Personal Training Rochester NY - Say no to Cardio

Just Say NO to Cardio

In an Australian study(1),  researchers analyzed 58 overweight men and women over a 3-month cardiovascular weight loss program. Participants exercised five times a week with approximately 500 calories burned per session. On average, the group lost 7.3 pounds below the expected weight loss. Sadly, of the 58 participants, 26 of them lost only 2 pounds, despite laboring for over 60 hours.

Doctors keep emphasizing the importance of cardiovascular exercise.  Everyone knows that cardio helps reduces stress, lowers blood cholesterol, improves stamina, lowers blood pressure and more. Combine this with a sensible, well-balanced diet and you’ll get even better results. However, the Australian researchers concluded, that:  “From a public health perspective, exercise should be encouraged and the emphasis on weight loss reduced.” (direct quote).

Conclusion: the emphasis of cardio on weight loss should be decreased.

Many personal trainers, fitness magazines, and fitness clubs have to stop promoting “cardio” as the snake oil formula for weight loss – it isn’t. Do not give in to the cardio pitfall. If you rely on the calorie burning counters on treadmills and ellipticals, you are falling for the biggest racket in fat loss history.

You can’t just “burn off a big meal” by walking on a treadmill for an hour. You are better of not eating that second serving of lasagna (average of 400 calories a serving) and focus on increasing your body’s metabolism through strength training. Don’t wear down your body with repetitive cardiovascular exercises. Just say Cardio – no way!

The process of losing body fat is quite simple.  You just need to grasp and believe how hard it is to lose fat through cardiovascular exercise alone.  Plan your meals in advance.  Prepare for your strength training workouts (so you don’t just “wing your way” at the gym).   Set up a social support (hire a personal trainer or get a buddy to support you), and recognize solutions for all of the hurdles in your life.

Ever heard the saying “diets don’t work”?  It’s a politically-correct excuse that allows overweight individuals to escape diets in the first place. The truth is, diets DO work…it’s the people that don’t. You need to keep on looking for the diet that will work for you. Don’t give up. And remember that when you find the right diet, it will still take a lot of hard work and perseverance on your part to stay on it.

In another study(2) also conducted by researchers in Australia, overweight men and women were placed on a 12-week low-calorie diet. They lost over 36 pounds (about 18 times more than the amount of weight lost by some of the participants in the cardiovascular study). That just proves my point that diet is better than cardiovascular exercise for weight loss.

Here’s the sad part: The participants were split into two groups. For 12 months, half of one group of 180 subjects went on a high-carbohydrate diet while the other half went on a high-protein diet  By the end of the 12-month study, both groups gained back 4 pounds. Why? Because only 47% of the 180 subjects who began the study completed both phases.  Even though both “diets” helped the subjects maintain a large portion of their original weight loss (average of 36 pounds lost in 12 weeks vs. 4 pounds gained in 12 months).

Conclusion: dieting is not the challenge, it’s getting people to stick with it. Here’s where finding the right diet that works for you, planning and social support come into place.  Combine that with short well balanced workouts (a combination of strength training, cardiovascular and stretching exercises) - not long, dull, repetitious cardiovascular exercises - and you’ll finally get the results you worked very hard for.

Source:

1 Br J Sports Med. 2009 Sep 29. Beneficial effects of exercise: shifting the focus from body weight to other markers of health. King N, Hopkins M, Caudwell P, Stubbs J, Blundell J.

2 Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Sep 30. One-year weight maintenance after significant weight loss in healthy overweight and obese subjects: does diet composition matter? Delbridge EA, Prendergast LA, Pritchard JE, Proietto J.