I hope you had a great weekend, and gave yourself a chance to recharge your batteries.
I just spent an amazing weekend at a seminar that has completely supported, with peer reviewed research, all the the benefits, ideas and training methods my clients have been receiving for years. But the really interesting thing is that study after study continued to show that steady state aerobics/cardio, is not effective in losing body fat quickly. Unless you have an unusually low body fat, long slow cardio (steady state) will not work effectively in getting rid of body fat quickly or effectively.
Don't believe me? Check out the link below.
The addition of 45 minutes of aerobic exercise at 78% Max Heart Rate 5 days a week for 12 weeks had NO EFFECT over dieting alone.
Great, so what does it mean you ask?
It means if you're spending hour after hour on a treadmill or other cardio machine and not doing intervals, you are wasting a lot of time and not getting near the benefits you could get if you stepped it up a bit and did intervals on your chosen machine.
I know, I know. We've all been told for years that all you had to do was get on your favorite cardio machine and bang out an hour and you'll see results after such and such amount of time. Well the research is in and it does not support that theory. To be quite honest I haven't believed in steady state (long slow cardio) for quite some time based on my own personal experiences with myself and my clientele. If you're just starting out it's a great way to start doing your cardio, but after approximately 6-8 weeks and with no significant health issues, you should really be doing intervals whenever you do cardio.
So what are intervals? Simple. It just means alternating periods of intense cardio followed by periods of slower cardio. If you walk during your slow periods, walk faster during the intense periods. If you jog during the slow, jog faster during the intense periods. It simply means alternating light cardio with intense cardio periods. How long should each period be? When you first start do 30 seconds intense followed by 45 seconds of lighter/slower cardio. Continue this alternating process until you have completed 5-12 minutes. From there you would slowly progress upward to longer periods of intense followed by shorter periods of slow. Be sure to get your doctor's permission. This type of cardio is no joke.
Ok. So maybe you're thinking that the 12 week period wasn't really long enough to show the beneficial effects of steady state cardio. Believe me, I thought the same thing.
Then the presenter hit us with this.
A six month study was done between two groups. One group was diet only and the second group was diet plus aerobic exercise (50 minutes, 5 days per week). That should certainly show the significant benefits of doing cardio using the belief of slow steady state, right?
Wrong?
Still not a believer? Check out the link below.
Six month Study of two groups. One diet only the other diet plus aerobic exercise.
So what were the findings? Plain and simple, no additional effects of aerobic exercise on body composition.
Please believe me when I tell you that numerous hands went up to explain their story of what they experienced. The presenter did an outstanding job of explaining what was really at work in those "success stories". Then he went on to provide numerous other studies that continued to show the ineffectiveness of steady state/slow cardio for those serious about getting rid of body fat quickly and effectively.
So what do you do that works. Well for one, try using intervals during your cardio training sessions and see the results. In addition you should check back next week when I'll share with you what the studies say works to help you get rid of that stubborn body fat quickly and effectively.
See you next week for the real deal.
Get on Track and Stay on Track!