IS CARDIO RIGHT FOR ME?
Is it even really necessary?
The Cardio Conundrum
Have you ever noticed that your first six to eight weeks of cardio was fantastic for fat loss. And then the dreaded "plateau" hit?
This is the plateau that everyone talks about and no one REALLY knows how to get out of. Oh, they say, something to the effect of, 'Just keep plugging away and it'll come,' or, 'You just have to change it up'.
Change what up!? Just move from machine to machine? But that doesn't work either.
All this finally ends in frustration, with eventual ceasing of the program altogether or resorting to more drastic measures-extreme diets or even drugs.
Can you picture ancient man going out for a 1-2 hour run twice a day for 12-16 weeks? Funny thought, but I wonder what ancient man would say if he looked at us?
Charles Poliquin has been quoted as saying, "We were meant to throw a rock at the rabbit not chase the rabbit."
Essentially, there are two types of cardiovascular trainig:
1. High volume of long, slow distance cardio training (LSD is continuous, repetitive for usually twenty or more minutes).
2. Intervals are for a specified period of time (usually under one minute bursts) followed by active or inactive rests.
We now know these stats: High volumes of LSD leads to elevated cortisol, adrenal fatigue, lowered testosterone, lowered leptin levels, chronic fatigue, and in extreme amounts, even Alzheimer's.
So if that's what you enjoy about your cardio, or those are the benefits you're looking to derive from cardio, by all means, have at it!
But maybe there's a better way.
The problem with LSD is that your body adapts to it.
If your nephew or son came to you and asked, "What is the best way for me to build muscle on my biceps?" what would you say?
Probably something to the effect of: some curling exercise for 3 sets of 10-12 reps (or along those lines).
And initially you'd be right.
But what about after a few weeks when he says the workout is "getting easy?" What would you tell him then? To pick a heavier weight and keep going? Right? But what if he said I don't want to lift heavier. I would rather do more reps like say 20 or as high as 50 reps. What would you say then?
That he wouldn't build any muscle like that at all?
You'd be right again.
But we do the very same thing with "cardio". We tell people to keep going, to do "longer". So when would it stop? At an hour? Two hours? Run all day?
And in the mean time all your body is doing is becoming more efficient at doing the very thing your asking it to do! Your body knows it doesn't have an endless supply of resources so it has to be as efficient as possible with what it has. It will try to be conservative with what it has. Contrary to popular belief, your body's primary goal is not to build muscle and lose fat. It's created for exitence or co-existence as it may be--in whatever means it can. Whether that means to "slow" your metablism in order to do what is asked of it. It will do just that. That, my friends, is the "conundrum" of cardio.
If you want an alternative, a weight or cardio program that works, drop me a line.
Until next time fellow fitness enthusiasts.
Ted Kewin
