Cracking the Cardio Conundrum
Emmet Louis
Posted: August 22, 2012
cracking the cardio conundrum
Everything in the gym is a tool, any tool has to be used properly to be effective, you can’t hammer in a nail with a chisel. Same with cardio vascular training when it comes to fat loss
First and foremost if fat loss is your goal then I refer you to my pervious article "The hierarchy of fat loss" so you can get your priorities right.
There is two main types of cardio when it comes to fat loss in my training philosophy
Low intensity long duration: think a brisk walk, brisk walking is superior to jogging as its less efficent and uses the upper body to generate momentum as well as the legs.
How I implement it:
If the intensity is low your body will preferentially use fatty acids for fuel. So with out getting into the science the two times when you are guaranteed to have free fatty acids in the blood stream are first thing in the morning before breakfast and after a tough workout with weights.
So going for a brisk walk pre breakfast or doing 20-30 mins on a treadmill uphill at 3.5-4% incline post workout is the winner here.
High intensity shorter duration, also known as HIIT (High intensity interval training)
In HIIT we are alternating periods of all out effort with periods of active recovery. In HIIT for maximum benefit we want to get to the point of lactic acid burn til you almost feel like you might get sick, sounds fun eh?
Here’s a sample HIIT program
On the cardio equipment of your choice try:
begin with 15 mins total time
15secs on : 45 off
When you can do the 15 minutes with ease increase the length of the interval 5 secs and decrease the rest period ie 20secs on forty secs off
best time to use it is as an additional session or two during the week.
I hope by following the hierarchy and these tips you get closer to the body you desire.
Emmet Louis For those who want to know change not just know of it
I have some personal training slots opening up beginning September. If you’re interested in having a free consultation and trial session please get in touch. I work from mainly Bank and Farringdon branches.
Emmetlouispersonaltraining@gmail.com
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There’s a form of cardio caelld HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), and it’s the most effective when it comes to losing weight. Basically the idea is to light jog/speed walk for 1-2 minutes then run at full speed for about 30 seconds and repeat, of course warm up with light jogging 5 minutes at the beginning and cool down with 5 minutes of light jogging at the end. Gradually decrease the resting time (eg from 2 minutes to 1) and increase the full speed time (eg from 30 secs to 45). Keep doing that for 20-30 minutes. This is considered the best form of cardio nowadays because even though it might not burn as many calories as running for an hour, the constant change of speed will boost your metabolism for the next day or two (pretty much like weight training does) which means that your body will burn more calories during that period.References :