Cardio For Weight Loss

by Dale Kelley
Capital Region Fitness

If you've ever tried and failed to lose weight despite spending an hour or more a day on the treadmill, elliptical, or in aerobics classes or weight loss boot camps - this article is for you!

Did you know that your body adapts very quickly to long, “same speed” cardio workouts, causing you to burn fewer and fewer calories each time you workout?

Yes, it's true.

I can hear you now - "I thought I was supposed to keep my heart rate in the fat burning zone. If I go any faster or work any harder I won't be burning fat!"

Oh yes you will! AND - you'll burn MORE fat (and lose more weight!) than you would if you keep doing what you're doing!

Consider this: If you went outside and ran five miles right now, it would be pretty tough if you weren’t conditioned for it. What if you did that same run five times a week for the next two months? What do you think would happen? Do you think it would get easier? Of course it would! Your body will adapt to whatever "stress" you place on it.

Cardio, or what's also called endurance training, is no different than body building in terms of adaptation. Body builders grow bigger muscles because they continually increasing the stress (weight they lift). The body's response to the increasing stress is to build more muscle so that it can continue to efficiently meet the demands (stress) being placed on it. That's adaptation.

If the same body builder failed to increase the stress (weight) over a period of time, their body would not require additional muscle to meet the increased demands.

Are you saying cardio isn't effective?

No way, no how! I'm saying cardio, the way you're probably doing it, is not effective.

Stored body fat is the primary source of energy for long duration activities such as walking, running, treadmilling ect. So, in that sense cardio works because it requires fat for fuel.

But what are you doing when you endurance train? You are training your body to use fuel (fat) more efficiently - to adapt to the stress you place on it, the same way a body builder is training his or her body to lift more weight!!

Lets be clear here - you're body has a mind of it's own. What you probably consider efficient - burning lots and lots of fat - is the direct opposite of what your body considers efficient. It's just like the body builder who won't grow muscle if they don't increase the weight. The more conditioned you are, the less fat you are going to burn if you don't up the intensity.

If your standard cardio session is a 60 minute jog - then what you've trained your body to do is to jog for 60 minutes using as little fuel (fat) as possible.

So, if you're goal is to burn more fat and/or calories, sooner or later, you're going to have to increase the stress you place on your body.

Your body works hard to make things easier for you. Yes, I said easier. Physically easier. If you've been endurance training for any length of time - you've already experienced this effect. I remember the first time I tried to work out. I was red in the face and gasping for air after 7 minutes. A year later I was doing 90 minute sessions without breaking a sweat and not losing weight any faster than I did when I started! My body adapted.

Unfortunately most people make the exact same mistake I did with their own cardio workouts. They do the same workout repeatedly in the gym or at home. At first they might lose some weight, but pretty soon their body adapts and progress comes to a screeching halt! So, they up the duration until they're doing sometimes 90minutes or more a day and still not losing much weight!

And to complicate matters, long duration cardio workouts can lead to muscle loss. This muscle burning, or catabolic effect, is amplified when you are low calorie dieting, and/or not refueling (eating) very soon after your workout. Loss of muscle means a slower metabolism - said another way - you don't get to eat as much and you have to exercise even more to lose weight!

In a nutshell - cardio is an absolute requirement for health and for weight loss. But too much of the wrong kind can be unproductive, if not detrimental if you are trying to shed pounds.

So, what should you be doing? Why don't you ask about that in the forums? Or hire a personal trainer!

OK I can't resist - here's a little pointer - and I only say this because I see it constantly in the gym:

If you're working out inside, have been moving for more than 10 minutes, and you're still too cold to remove your sweatshirt - you're not working hard enough! If you can read a book, talk on your cell for the entire time, or worse, text - you're not working hard enough. You should be breaking a sweat after about 10-12 minutes. Not drenched mind you, but your skin should be starting to get moist. Certainly after 20 minutes you should have shed at least one of the layers!

Dale Kelley
NASM Certified Personal Trainer
ACE Certified Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant
http://capitalregionfitness.com