Everything You Need to Know About Cardio
Everything You Need to Know About Cardio
By Twist
There are a couple of ways go about a fat loss program. The first, and most commonly used, is the "calories-in calories-out" approach. This means that you want your body to consume/burn/use (whatever lingo you prefer) more calories than you take in. For those who like equations that means KCal in<Kcal out. This will result in fat loss because your body is forced to burn more than you are supplying; so it (your body) turns to its reserves (fat stores) for energy. I prefer this approach over other manipulations because it is the natural way to lose fat. The body is meant to act in this exact way and that is why there are no long-term negative effects (like rapid weight gain) from this approach.
Other ways of losing fat include Keto diets, AM Cardio, fasting, and other depletions that leave your body extremely low in one nutrient, but very high in another. This is, in my opinion, a very damaging way to go about dieting and fat loss. The majority of my opinion comes from studies on famine and such and when there is a major decline in something essential, there is usually a high rebound after. So a fast drop in fat loss due to no carbohydrate intake results in a huge, if not higher, fat gain as soon as carbs are reintroduced. The calorie-in calorie-out method still applies, but there are tricks to amplifying the calories you do burn so that they are from fat. The problem is that sometimes this backfires. You can trick the body for only a short period of time before it catches on, payback is unforgiving here. Bottom line: If you eat more than you burn = fat gain.
Cardio, in terms of fat loss, can be looked at in the same way. You can either try to go the calorie-in calorie-out way, or go the fast loss and fast rebound way. For example, slow and steady on the bike for a long period of time (calorie-in calorie-out), or 5 minutes of sprints with little rest in between (fast loss). There is no right way to do it, and they both have their advantages. In order to educate you on why I do cardio the way I do, I need to inform you about another concept.
EPOC
EPOC = Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption. This refers to elevated oxygen uptake after exercise is finished. Although many of the theories about this EPOC theory, commonly called after-burn, have been disproved, much of it still stands. To sum it up, Oxygen is is used to restore the body to its comfortable levels of regulation (homeostasis). When you exercise fat stores are broken down for fuel, and when you stop exercising these fat stores are converted from energy (free fatty acids) back to fat stores. This re-conversion takes energy and therefore, oxygen (hence the term fat oxidation, or fat burning), thus burning more calories. The last thing you need to know about EPOC is that its effects, although minimal after five hours, can be found up to 38 hours after exercise. I must mention that low intensity exercise produces much less of an EPOC than high intensity exercise. In fact, low intensity exercise produces very little EPOC at all. So now you know about EPOC and what it refers to so we can move on.
Now the question you are probably asking is, "if we get EPOC from high intensity exercise, then why don't we just do high intensity exercise all the time?" This is a great question with a not so simple answer. High Intensity (or HI) exercise is hard to perform... Very hard. How long can you all out sprint? 20 seconds? 30 seconds? Maybe a whole minute (doubt it)? Either way you are burning a ton of calories for that minute, but there's only so much your body can do in one minute. So let's say you are running along and this is a mid to high level of intensity. You could do maybe 10 minutes of running? Let's say you do 20 minutes of running and then you stop because you have just ran 3 miles and you're exhausted. In this 20 minutes, you may have burned calories at an elevated rate, but because you can only do it for 20 minutes then you're not going long enough to burn a great quantity of calories. If you were to go at a more comfortable pace then you might be able to stick it out for an hour. In this case you would burn much more than that 10-20 minute burst you just did. Most people stop doing cardio at a low intensity not because they are exhausted, but because they are bored to death. WIth LI, longer is better.
Now another problem with short-burst, high intensity exercise is that it takes (from what I remember) about 20 minutes to stop burning through glycogen stores and start tapping into fat stores. So as you can see, a short-burst, high intensity exercise will burn calories at an elevated rate, and create EPOC, but is not effective if done for less than 20 minutes, and is unsustainable for over 20 minutes.
Although low intensity cardio (LI) is sustainable for long periods of time, it's not going to create a large EPOC, and let's face it, LI is boring as hell. Bodybuilders and people at low bodyfat should use this type of cardio if they're trying to get the last pounds off without stripping away muscle. HI cardio is much more likely to strip the body of muscle because it's difficult for your body to stop the burning process (whether it be muscle or fat) even if you stop the cardio due to EPOC. Therefore, if you are low in bodyfat and want to get from 10-7% bodyfat, it is wise to do LI cardio because there will be no unnecessary calorie burning and a quick sugar drink will stop the fat burning process in its spot.
It is worth mentioning to those of you that are always talking about losing fat and not dropping muscle mass, that if you have a ton of fat then it isn't a valued resource. Bodyfat is necessary for survival, so is muscle. If you have a ridiculous amount of bodyfat and a low muscle mass, then the body will not drop muscle instead of fat. However, if you are at or near your natural limit and have a low bodyfat, then your body will view fat as a necessary resource and will break down muscle for energy demands instead. I would like to point out that bodyfat is what the body uses as a fuel source when other sources are not around. Muscle is used in an emergency; or if it gets to be unnatural. So don't worry about dropping muscle unless you are 15% or below in bodyfat AND have a lot of muscle.
One more thing before we put it all together; when you do weight training, and you exert your maximal effort - like you should every time you train, you are doing a high intensity exercise and therefore will have a large EPOC. Get it? Weight training = High Intensity. How do you check to see if you are doing HI cardio? If your heart rate is at 85% of your maximal heart rate, then it is considered high intensity.
Empty Stomach Cardio
This is one of those times that you are trying to manipulate the body to burn more fat and the calorie-in calorie-out method is not the focus. If, for some reason, you are not able to do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), than AM cardio is the way to go. Reasons would include injuries, range of motion problems, and general lack of ability/conditioning. Note that being lazy is not one of the reasons to stick to morning cardio. This is one of those ways in which you can manipulate your cardio schedule so that you optimize the calories from fat that are burned. The theory behind AM Cardio is that you have spent all night sleeping, and therefore fasting. After a fast (time period in which no food is consumed) your body has very low glycogen (blood sugar) stores. When your body has low glycogen stores then it must run on its other energy source; fat. Remember that 20 minute cardio time I mentioned earlier? Well this method sort of bypasses it.
HIIT at this time in the morning is fine, but I would only do it for 30 minutes and then switch to low intensity cardio for the duration. If you are in the group that cannot perform HI cardio, then morning cardio is a must for you. Morning cardio is done by simply waking up in the morning and getting on the treadmill without eating or drinking anything but water. Sometimes Branched Chain Amino Acids are used because they are believed to stop muscle wasting. I won't go into the details of this but basically if you want to preserve your muscle, some BCAA or protein powder (no carbs or fat allowed in this shake) is fine to consume before, during, or after cardio. Once you have finished cardio simply go about the rest of your day as usual.
NOTE: AM cardio has the same principles as post workout (PWO) cardio. Drain blood sugars, do cardio = more calories from fat burned (as far as a percentage).
HIIT
If I am going to recommend you do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), I should explain what it is. HIIT is when you go at a low intensity (65% of your Maximum Heart Rate) for the majority of the session, with High Intensity (85% or more of your MHR) for very short bursts. The trick is that these short bursts are your MAXIMUM effort. I see too many people speed up their cardio and think that this is HI Cardio. HI Cardio is meant to push your boundaries. One very important aspect of HIIT is that your heart rate must recover for it to be considered LI cardio. After about 3-5 intervals, your heart rate will not recover as quickly and your LI interval will have to get increase. The most common mistake people make is doing 1 minute HI, followed by 1-2 minutes LI. After 2-3 HI bursts your heart doesn't recover to low intensity. This means you are just staying in the high intensity level the whole time. I will write you an example of a typical HIIT training session so you can see exactly what I am talking about.
5 minute warmup
30 second all out sprint, maximal effort!!!!!!
3 minutes LI cardio
30 second sprint again (HI)
3 minutes LI
30 seconds HI
5 minutes LI
30 seconds HI
5 minutes LI
Cycle repeats 5 minutes LI to 30 seconds HI until 60 minutes is up.
For morning cardio or for PWO cardio I generally recommend to do the first 30-40 minutes HIIT style, and the rest of the hour LI to preserve muscle. This is more of a precautionary method but it helps ease my clients' minds about losing muscle, and it helps them stay on the equipment.
Heart Rate Explained
Your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) is your heart rate operating at 100%. No details you need to know about it. Your HR can go higher but that's not the point of this article.
MHR = 220 (arbitrary number) - Your Age
Example: 220 - 23 (my age) = 197 (my MHR)
HI = 85% = MHR x .85
Example: 197 x .85 = 167
So 167 or higher is my HIGH INTENSITY number. Got it so far?
LI = 65% = MHR x .65
Example: 197 x .65 = 128
So my LI number is 128.
When you are sprinting during a HI Interval, your heart rate should be at or above 85%. LI should be at or around 65%. Simple as that. Get your numbers, write them down, change difficulty accordingly.
What Machines to Use
Not all machines are created equal. The reason some machines are easier than others is just that, because they are easier. Do not skip out and use the elliptical when you are physically capable of using the Stepmill or the treadmill. At the very least start the cardio on the Stepmill or treadmill at an incline; move to the elliptical (if you must) after 30-40 minutes. I know many will say, "but my heart rate goes up on the elliptical just fine." True, but I can sit on a bench and hyperventilate till my heart rate is through the roof. Does this mean I'm burning calories like I'm sprinting? NO! As a general rule, if there is a machine, exercise, routine, or bodypart that you generally don't like to work, it is probably what you should be doing. I hate leg day. Guess what my worst bodypart is? Bingo! Simple stuff here. Use easy machines = do less work = burn less calories = lose less fat = build less muscle.
Now to put it all together...
Cardio should be done either on an empty stomach or pwo. But anytime you can do cardio is a good time. Your muscles need energy to lift weights, and weight training drains blood sugar. This makes cardio training after a weight training session optimal. Your muscles get the glycogen they need for the weight session, and you can burn the fat after the weights. The best way to do cardio is HIIT style. This way you will get the most from the "fat burning zone" (LI zone), and the EPOC from the HI zone. Morning cardio is a good idea, but not a must. Do not change your diet or anything around for cardio-only sessions; just go about your daily activities and meal plans as scheduled. Of course, morning cardio is done on an empty stomach but you can eat after. We know that not all machines are created equal. If you pick the lazy machine, you get the lazy results. Cardio is the fat burning miracle you have all been waiting for. Now you know exactly why it is important, how you should do it, and when you should do it. The only thing left to say is...
GO DO IT!
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Originally Posted by tjax03;5497***
