Decent article but i don't think it's applicable. Comparing lance armstrong to someone who is just starting training is absurd. It's like saying that since pro oly lifters spend years training their lifts to gain 20lbs that resistance training is pointless because we are already all super efficient. "The oxidative system seems to be far more trainable although genetics play a limiting role here too. VO2max, or aerobic power can be increased by as much as 50% but this is usually in untrained, sedentary individuals" Yup, that resonates will with the 5% in the article doesn't it? Look, steady state has it's place for a beginner program. But Steve being disingenuous imo to make a point when he days that he doesn't see plateaus from steady state. All I need to do is look as far as this forum and the multitude of posts all the time that go something like "HELP, I've lost XX amount of pounds and can't lose anymore!" Go look yourself. It's out there. And look at their programs. lots of cardio. It's no coincidence.
There are even studies to support this notion as well. I'm trying to find the abstracts for this, steve might even have them linked for ease of use as he is normally on top of that. one was journal of applied physiology in like the last 5 years. other was in 90's. Abstract was simple, take a bunch of people and split them into diet only and diet + cardio only groups and compare fat loss. and they did it over a period of months, not weeks like in all these hiit vs cardio studies. guess what, cardio wasn't any better in both studies.
Wanna know why? Your bodies are made to do cardio efficiently. It's the way it's built. The untold point in all of this is that no one seems to make mention of the bodies energy systems that are used in doing work. Cardio uses the Aerobic Energy System for the most part. If you're going longer than 2 min, it's using this system. But there is also the Lactic Acid system and the ATP-CP system. During intense cardio the Lactic acid system might be somewhat utilized, but not very much, and for sure the ATP-CP system will not be touched. Now, the Aerobic Energy System in a nutshell means the use of oxygen with carbs and fat to produce the atp to move the muscles. And while lance armstrong might not improve his system much over years of training, any person new to training will, a lot, over a short period of time.
I won't link the exact details on it as it would fill pages, but again in a nutshell, as the body's general cardio capacity increases with the ability transport oxygen through the red blood cells, the bodies Aerobic Energy System will also become more efficient at using carbs to do all the needed work and not tap into fat stores to produce energy, meaning the required work load to oxidate fat will constantly increase in order to just get the same effect. Outstripping physical limitations like time needed to do exercise required, or the bodies ability to handle the stress in order to reach the required oxidation state.
Don't take my word for it, look around at everyone here. How many of you on your cardio cycles have hit plateaus a few months in? and it just seems like you have to go sooo much harder and longer just to start again? This is the result of improved cardio efficiency. Hell, this is why long distance runner run for hours upon hours every day, to improve their Aerobic Energy System in order to get the most output with the most efficient use of calories. They aren't losing fat, their bodies are finely tuned to simply burn carbs and pretty much leave fat stores alone. It's why long distance runners are fatter than short distance athletes, their exercise just stops burning fat for them at a certain level, even with hours upon hours of cardio a day. (though granted, they still are at a pretty low bf%, just not as low as a lot of power based sports) So how is it that when this basic fact of cardio functioning is known, it's still thought of as a good long term use of time as a fat burner? I do not know...
Since articles are the in vogue here, this is one that I found to be the most telling, and most confirmed myself through my training. What I found with myself and what I see all the time in others resonates with this. Using myself as an example, before I started lifting, i spent a couple years playing elite level ultimate frisbee. Which means for months on end, I would run my ass off. End result after 6 months of daily running for hours? nothing. I was still the same 190lbs as when I first started the season. Still the same body comp. Now, in 06, I retired from ulti due to wanting to take time off to recover my knees, and decided to lift. In 4 months time, with basically zero cardio, I shed 10lbs, reduced my waist size and gained size in chest, arms, and legs. I looked way more noticeably cut than i ever remotely came close to during ulti training. Now here I am doing the same thing again. (i got lazy for 2 years) My pics in before and after are a testament to this. I literally did not do a single step of cardio in all my pics. (aside from 2min warmup jog)
Where am I going with this you ask? Remember when I'm talking about the bodies energy systems? now THIS is the real key imo to fat loss and metabolism. Resistance training at a proper intensity will only use the bodies ATP-CP and Lactic Acid systems to produce energy and not touch the Aerobic Energy System. The energy demand caused from these systems is immense, and cause an EPOC that is many times greater than the Aerobic Energy System will. This is the key. Ask ANY person who is trying to _gain_ weight while lifting weights. You will get the same answer from all of them. It's DAM hard. We have to eat, constantly, over and over, till we're stuffed in the face, and then do it again 3 hours later in order to just hope for a few pounds a month of gain. and the only exercise we really do is weights....for 4-6 hours only a week. I see this in myself, where to even attempt to gain weight with zero cardio I need to eat well over 3500 calories a day, and in everyone else who weight trains in the same high intensity zone. And yet, all you cardio guys are on your bikes for hours upon hours, with waaayyy less calories, and just aren't seeing the same results? why is this? maybe cardio does indeed suck for fat loss? hmm
Well not quite. It's not that cardio sucks per say, it's that exercises that utilize the bodies ATP-CP systems are infinitely better when it comes to blasting off the fat. The caloric requirement needed to recover from such exercises is why it's king. To see a perfect example of this, simply look at the bodies of people who train in the ATP-CP zone vs the Aerobic Energy System. Without question oly lifters in specific weight classes will be incredibly lean, sprinters will be incredibly lean. Even power running based sports like soccer where the constant sprinting will allow for a good amount of ATP-CP utilization, they are also very lean. Compare to the long distance runner crowd who while lean, still will have a greater body fat percent, and not look near as toned or built as any of the others. Steve might not like absolutes, but I sure as hell do. Cardio sucks for fat loss compared to exercises that utilize the bodies ATP-CP and Lactic acid based systems. The EPOC and caloric demand to recover from exercises using these systems will result in a much greater level of fat oxidation than the Aerobic Energy System will, and the compounding effects of increases in muscle mass will result in a much greater resting metabolism over time allowing a much greater ease on keeping the weight off long term.
To add to that point, I don't even know why anyone would want a cardio looking body anyway. Look at the shape and frame of a long distance runner, is this seriously what you want? Not to mention that on a physical level, cardio is catabolic. I look at all those before and after pictures, and you see trends developing in the cardio only crowd. Head tilts forward with shoulders slouched. Wings in the back shoulder blades, tight chest. loose ab muscles with tight back, causing the pelvic cage to have a slight rotated backwards twist. When running the weaken core is noticeable from a much more pronounced transverse plane rotation. And at the end of it, you still don't have a "toned" look, but a "skinny fat" look. Ok fine, if this is the look you're going for, then by all means. But you should understand what it is exactly the end result will be.
Now after all this, if you made it this far, this might surprise you. YOU SHOULD STILL DO CARDIO. The multitude of health benefits from it are immense. Improved red blood cell count, improved vo2max, lower blood pressure, lower heart rate, the list goes on. And for a beginner to losing weight, it _will_ make an effective starting point to kickstart your routine as you simply won't have the ability to effectively use your body in intense ways to effective hit the target energy systems. And as many people here will tell you, those first few months you can lose a lot of weight with simple diet + cardio changes. But resistance training should be a focus from day 1 in any routine. Everyone has imbalances and weaknesses. Especially if you havn't been active in your life. and a cardio only routine WILL make it worse. So by all means, if you like doing it, the continue to run, jog, ski, whatever else makes you happy.
But also understand that in this trainers professional opinion, cardio is not the best long term suited method for consistent reliable fat loss. Maintaining? yes. A good starting point? yes. But effective long term fat loss? no, it sucks for that.
