jogging or the eliptical machine makes your body blunt the receptors for muscle building.
So yes essentially you are stopping your body from building muscle.
You know that leaner, firmer, sleaker body that you continue to crave just ain't happening RIGHT NOW!!
READ THIS SENTENCE A FEW TIMES:
You won't build muscle if you are doing hours upon hours of cardio every week. Got me?
Here's another reason:
Low intensity cardio uses muscle to fuel the exercises a lot of the time. So, you not only are stopping your body from making new muscle, but you are actually BURNING YOUR CURRENT MUSCLE.
Low - Medium intensity cardio is what you see everyone at the gym doing.
They go at a fairly hard pace, that’s above a walk but nowhere near a sprint, for 30-60 minutes.
Ever notice how their bodies never change?
That’s because that form of cardio is useless. Actually, it’s worse than useless. It’s detrimental.
It can cause muscle loss and actually cause you to get fatter. When doing medium intensity cardio your body produces too much cortisol so you end up eating away at your hard earned muscle.
Excessive cortisol production can also lead to increased bodyfat storage in the abdominal region.
Think about your bum shrinking from cardio.
IF THAT DOESN'T PETRIFY YOU, HERE'S ANOTHER REASON:
Cardio also teaches your body to become more efficient at burning calories.
What does this mean?
This basically means that each time you get "better" at doing cardio, you are just teaching your body to do more with less, meaning you BURN EVEN FEWER CALORIES, making it even less effective.
In all seriousness though FORGET WHAT THE MACHINE TELLS YOU BECAUSE THAT THANG BE LYIN' TO YOU!
There is so much talk about building muscle (which is a good thing)
Cardio hurts that in another way too.
You see too much cardio actually teaches your body to build a fatigue resistant type of muscle that is better at cardio.
Let me tell ya something, those babies DON'T GROW..... YOU can forget about your 'Toned' calves and Bum.
Cardio is SHRINKING them.
IF you don't believe me, take a look at Olympic Marathon runners - the ultimate endurance muscle - NOT toned.
SO, WHY WILL THIS MAKE YOU FAT?
OK, are you sitting comfortably?
Then i'll begin....
I'm not totally ruling jogging out, it has it's place.
But if it's all you are doing week in, week out, you are going to decrease your metabolism and decrease your ability to burn fat because you are eating muscle for cardio breakfast and not re-building it after you do.
Quick maths lesson
Less muscle = Less Calories Burned
So you want to get that low body fat?
If you're a busy man or woman then concentrate on big bang workouts 3 - 4 times a week. Simple workouts that focus on training your entire body as a complete unit.
First off if you must run, do not run long distance at a steady pace. Don't get me wrong a run here and there is cool.
Just instead of constant long drawn out runs try to do an interval style of cardio (some form of sprint/short burst, followed by a rest period)
Take a sprinter for example who are able to maintain a very lean body because of the way they train.
Sprinters do short intervals of high intensity cardio followed by periods of low intensity cardio. This style of cardio is very effective at burning fat.
Think short 30 - 50m sprints followed by walking slowly back to the start and repeating that as many times as you can.
Finally
You NEED to build that muscle, and watch it melt that fat for you WHILE YOU REST!
So incorporate body weight, free weights or kettlebell training into your weekly routine.
Start simple, train smart and watch the magic happen.
Jason
Coach @ KEBOfit
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