How much cardio does it take to get into great shape? And when does it start causing problems? Listen to this podcast to find out.
Every time I go to the gym, I see the same crowd of overweight people grinding away in their spin classes and treadmill, StairMaster, and elliptical sessions.
Every day they’re there, sweating on the same machines–probably reserved and named by now–and they’re just as fat as they ever were. Some are even fatter than when they started.
After all this time do they really think anything is going to change or am I witnessing some twisted kind of Stockholm Syndrome between fleshy slaves and mechanical lords?
Jokes aside, the truth is these people are just following decades of bad exercise advice centered around long hours of cardio, which has produced millions of overtrained, overweight, underfit people addicted to burning calories instead of getting fit.
Now, you might be thinking I’m staunchly anti-cardio. I’m not. I do cardio regularly and as you’ll see, it has its benefits and uses.
When done properly, cardio can improve your health, help you lose fat faster, and even help you build muscle. But when done improperly, it can do the opposite: impair health, fail to help you lose weight, and negatively impact body composition.
So, in this podcast we’re going to break down how much cardio you should do, how to get the most bang for your (sweaty) buck, and how much cardio is too much and why.
Let’s start with how to determine if you should be doing cardio at all and if so, how much you should be doing.
Time Stamps
4:55 – How much cardio should you do?
7:21 – Does cardio help you lose weight?
14:06 – How can you lose weight with cardio?
21:03 – How does cardio affect muscle building?
24:15 – Should you do cardio or weights first?
Mentioned on the Show:
The Easiest Cardio Workout You Can Do (That Actually Works)
Should You Do Cardio or Weightlifting First? What 20 Studies Say
References:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19633305
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18178694
http://content.onlinejacc.org/article.aspx?articleid=1142201
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21868705
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16941810
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2287250
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3945246
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25353081
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23470300
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22681398
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23019316
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8028502
http://static.ow.ly/docs/Interval%20Training%20v%20Continuous%20Training_5gS.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8883001
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18197184
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20473222
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18197184
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21113312
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19387377
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9624661
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