Fat loss and cardio dont mix

[Jay Farrant]

Apparently, many people are still stuck doing long duration, low-intensity cardiovascular exercise — oh dear !
Here’s the Truth : if you’re looking to get maximal benefit from your workouts, long duration “slow-go” cardio is defientaly NOT the way to go, Here are just a few reasons.

1. Minimal calories burned — 45 minutes on the treadmill may burn a whopping 300 calories if you’re lucky, the equivalent of 1/10 of a pound of fat. Exercise ten hours a week and you might just lose 1 pound not very impressive really is it !!!!!!
Which brings me to my next point:

2. Time — I don’t know about you, but I don’t have endless hours for working out each week. In fact, very rarely do I ever exceed three hours of exercise weekly, and you know what? That’s ALL you need.

Beyond that, slow-go cardio is:

3. BORING — Sitting on an exercise bike or Running on a Treadmill staring into thin air for 45-60 mins is just boring .

But perhaps even worse is the fact that slow-go cardio provides:

4. No prolonged metabolic benefit — Did you know that with higher intensity exercise it is possible to continue to burn calories for up to 48 hours post workout? It’s true ,But you know what else is true? Long duration, low intensity cardio provides practically NO prolonged elevation in metabolism. In fact, with slow-go cardio, metabolism returns to baseline almost IMMEDIATELY following the exercise session.

And finally, the reason that trumps all the others:

5. Minimal fat loss — Minimal calories burned during the session and virtually no additional calories burned afterward = minimal, if any fat loss results. And let’s be honest, the only reason anyone is doing cardio is for the “result”.

So if slow-go cardio isn’t a great solution, what is?

Short duration, high-intensity ,high metabolic workouts.= Less time, faster results — FACT ……


And just remember , “high intensity” is relative to you. It doesnt matter if your in great shape or if you’re 40 lbs overweight, you can exercise with intensity.
So Ditch the Slow boring Cardio ….. Just think, That 40 min bike ride or Treadmill run doesnt have to be your typical Gym session any more !!!! Instead Embrace Some High Intensity Training ….

 

[Applee]

Good post HIIT is a great workout but if you're just starting to work out, It's best to start with long walks then move on to jogging and then try this!

 

[Jay Farrant]

Good post HIIT is a great workout but if you're just starting to work out, It's best to start with long walks then move on to jogging and then try this!

Hey I have put up an Article that my fellow work college (Bryan Kavanagh) wrote please read it . it will explain better why walking and jogging sucks and is bad for fat loss . (Ditch the Walking and jogging please) . JAY


What if you were performing those hours of cardio for nothing and it was actually causing you to gain weight?

I appreciate and wholeheartedly agree that LOW intensity (>30%) WALKING will primarily burn fat. But when you think about it you are only burning energy 30% more than if you were at home or at work?! Not very productive is it? Why did you go to the gym? Walk OUTSIDE! It's nicer out there!

If you are serious about burning fat and developing the lean athletic look, go to the gym to TRAIN. Sorry ladies, but this also means staying out of the aerobics studio and away from the bums and tums toning classes. You have real work to do if you truly want to develop a lean and sexy feminine physique, and becoming a cardio queen and doing those aerobic classes and bums and tums classes at your local gym just don't cut it.

Low intensity exercise has two uses in my opinion. . active recovery (from an intense session) and performing everyday activity. Going to the gym to perform low intensity 1 hour+ long walks is inherently WRONG! Think about it. . . going to the gym to burn 30% more fat than if you were on your couch for that same hour. . NO THANKS.

Long drawn out exercise is COUNTERPRODUCTIVE . . think about it logically, you train your body for endurance with long drawn out 'cardiovascular' exercise yea? To what effect? Your body does not know you are trying to lose bodyfat. . it only knows that you began walking three times a week and it wants to become efficient at doing it. It gets BETTER at doing that activity. . i.e. next week you area going to use less energy doing the exact same exercise as you done this week.

Scary Huh?

You are essentially training your body to burn LESS FAT.

It's True!

You see your body stored that fat there for a reason, due to some poor nutritional habits and/or lack of physical activity and TRAINING. Low intensity exercises in the form of everyday activity is OK. It is more erratic and unpredictable than endurance activity. Doing the shopping and cleaning the house mowing the lawn and a physical job/hobby all count as physical activity as they are a mix of differing intensities and movements. Endurance exercises WILL burn fat, YES. . but as a result your body will actually store more so that you have fat for your next endurance activity!

Come on you know it makes sense!

If you knew you had 3 bills to pay: Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7pm. . You would spare more cash until then to save getting into debt/missing a payment. You body does the same . . 'ok so she (your name) is going to perform solely fat burning exercise 3x / week. So I will keep storing fat so she can fuel these low intensity exercises. Your body is only doing as it's told, it thinks you need fat there so it stores it so you can perform the exercise next time. It's merely an adaptation to what you are doing!

Now here's the interesting part! When you perform high intensity exercise you primarily deplete GLYCOGEN stores. 'Glycogen' is 'muscle sugar' or a method which your body stores carbohydrates in your muscle. Interestingly enough you will burn minimal fat during the actual High Intensity exercise bout.

'WHAT? I thought you said you were going to show me how to burn fat '

Now listen up. . there is only one thing more precious to your body than your fat stores. . its your glycogen stores! Your body does not want to let go of them. . its like its 'piggy bank' its raw energy that it wants to keep and by performing high intensity exercises all the time and depleting this glycogen you are being a nuisance. In order to counteract this your body will do the unthinkable! It will actually begin to burn fat at higher intensities in order to PRESERVE your glycogen stores. A study done on male and female International level Judo competitors showed that following a training session (high intensity fighting average heart rate 80% + Max Heart Rate) they were primarily oxidising fat and not glycogen. Amazing! Their body adapted to the rigorous high intensity exercise and began to do the unthinkable and burn fat at increased intensities! You have turned your body into a fat burning machine!

Low intensity exercise makes you fat. High intensity exercise burns fat PERIOD.


(link again removed for advertising)

 

[TikTak]

How about doing a mix of both low and high intensity training?

 

[Monster2]

Is there really any truth to this?
I've had a lot of success with cardio in the past.

 

[San2]

Low intensity exercise makes you fat. High intensity exercise burns fat PERIOD.

Let me put it bluntly, from my personal point of view....what a bunch of bollocks!

You are spouting complete and utter nonsense. If you try to sell me something, you should at least try an intelligent approach for crying out loud.

There are a lot of people on this board who have lost weight (including myself) by doing nothing but cardio. Personally, I lost 120 lbs, without a second of high intensity exercise. And I lowered my body fat percentage by nearly 1/2. And all of that without risking a heart attack or injuries.

So....yeah. Nonsense.

Oh...wait. Aren't you the same guy that is telling people not to eat fruit??? I think I see a pattern forming here....

And just so you can't say you didn't know...the next time anybody has to remove another spam link from any of your posts, you will be banned permanently.

 

[lauraallover]

Let me put it bluntly, from my personal point of view....what a bunch of bollocks!

You are spouting complete and utter nonsense. If you try to sell me something, you should at least try an intelligent approach for crying out loud.

There are a lot of people on this board who have lost weight (including myself) by doing nothing but cardio. Personally, I lost 120 lbs, without a second of high intensity exercise. And I lowered my body fat percentage by nearly 1/2. And all of that without risking a heart attack or injuries.

So....yeah. Nonsense.

Oh...wait. Aren't you the same guy that is telling people not to eat fruit??? I think I see a pattern forming here....

And just so you can't say you didn't know...the next time anybody has to remove another spam link from any of your posts, you will be banned permanently.

I second this.

I mean, SOME exercise is better than none right?

 

[Jay Farrant]

Let me put it bluntly, from my personal point of view....what a bunch of bollocks!

You are spouting complete and utter nonsense. If you try to sell me something, you should at least try an intelligent approach for crying out loud.

There are a lot of people on this board who have lost weight (including myself) by doing nothing but cardio. Personally, I lost 120 lbs, without a second of high intensity exercise. And I lowered my body fat percentage by nearly 1/2. And all of that without risking a heart attack or injuries.

So....yeah. Nonsense.

Oh...wait. Aren't you the same guy that is telling people not to eat fruit??? I think I see a pattern forming here....

I didn't say dont eat fruit . I said eat fruit in moderation and dont eat it around meals . As fruit is still sugar at the end of the day and will cause insulin which in turn stop you from burning fat .
And just so you can't say you didn't know...the next time anybody has to remove another spam link from any of your posts, you will be banned permanently.[/QUOTE

Since when did resistance training give people a heart attack ?
You lost 120lbs of fat ?

Was you on a diet or any calorie restrict ?

The link was to the article of the person who wrote the second article. Im not selling anything .lol .

Well done on losing 120lb anyway . Bu this is my view on CARDIO and weight loss IMO Cardio sucks for loosing weight I have explained in great detail why .

So its up to you how you want to go about loosing weight .
Cardio you will basically shrink at the end of the day
Resistance training long term you are going to develop a more leaner body .

Jay

 

[Jay Farrant]

Is there really any truth to this?
I've had a lot of success with cardio in the past.

Did you restrict calories or go on a low fat diet ?

 

[Jay Farrant]

How about doing a mix of both low and high intensity training?

If you enjoy running etc . Then stick some interval training in there ie Jog sprint jog sprint etc get me .

 

[Monster2]

Did you restrict calories or go on a low fat diet ?

Thank you, I would also like to hear other people's opinions.

 

[Jay Farrant]

Thank you, I would also like to hear other people's opinions.

I just want to add that I have done my fair share of cardio in the past , I am not a meat head who is obsessed with weights.

I was an Army PTI for 4 years and a Corps Cross country runner . I would reguarly take sqns on long enduarnce runs 2-3 times a day . I also believed that cardio was the best way to fat loss . But in all honestly Since I have stopped doing my long drawn out cardio And concentrated on High intensity training and my diet ,The body fat has dropped off me .

 

[San2]

I didn't say dont eat fruit . I said eat fruit in moderation and dont eat it around meals . As fruit is still sugar at the end of the day and will cause insulin which in turn stop you from burning fat .

No, you said 'Only eat fruit once a day.' And them some stuff about fruit being sugar. Which in itself is nonsense. Fruit isn't sugar. Fruit contains sugar, yes, but that is a big difference. If people stay within their calorie range, fruit is most certainly a better option than a lot of other things they could be eating. Plus, insulin doesn't stop you from burning fat, that's a generalization that is completely misleading.

Since when did resistance training give people a heart attack ?

You didn't talk about resistance training. You talked about High intensity exercise. Show me a 350 lbs person trying to do high intensity training, and I'll show you a good candidate for a heart attack and joint problems.

You lost 120lbs of fat ? Was you on a diet or any calorie restrict ?

No, I didn't, as I said, I reduced my body fat by about 50%. So I am guessing about half the weight I lost was fat. And no, I wasn't on a diet. I consumed about 2500 calories per day, then reduced that to about 1850 - 2000 later on. I tried to make good choices when it came to my food, but didn't go overboard with carb counting and nonsense like that.

The link was to the article of the person who wrote the second article. Im not selling anything .lol .

The rules about links are quite clear, and you have already received a warning.

Well done on losing 120lb anyway . Bu this is my view on CARDIO and weight loss IMO Cardio sucks for loosing weight I have explained in great detail why .

Thanks. And I understand your view on cardio. But that is all that it is, YOUR view. YOUR opinion. The explanations you gave are rather opinionated, and some of them don't really even make sense. If YOU don't want to do cardio, then don't. But please DO NOT come onto this forum and portray yourself as an expert, telling people what to do and what not to do.

Personally, I am not the biggest fan of cardio either. But to come on this forum and tell somebody who has just started losing weight and might be proud of being able to walk for 15 minutes on the treadmill without passing out that they shouldn't do it, and that it will make them FAT, is highly demotivating, not to mention wrong.
If somebody goes from no exercise to doing cardio, they are making a big step to getting healthier and losing weight, and they should be congratulated and encouraged, not talked down to and told that they are doing it all wrong.

Cardio might not burn gazillions of calories, but it is better than nothing. More importantly, it improves your overall health, which is just as important (if not more) than burning calories. It's not all about weight loss. It's about losing weight and improving health at the same time.

So I hope that people don't really listen to this 'advice'. There is no 'perfect way' of losing weight. Do what works for you, and what feels right for you. And if you want to do cardio, don't ever let anybody talk you out of it. It doesn't 'make you fat'. That's plain and simply

 

[Jericho]

Well, there is different opinions here. I go by just simple calorie restictions. You have other ideas. Totally fine long as the rules are followed..ps..he already got 2 infractions and a warning..that is a lot more than most get before ban

 

[Jay Farrant]

Well, there is different opinions here. I go by just simple calorie restictions. You have other ideas. Totally fine long as the rules are followed..ps..he already got 2 infractions and a warning..that is a lot more than most get before ban

And I appolgise for that I generally ant trying to sell anything etc.

 

[Jay Farrant]

No, you said 'Only eat fruit once a day.' And them some stuff about fruit being sugar. Which in itself is nonsense. Fruit isn't sugar. Fruit contains sugar, yes, but that is a big difference. If people stay within their calorie range, fruit is most certainly a better option than a lot of other things they could be eating. Plus, insulin doesn't stop you from burning fat, that's a generalization that is completely misleading.

Lol fruit is Sugar (Fructose) It still ends up in the same place ,Stored as fat .
Just like carbs are a sugar . Yes I agree your better of having an apple than a glass of coke . But still u have to be careful with the amounts of fruit you eat with certain meals . IT IS SUGAR AT THE END OF THE DAY (FRUCTOSE)

You didn't talk about resistance training. You talked about High intensity exercise. Show me a 350 lbs person trying to do high intensity training, and I'll show you a good candidate for a heart attack and joint problems.

My bad High intensity training can be any form of training cardio/Resistance
why would that 350 lb person be likey to have a heart attack because . Simple they are unconditioned the heart is a muscle you have to train it ... the more you train it the stronger it gets . Now dont get me wrong im not saying a 350lb person should be doing back flips, but they have to start with some sort of intensity change in there training .

No, I didn't, as I said, I reduced my body fat by about 50%. So I am guessing about half the weight I lost was fat. And no, I wasn't on a diet. I consumed about 2500 calories per day, then reduced that to about 1850 - 2000 later on. I tried to make good choices when it came to my food, but didn't go overboard with carb counting and nonsense like that.

So here is my point you were eating 2500 calories and then cut down to 1850-2000 calories, what do you think is going to happen when you reduce calorie intake your going to loose weight regardless of any exercise . and I agree calorie counting is a waste of time . I ate more calories and lost Body fat so work that out . Simple I gained muscle which in turn burns the extra calories I ate .

The rules about links are quite clear, and you have already received a warning.

Yep I dint read them guilty.

Thanks. And I understand your view on cardio. But that is all that it is, YOUR view. YOUR opinion. The explanations you gave are rather opinionated, and some of them don't really even make sense. If YOU don't want to do cardio, then don't. But please DO NOT come onto this forum and portray yourself as an expert, telling people what to do and what not to do.

I never said im an expert. But I am a PT and a former PTI AND Athlete so I do have some background regarding health and fitness .


Personally, I am not the biggest fan of cardio either. But to come on this forum and tell somebody who has just started losing weight and might be proud of being able to walk for 15 minutes on the treadmill without passing out that they shouldn't do it, and that it will make them FAT, is highly demotivating, not to mention wrong.
If somebody goes from no exercise to doing cardio, they are making a big step to getting healthier and losing weight, and they should be congratulated and encouraged, not talked down to and told that they are doing it all wrong.

I Have never not encouraged any one on here. If there looking on this forum then well done for actually starting or are in the process of trying to lose weight

Cardio might not burn gazillions of calories,

So If it doesn't burn loads of calories why do it ? If you goal is to loose weight surely you want to do something that burns calories !!!

So I hope that people don't really listen to this 'advice'. There is no 'perfect way' of losing weight. Do what works for you, and what feels right for you. And if you want to do cardio, don't ever let anybody talk you out of it. It doesn't 'make you fat'. That's plain and simply

Yes do what works for you I agree , Im giving what works for me and my opinion Im not forcing anybody to stop doing cardio . At the end of the day I have done shed loads of cardio in the past ans Personally it doesn't burn body fat . Yes you will get fit and healthy which is great , but if fat loss is your goal then Personally ditch the long drawn out cardio .

 

[Jay Farrant]

Let me put it bluntly, from my personal point of view....what a bunch of bollocks!

You are spouting complete and utter nonsense. If you try to sell me something, you should at least try an intelligent approach for crying out loud.

There are a lot of people on this board who have lost weight (including myself) by doing nothing but cardio.

Didnt you just saying you reduced your calories by 500-700 a day . So it wasn't nothing but cardio that lost you that weight . You basically went on a calorie deficientcy diet . "You burned more than you ate" . This does make you loose weight . But this also helps you loose muscle.
Thats not good is it !!!

muscle burns calories. FACT

You also lowered your BMR . The amount of calories your body uses to survive .

So by reducing calories in turn you are training your body to burn less calories . to survive

Not good for Prolonged weight loss.

Hence the YO YO Effect .

You start eating a few hundred calories extra again . The correct amount around 2000 a day. As you did drop down to 1850 a day

But you start putting the weight on again .why? Because you have trained your body to survive on less calories (1850 a day) .
Resulting in a Yo YO DIET .

So what do you do to reduce your weight again ?

let me guess reduce your calories to 1850 a day again

Your just going to have the same problem everytime.


Now if your were to build muscle. And stay eating the same amount of calories (2000) then you would have to increase the amount of calories in the long run to fuel that extra muscle your gaining plus the calories you need to survive (BMR) . So long term resistance training is best for fat loss .

 

[Jericho]

Um..pretty sure that isn't the reason for yo yo diets. You know, your situation here is just like weightwizard. You came here as a guru instead of an actual forum member. Might help you if you try being one of us instead of lecturing.

 

[Spinner19641]

I don't really want to get into this argument because I am not a fitness expert like say Steve and your whole self proclaimed guru stance is annoying but...

3 1/2 years ago I decided to do cardio but not modify my diet at all and I dropped a dress size in 6 weeks (and I didn't have a huge amount of weight to lose) so I don't believe what you are saying because that it simply not my experience.

However, as I have gotten more into the exercise over the years I have found cleaning up my diet (i.e. healthier food choices), continuing to ignore calories and adding more resistance and intensity has resulted in becoming much leaner and fitter.

But I find it annoying when people come on this site with claims of quick fixes or saying what other people are doing is a waste of time. It is confusing, discouraging and disrespectful of the considerable effort people are putting in to achieve their weight management goals.

 

[San2]

Didnt you just saying you reduced your calories by 500-700 a day . So it wasn't nothing but cardio that lost you that weight . You basically went on a calorie deficientcy diet . "You burned more than you ate" . This does make you loose weight . But this also helps you loose muscle.
Thats not good is it !!!

muscle burns calories. FACT

You also lowered your BMR . The amount of calories your body uses to survive .

So by reducing calories in turn you are training your body to burn less calories . to survive

Not good for Prolonged weight loss.

Hence the YO YO Effect .

You start eating a few hundred calories extra again . The correct amount around 2000 a day. As you did drop down to 1850 a day

But you start putting the weight on again .why? Because you have trained your body to survive on less calories (1850 a day) .
Resulting in a Yo YO DIET .

So what do you do to reduce your weight again ?

let me guess reduce your calories to 1850 a day again

Your just going to have the same problem everytime.


Now if your were to build muscle. And stay eating the same amount of calories (2000) then you would have to increase the amount of calories in the long run to fuel that extra muscle your gaining plus the calories you need to survive (BMR) . So long term resistance training is best for fat loss .[/B]

Yes, I did reduce my calorie intake, because that is the ONLY way to lose weight. I can do High Intensity Exercise all day, until I fall over, and won't lose an ounce of weight, not a gram of fat, unless I reduce my calories as well.

Losing weight requires a caloric deficit. Whether that caloric deficit comes from exercise or diet, or a combination of those two doesn't matter. As long as you are in a caloric deficit, you will, to a certain degree, lose muscle as well. Resistance training can reduce the amount of muscle lost, but it is near impossible to increase muscle mass while being in a caloric deficit.

Yes, muscle burns fat. A miniscule amount more than usual, so little that in the bigger picture, it doesn't make any difference. Unless you bulk up considerably, and I personally have no intentions of looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger at some point. Which would be roughly what you would have to aim for to make the extra energy expended to feed the muscle matter.

Your BMR is, as you correctly said, the amount of calories your body will burn just by keeping you alive. A lot of things influence your BMR, one of the main factors being your weight. So if you lose weight, your BMR will drop with it. Which means you HAVE to reduce your calories, or up your exercise by a lot.

The so called 'yo-yo effect' has nothing to do with this at all.

I am starting to suspect that you have read this stuff somewhere and liked the sounds of it, but you don't actually understand what you are talking about. A lot of what you wrote above makes that quite obvious.

I will step back from this discussion now, because you are either trolling, or worse, you know a lot less than you think you do, and keep going on about things regardless. In either case, I think our members are intelligent enough to come to their own conclusions.