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How to do cardio if you MUST!
View all articles by MariAnne Anderson
Written by : MariAnne Anderson print article email article
As we enter into this, the month of the New Year’s resolution, a common question that hits the boards is “how much cardio should I do to lose this gut/ass” (depending on your particular assignment of X and Y chromosomes).
To anyone who knows me, the thought that my lazy, cardio-hating ass would actually sit down and WRITE about this most … unpleasant of activities, bear with me – this profound distaste has fuelled my attempt to find a way to optimize physique goals while doing as little cardio as humanly possible.
In spite of my deeplfy-rooted loathing for this type of activity, I am gradually learning to respect some of the benefits targeted amounts of it can do – not only for fat burning, but also for muscle growth (gasp!). (1) (2)
Although all exercise has a resistance and a cardiovascular component, for this purpose, we shall consider “cardio” to be endurance-types of activities rather than those performed primarily for hypertrophy or strength.
As in all things, there are pros and cons to the different types of cardio. A non-exhaustive list of benefits variously include:
• Increased mitochondrial density and size
• Increased capillary density
• Increased vo2 max
• Increased heart stroke
• Increased endurance
• Faster recovery/reduced DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness)
• Improved insulin sensitivity
• Improved lipid levels
However, there are downsides:
• Repetitive strain injuries
• Potential for conversion of fast twitch fibres to slow twitch analogues
• Overtraining, particularly of leg muscles
• Unfavourable endocrine changes (reduction in testosterone, increase in cortisol)
• Increased efficiency
• The “Kobe legs” phenomenon of marbled leg fat, particularly problematic in females
• Appetite stimulation that exceeds activity-related expenditure
• And of course, boredom <yawn>
We don’t do the same lifting workouts all the time – why should cardio be any different? And I’m not alone in my thinking: for example, Berardi suggests incorporating volume, intensity and load progressions into your cardio work. (3)
In the text below, I will discuss the pros and cons of three different intensities of cardiovascular training – high intensity interval training, hill-repeats, and steady state (SS) cardio, and a strategy for integrating them into your fitness plan, which, as always, you will find summarized at the end so you don’t have to fall asleep trying to read my article. <blink blink>
HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training
HIIT is a protocol of alternating high and low intensity exercise, for example sprint/walk intervals.
Research has shown a number of physique-enhancing benefits to HIIT:
• “High intensity training may prove beneficial if used properly. For example, its potent stimulation of whole body lipolysis during exercise leads to a rapid influx of plasma free fatty acids after intensity is lowered. In this context, it is postulated that performing a notably short, high intensity session, followed by a long duration, low to moderate intensity workout, may optimize lipid oxidation.” (4)
By following HIIT with a little steady state cardio, you’ll oxidize mobilized FFAs so they don’t re-esterify into triglyceride and hang around. Cool eh?
• In fact, HIIT may actually curtail the propensity for fat storage:
”...it is highly probable that sprinting-evoked, systemic AMPk activation simultaneously curtails an individual's natural genetic propensity for fat-storage as well. This is because, in response to the rapid ATP-depletion prompted by those repeated, maximal-intensity bouts of anaerobic expenditure, AMPk also works to curtail Acyl-coenzyme A: diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT1) activity and glucose uptake into adipocytes.
This saves ATP for energy repletion rather than having it "misallocated" to synthesize new triacylglycerol (TAG) in your adipocytes. (5)
• HIIT has a higher EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) than steady state cardio.
• It leads to rapid improvements in VO2max and endurance performance (6) – this means you’ll perform better lifting workouts, too.
• It doesn’t promote the conversion of type IIb (the so-called "pure" fast-twitch muscles) to type IIa slow-twitch analogues (7) (see below, steady-state cardio discussion).
• And it can help increase carbohydrate metabolism, which can improve nutrient partitioning. (8)
HIIT doesn’t “work” by burning off fat – it works by stimulating catecholamines (9), and catecholamines strongly stimulate lipolysis in mammals. Plasma fatty acid concentrations increase dramatically immediately after intense exercise, where fatty-acid oxidation decreases. That’s why you do some steady state cardio at the end.
How often: If you’re going to do any cardio, do HIIT at least once and at most three times a week. Ideally, do it either on its own day, or on a leg day at least 6-8 hours away from your workout.
If you must do it in the same session as your workout, do it right after, on a leg day. Although this may seem counterintuitive, HIIT is quite the leg workout. Doing HIIT on upper body days may compromise recovery since your legs will have less time to rest.
What to eat: Because of the strong anaerobic component, feed HIIT the same as you would a lifting workout – target some carbohydrate and protein to provide an available pool of amino acids and to stimulate the cortisol-blunting insulin response.
For those of us whose diets are lower in carbs, you’ll want a little carb in you pre-workout or you WON’T be able to give these sprints your all, much like a lifting workout. If your carb consumption is ample, just focus on post-HIIT carbs. At least one study showed that post-workout carbs/protein didn't impact FFA burning post-exercise: “in the post-exercise recovery period, muscle glycogen resynthesis has high metabolic priority, resulting in post-exercise lipid combustion despite a high carbohydrate intake”. (10) So your post-workout Nitrean shake with dextrose is fine here.
Sample 20-something minute HIIT workout
I do these on side-by-side treadmills. And yes, it looks ridiculous to see me hopping from one treadmill to the other. (11)
• Three to five minute fast incline walk to warm up (3.5 mph, 3-5% grade works for me)
• Flat-out (but safe!) sprint for 20 seconds (I do these at 10 MPH, flat)
• Return to a fast incline walk for 40-60 seconds.
• Repeat 6-9 times. Try to increase the number of sprints you can do each week.
• Finish with 10-20 minutes of fast incline walking to burn off the free fatty acids mobilized by the intervals.
HIIT Variations
If you’re going to do more than one HIIT workout a week, you could do one with as many as 12 sprints with a 20:40 work:rest ratio, and the other with as many as 8 sprints with a 30:60 work:rest split.
For those new to exercise:
Of course, if you are new to exercise, do NOT jump into HIIT! Ease into it slowly – start with steady state a few times a week, then gradually introduce short periods of modestly increased intensity as you feel able.
For example, instead of sprinting, you could do something as simple as alternating periods of faster and slower walking. While not HIIT, it IS interval training, and will get you used to varying the intensity while you build up your fitness level – particularly if you’re still significantly over fat. As you drop to lower and lower levels of body fat and your conditioning improves, you can increase your “sprint” speed accordingly.
Another option: Tabata
For those of you who find a 20:40 work:recovery interval too leisurely, may I suggest Tabata...
• 20 seconds high intensity work (you should reach failure/exhaustion)
• 10 seconds rest
• 8 sets = 4 (really, really brutal) minutes in total
• You can do it with sprinting on a track (probably the best), sprinting on a bike (also very good), or even with weights (squats, thrusters, chin-ups, push-ups, etc).
Check out for more detailed info.
Stubborn Fat Loss protocol
Toward the end of a cut, when you’ve hit your body fat target (or close) but are left with small, stubborn pockets of subcutaneous fat that will NOT budge, there is a variant of HIIT that may be helpful – the so-called Stubborn Fat Loss protocol (12). I’ll discuss this in an upcoming article (don’t worry, it’s already written) but don’t worry about it for now – after Christmas eats, we’re all FAR too fluffy to benefit from this one JUST yet... <burp!>
Hill Repeats
“Hill training is excellent for improving maximal oxygen uptake because both high heart rate and high systolic pressure (the multiplication of these factors is known as the "rate-pressure product") are achieved, and these components stimulate left ventricular hypertrophy and vascular development.”
ff day(cause buzz said to have at elast one day off)