Do You Really Need “Cardio” Workouts?
What’s the most effective way for losing fat – cardio workouts or weight training…
I would like you to think differently and try new things with regards to cardio workouts.
What’s the best way to get lean and in great shape – cardio training? I’m not an "anti-cardio" person as you will see later, just "anti traditional cardio".
Without question, most people who want to get in shape and lose body fat assume that “cardio” exercise is necessary to accomplish their goals.
This is not necessarily true! Some of the slimmest, meanest and leanest people (of both sexes) NEVER do any traditional style cardio workouts.
It can be said that there is a time and a place where very overweight or ill-conditioned people would find low to medium level cardio exercise would find it beneficial, but even then there could be more effective methods.
Cardio – what is it?
Exercise bike, treadmill, rowing machine (all while watching the TV screen) – this is what most people consider “Cardio” – and it isn’t really a surprise that most people get bored after a short space of time and give up with not perceptive change in their physique.
But if you think about it anything that strengthens the cardiovascular system can be considered to be “cardio” exercise i.e. if your heart is thumping away and you feel breathless it is cardio, regardless if it happens while you are pumping weights.
For example, various weights, clean press etc which involve lifting a barbell from the floor up to the shoulders and doing push pressing overhead – it may be seen to some as only strength and weight training exercise, however if you do a few reps of around 10 to 15 you will find that your heart rate is up and possibly 80-90% of the recommended maximum and that you feel that you’ve just run 100m sprint (but it is a quicker way than jogging).
Try lifting a stool twenty times in a row (like we did in biology all those years ago to prove lactic acid) and you will see that it raises your heartbeat and gives you arm burn as the muscle is building up. Not to mention the running up and down the stairs with all the baby clothes / toys / plates etc that need clearing up.
Try and tell me you’re not conditioning your heart with this style of training! Conventional thinking says that these are weight training or strength training exercises. However, they are fulfilling your cardio workout needs as well (saving you time!).
Not only do you save time, but you strengthen and condition almost every muscle in your entire body with these full body exercises if you do them with enough intensity…something that can’t be said for that boring stationary bike ride or treadmill jaunt while reading or watching TV.
How can you take workouts seriously while reading or watching TV!
If you can watch TV or read while doing any exercise then you can surely see that you’re not concentrating enough on what you’re doing. And this means that you’re probably not working out hard enough to see any real results.
Change the way you think and give the "traditional cardio" a rest for a month or two…
I found some great stomach workouts and ab exercises for women in Mike Geary’s internationally bestselling book – The Truth About Abs. There are some great tips on how to lose belly fat as well as getting all over fitness.
