Part 3: Why all that cardio isn't helping you lose fat

Here's something I stumbled upon. If you are a cardio lover looking to lose fat, you might want read this:

"Excessive cardio, like a hurricane wind, blows out the fat burning flame because it causes the body's hormones to "bottom out" and metabolism goes south. This response is even more severe if you "go on a diet" and the same time. Most people fail because they focus on burning calories. Who cares about burning calories? We want to burn fat, not calories.


Here's why Eat Less + Increase Activity DOES NOT EQUAL Weight Loss:

1. Phantom weight loss: some fat burning yes, but more muscle wasting and dehydration.
2. Weight loss plateau after 2-3 weeks due to your body developing a tolerance to what you are doing.
3. You gain all the weight back plus more once you quit due to a depressed metabolism."

The more you cardio yourself to death every day, the more you are setting yourself up for future fat gain. Hey, it happened to me. (see part 2)

But cardio is so good for us, it must mean the more the better....right? Nope.

"Some years ago I met Clinical Nutritionist Mark Smith who is a health expert and a PhD from an accredited university. He explained to me that doing one minute burst training instead of lengthy cardio exercise would turn my life around. As an example – he suggested that instead of jogging on the treadmill for one hour, [and he presented evidence to back up his statement], I should sprint as fast as I could for one minute, four times a day, three days a week. He explained that this practice would burn more fat than one hour of cardio a day, seven days a week. He was right!"

"Research in exercise science has shown that growth hormone levels in the body rise with burst training and also with hard high intensity weight lifting."

"If you want to go on the path of accelerated aging do lots of cardio. You will age faster by joining a spin class. Look at the faces of long duration cardio kings and queens, old and dried up. It’s no joke. Raise stress hormones and age fast....."

I am SO going to try that! Imagine it....burning more fat in 12 minutes a week than you can doing 7 hours of boring steady state cardio in the same time frame!

And, another tidbit fer ya:

"Studies have shown that too much, long-duration cardio raises cortisol levels (cortisol is a catabolic, tissue destroying, steroid) and therefore, hinder the natural anabolic hormones. The human heart is made of muscle. Smooth muscle, unlike our biceps and quads which are striated muscle, but can still be affected by catabolic processes."


To be fair, I did want to add that cortisol is released during intense weight training also. Which is why strength athletes reach a plateau. Continuing on with the quote...


"After reading sport medicine journals and exercise physiology journals I was floored to read the science behind it all. Go to your local library and ask for "Strength/endurance training vs. endurance training in congestive heart failure. Delagardelle, et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc. Dec, 2002."

Wow, I want to check that out! My dad had congestive heart failure. When it's in the family, I think there is a responsibility there to be on the preventative side.

Ever heard of Jim Fixx? Fixx wrote“The Complete Book of Running” and it was credited for helping fuel the running boom of the 1980’s. Fixx died of a heart attack while running. He was 53. Not that running caused his death, but he was obviously an avid runner, having written a book about it and all. Yet he still had elevated blood cholesterol and blockage in his coronary arteries.

You can help prevent elevated blood cholesterol, however, with proper nutrient timing, as I am learning in my new book that I'm reading. What you eat before and after you workout, whether you are an endurance athelete or a strength athelete is VERY important to your performance and your health!!

Look, I'm not saying, stop doing cardio or you'll die. There are people who (gulp) LOVE it. I would love to eat chocolate as steady state, long duration sport. That doesn't mean it's good for me or is going to get me the body I crave. My point to this spiel is this, if you want to look muscular and tight, the best way NOT to get it is to be a cardio junkie. Chances are, if you are reading a fitness blog, you have some interest in improving yourself by either looking better, feeling better, or being healthier. Or, you just stumbled across my page while looking up cheese on the internet.

And here's more of what I think (in case you're still reading):

I think cardio is the first choice for some people because it's easier. [Unless you are training many long hours for marathons....holy crap, nothing easy about that!!] Let's face it, it doesn't require a lot to watch the clock sloooolwy ticking while on a treadmill. And if you can read a magazine while exercising, it probably isn't hard work. You'd be surprised by how many people actually do this at the gym. Or maybe you wouldn't. I was.

When I'm on cardio equipment, it gives me too much time to think: about EVERYTHING. I think about how much stuff I need to get done today, how much stuff I didn't finish yesterday, how much I'd rather be doing anything else in the world than be on this treadmill....thinking, thinking, thinking.....it drives me crazy!

With weight training, you don't have time to think about anything except the muscle you are training, the moment you are training it. Catching your breath, and moving on to the next exercise, where you will again be so focused on your form, your breathing, and the muscle, that you don't have time to stress about everything else. And it's hard. Your muscles burn. You feel like you are accomplishing something. Because you are! You are building and defining muscle. You are strengthening your bones. You are becoming stronger and healthier.

I would say 'anyone can do cardio' but that isn't true. My mom can't. But she can lift weights! Get out of your comfort zone. Pick up some dumbbells.