Is Cardio the BEST type of exercise for Fat Loss?
November 13, 2022
Looking around, you would think cardio could be the best choice for losing body fat. I think it is what we have come to believe.
Maybe you’ve been told that you must do cardio to lose weight. When many want to lose fat, they will hit the streets running, the cardio machines at the gym, or join in on a cardio-based group fitness class. Most of us are conditioned to think that cardio is the way.
BUT IS IT?
What if I was to say that focusing only on cardio for fat loss is also a fantastic way to fail at a fat loss?
It all comes down to the thing we call the metabolism. You’ve probably heard that a slow metabolism makes weight gain much easier, while a fast metabolism will also speed up the ability to burn fat.
Getting good at cardio will, in fact, slow your metabolism down. The body will adapt to using less energy as you improve at cardio. You become more efficient at cardio, and the body will look to adapt. Any form of exercise is a stress on the body; if you continue to stress, the body will then try to become more resilient so it can handle this stress better each time.
Too much cardio will make your body aim to spare calories and decrease the body’s biggest calorie-burning tissue, muscle. As part of this adaptation, your metabolic rate will slow down because the metabolism-boosting muscle is being sacrificed. Not only do we never want to lose muscle it also makes the continued fat loss so much harder as time goes by. Muscle is critical to fat loss.
The bottom line is that tons of cardio erodes muscle and slows your metabolism, making long-term fat loss very difficult.
If your number one goal is fat loss, then cardio is not the bedrock of your workouts. Strength training is. Any strength training that builds muscle is your best choice. Muscles use more energy and increase your metabolism, possibly as much as 500 extra calories per day without additional exercise. Strength (Resistance) training and more muscle mass burn far greater calories and fat automatically.
Cardio is not the best form of exercise to burn fat; strength (resistance) training is.
Here is the thing. Let’s not disregard cardio altogether. Cardio has some incredible and important benefits.
It’s not the actual cardio exercise that is the big problem; it is the amount people do while disregarding other types of training. Inappropriate amounts of cardio without strength building can lead to some pretty serious health conditions. While on the other hand, focusing on at least 3 strength sessions a week with one day of cardio can lead to some remarkable health.
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
Is Cardio the BEST type of exercise for Fat Loss?
November 13, 2022
Looking around, you would think cardio could be the best choice for losing body fat. I think it is what we have come to believe.
Maybe you’ve been told that you must do cardio to lose weight. When many want to lose fat, they will hit the streets running, the cardio machines at the gym, or join in on a cardio-based group fitness class. Most of us are conditioned to think that cardio is the way.
BUT IS IT?
What if I was to say that focusing only on cardio for fat loss is also a fantastic way to fail at a fat loss?
It all comes down to the thing we call the metabolism. You’ve probably heard that a slow metabolism makes weight gain much easier, while a fast metabolism will also speed up the ability to burn fat.
Getting good at cardio will, in fact, slow your metabolism down. The body will adapt to using less energy as you improve at cardio. You become more efficient at cardio, and the body will look to adapt. Any form of exercise is a stress on the body; if you continue to stress, the body will then try to become more resilient so it can handle this stress better each time.
Too much cardio will make your body aim to spare calories and decrease the body’s biggest calorie-burning tissue, muscle. As part of this adaptation, your metabolic rate will slow down because the metabolism-boosting muscle is being sacrificed. Not only do we never want to lose muscle it also makes the continued fat loss so much harder as time goes by. Muscle is critical to fat loss.
The bottom line is that tons of cardio erodes muscle and slows your metabolism, making long-term fat loss very difficult.
If your number one goal is fat loss, then cardio is not the bedrock of your workouts. Strength training is. Any strength training that builds muscle is your best choice. Muscles use more energy and increase your metabolism, possibly as much as 500 extra calories per day without additional exercise. Strength (Resistance) training and more muscle mass burn far greater calories and fat automatically.
Cardio is not the best form of exercise to burn fat; strength (resistance) training is.
Here is the thing. Let’s not disregard cardio altogether. Cardio has some incredible and important benefits.
It’s not the actual cardio exercise that is the big problem; it is the amount people do while disregarding other types of training. Inappropriate amounts of cardio without strength building can lead to some pretty serious health conditions. While on the other hand, focusing on at least 3 strength sessions a week with one day of cardio can lead to some remarkable health.
