Cardio seems so simple, doesn’t it? It’s the main avenue most will travel when they want to get in shape. The cardio equipment at your local gym is always packed and popular. I mean, all you have to do is hop on a treadmill/elliptical/stationary bike and just go to get the results you’re looking for right? Wrong!
There is a meticulous and scientific approach to your cardio workout that you NEED to take if improving your figure is something truly important to you. In my article, I will educate you on when you should perform your cardio, at what intensity level, and for how long, thereby liberating you from cardio darkness and disappointing results, and bringing you forth into the effervescent bliss of actual progress from your workouts!
Ok, let’s begin by talking about when you should perform your cardio. Ideally, you would want to do this early morning on an empty stomach before eating as your liver glycogen (stored carbohydrate) levels are at their lowest, which enables you to tap directly into your fat storage. You might be thinking, “Chris, I hate getting up early in the morning, is it worth it”. Well, considering that some studies have suggested that up to 300% more fat is burned when cardio is done in a fasted, glycogen-depleted state, I would say without a doubt it’s worth it!
Now, if a morning workout isn’t in the cards for you that is fine because there is a next best alternative. This would be immediately after a Strength Training routine which lasted 20-45 minutes. Strength Training is an anaerobic (carbohydrate-burning) exercise and therefore depletes muscle glycogen and enables you to use your body’s fat storage for energy.
Let’s move on now to intensity; basically how fast you are walking/jogging/ cycling/elipticising; I don’t care if you are skipping or doing Tae Bo, there IS an intensity level you need to be at to get the most out of your workout. This intensity level can be called your Target Heart Rate and the most respected means of calculating this is the Karvonen Formula. To apply this, we begin by calculating our Maximum Heart Rate, which is 220 – Age. Next, we need our Resting Heart Rate, which is our heart rate upon waking in the morning. There are different Intensity Zones we can use interchangeably with the Karvonen formula. Zone one is 50%-60% of your Maximum Heart rate, Zone Two is60%-70%, and Zone Three is 75%-85%. Now that we’ve determined and gathered the information needed, we can pull the information together in the Formula:
Max Heart Rate – Resting Heart Rate X Intensity (Zones 1, 2, or 3) + Resting Heart Rate = Training Heart Rate.
Now, at this time, you are most likely wondering what Intensity Zone is for you. Well, to begin, I recommend that individuals with low fitness levels start in Zone 1, those of average fitness level start in Zone 2, and individuals with high fitness levels start in Zone 3. For those of you who begin in Zones 1 and 2, as your fitness level improves, start to spend more time at the next level zone to keep challenging your body as you progress. As our stamina improves, it is important that we not rely on one zone the entire time; going as fast as we can for the entire workout is not necessarily better. A common application, that is widely believed to be the most effective approach to cardio, is called Interval Training. The concept behind Interval Training is that we toggle in and out between two different zones, either 1 2, or 3, as we exercise. Switch every 1 to 5 minutes. The purpose of this is to keep your body on its toes and make sure it does not acclimate to the workout and hit the dreaded plateau many of us have experienced.
To illustrate why using this formula is important, I will reference two types of individuals I often see in the gym; and please do excuse me if either of these people I describe sounds like you! Firstly, we have person A. This person regularly comes to their health club and plants themselves right on a stationary bike. As they leisurely peddle along, they zone out (pardon the pun) and flip through a copy of Men’s Health or Good House Keeping. I’m sorry to say, but this person is accomplishing nothing. Their intensity level is SO low, that their heart rate is simply not high enough to burn any fat and see any noticeable changes in their figure. I will say this now people, if you want to read a magazine, you may as well do it from the comforts of your own home planted on your couch with your feet up on the coffee table because reading at the gym will NOT get it done!
At the opposite end of the spectrum, we have person B. This go-getter means business. When they step onto that treadmill, they run hard and fast; they are in the zone (pardon the pun, again). Their workout is extremely intense; as a matter of fact, it is too intense! Sure, they stay trimmed with their cardio routine. What they have also done, however, is run some of their muscle right off in addition to burning their body fat. They have a sort of loose and flabby look to them. You see, if your heart rate is too high, your body will use muscle as a source of energy in addition to fat. To compound this effect, when we lose muscle, our metabolism slows which encourages increased fat storage. They keep their weight under control, but their figure looks the same, and makes no progress. This approach, as I’m sure you can see, is counterproductive. These two examples of persons And B represent why maintaining your Target Heart Rate is so crucial to improving your figure. It is as simple as making sure we are moving fast enough to melt the fat off of our bodies, but not going so fast that we are compromising our muscle tissue.
Ok, we’ve come to our last area of consideration when performing cardio; how long we should do it. For those of you who always say you don’t have time to work out, well I’m about to steal that crutch from you; because the fact is no one ever needs to work out for more than one hour tops, and more is certainly not better. The consequence of working out for more than one hour will be that your body will start to use your muscle tissue as a source of energy to fuel itself. For those of you who are currently incorporating strength training into your workouts, the most cardio you will need to follow is 15-20 minutes immediately afterward. Otherwise, for individuals who plan on performing cardio alone, I recommend 45 minutes.
We can see that reducing our body fat through the application of cardio is far more complicated than simply stepping up onto a treadmill and blindly walking into the unknown, so to speak. Just like anything else, we have to educate ourselves on the most effective means of bringing about our desired results. Now that you have learned when you should do cardio, at what intensity, and for how long, start applying these aerobic rules and prepare yourself for considerable improvements.
