" CARDIO" IS GARBAGE
5 Reasons Why Your Current Cardio Training Should
Be Tossed Out in 2009.
Part 4 of 6
REASON #3: YOUR "CARDIO" DOES NOTHING TO ADD MUSCLE TO YOUR FRAME
I can hear the voices echoing from the weightroom right now...
"I don't want to look like a guy!"
"Coach, the weightroom is gonna make me look like a football player!" "If I bump my weights up, I'm gonna get too muscular!"
In my time training athletes, mostly from the FEMALE athletes (guys, you're pretty much exempt on this one), these are the statements I would hear regularly. The women would constantly fight me about increasing their weights in their strength training programs, with great concerns about adding too much muscle and altering their feminine appearance. Yes, this came from the athletes, believe it or not! This is supposed to be the percentage of the workout population that you think would go all out in the weightroom, to do everything they can to enhance their on-field performance. Guess again!
This small example brings about a critical issue to discuss when we are talking about exercise; specifically, fat-loss workouts. Overall Resistance to Weight Training. (pardon the pun!) Many people, both guys and girls, avoid the weightroom when they go to the gym. They walk in the door, swipe their membership cards, bee line straight over to the row of 25 ellipticals, change the TV in front of them to their favorite show, and go about their 30 minutes of "Cardio." This sequence is the sole source of frustration in people that are trying to lose fat and get that toned, muscular look that so many are looking for. Please hear me when I say: You MUST include heavy, progressive, strength training in your exercise program if your goal is to lose fat and look better.
Let's take a look at a study from the Journal of American College of Nutrition done in 1999, (Vol 18, No. 2), titled the "Effects of resistance vs. aerobic training combined with an 800 calorie liquid diet on lean body mass and resting metabolic rate." Long title, I know... but it was an amazing piece to demonstrate a very important point here. All subjects were given an 800 calorie diet for the length of the study. The first group performed aerobic exercise (either walking, biking, or stair climbing) for a total of 4 hours per week, while the other group performed 2-4 sets of 10 strength exercises for the entire body three times per week. In the end, both groups lost enough weight to say that each program worked. The strength training group, however, lost significantly more fat, and they preserved their lean body mass (lean body mass is what gets you those muscular, toned arms that you are looking for!) This group also increased their Resting Metabolic Rate, while the aerobic group's RMR actually decreased! Remember, we discussed metabolism last week, and how important it is to burn calories in the time you are NOT working out. An increased RMR is the way to do that, and to ensure that your body is burning additional calories 24 hours per day. There has been other research showing that a sound strength program can increase this resting metabolism by as much as 15%. In considering normal calorie-burning numbers in the average human being, this RMR increase could mean a 15-20 lb loss over the course of a year!
The goal here is not to bore you with science and research, but to drive home an incredibly important point. If we think about true "results-oriented" programming practically, the answer almost appears right before us. In Part I of this report a few weeks ago, we already cited that most people exercise to look better, right? In looking better, most people normally point to well-known celebrity bodies with 6-pack abs, toned shoulders and arms, and muscular legs. Common sense suggests that to achieve that type of appearance, we have to build muscle (to get the muscular look), and we have to burn off body fat (so those muscles we are building underneath can show). The next logical step, then, brings us directly to programs that involve STRENGTH TRAINING! Knowing that this type of exercise ignites fat burning and builds muscle means it is the true solution on how to get those "Halle Berry" arms and shoulders, or those "David Beckham" abs. Believe me, those two (and any other fit, celebrity bodies that you would like to name) train with heavy weights. I GUARANTEE IT!
Which brings me quickly to that term "heavy." I know, when you read that word, most are thinking of some huge Olympic Lifting champion with a 500 pound bar on his back ready to squat himself to a world record. But it doesn't, and shouldn't, have to be like that for the majority. The word "heavy" simply means "fatiguing" for that particular movement or muscle group. It is relative term and is very much tied to the exercise performed and the person performing it. To simplify this, your body's understanding of "heavy" is much different than, say, Governor Arnold's body's understanding of "heavy." He will obviously train with bigger weights than you. The key is, with all of your sets and reps, is to train heavy enough for YOU, and to induce what we call "Momentary Muscular Fatigue." This phrase simply means that your muscles should be tired, to the point of rep failure, at the end of most of your sets. If not, you are fooling yourself into thinking you are building muscle and you are really just wasting your time. Training with 10 pound dumbbells for your shoulder press for 10 straight weeks just ain't gonna get it done! As long as you maintain your technique and form, it is ok to pick up heavier weights and fail at the end of your set... IN FACT IT IS ENCOURAGED!
You get the overall message here, right? We discussed a couple important topics related to strength and weight training here today, and ones that hopefully open your eyes a little more to the overall message: Your "cardio" is not going to get you to the look that you want. Next time you go to the gym, walk right by the treadmill and head over to the weightroom. Your first instinct may be to shy away from that section. Just like those female athletes in my example above, your hesitation may be rooted in "not wanting to add too much muscle." Truth be told, adding muscle is THE KEY INGREDIENT in the overall recipe of getting that body you desire.
So now, we are getting to the last few! Next week, we'll hit on the fourth reason your current "Cardio" should be tossed into the garbage truck...
Reason #4: "It's not nearly intense enough!"
Yours in Strength,
Jesse
PS. The latest in fat burning programs is already available online!! Take a minute to check out www.worldwidesportsperformance.com!
Comments