Why Cardio Doesn’t Work For So Many People
There’s so much debate about whether or not cardio’s useful, that it’s tough to know what to believe. The truth though, is it’s not cardio that’s worthless… it’s traditional cardio No other aspect of the average fitness regimen is so ineffective when misunderstood.
Well what is cardio?
Most people would consider cardio to be pumping away mindlessly on a treadmill, riding a stationary bike, or coasting on an elliptical machine, while watching the TV screen at their state of the art gym. This is what I call “traditional cardio”.
But if you look closer, “cardio” exercise can be considered any type of exercise or activity that strengthens the cardiovascular system. To keep it simple, if it gets your heart pumping, and gets you huffing and puffin, it’s cardio. I don’t care if you’re holding dumbbells or a barbell and everyone calls it a weight training exercise…it’s still conditioning your heart.
To the inexperienced, the bench press is considered only as a weight training exercise. But if you do it correctly for 12 reps and a challenging weight you will often find yourself out of breath with an increased heart rate, as if you just endlessly rode a stationary bike.
Try the same thing for a set of 20 reps of one-arm snatches or swings with each arm with a kettlebell or dumbbell, and tell me your legs aren’t burning, heart racing, and you’re gasping for breath. How about trying squats for a set of 15 reps? Again, you will find yourself breathing heavily and breaking a sweat.
Try and tell me you’re not conditioning your heart with this style of training! Conventional thinking says that these are weight training or strength training exercises.
Not only do you save time, but you strengthen and condition almost every muscle in your entire body with these full body exercises if you do them with enough intensity…something that can’t be said for that boring stationary bike ride or treadmill jaunt while reading or watching TV.
If you can watch TV while doing cardio in fact, I’d go so far as to say you’re doing it wrong Try making some changes and see if you don’t see better results, you’ll be surprised. However if you’re looking for specifics on better weight loss online, take a look at physical becomings.
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