230819 A Fat-Loss Program for Beginners 4 of 5
By Nick Nilsson Author of Metabolic Surge – Rapid Fat Loss
STEP 4 – CARDIO TRAINING for Fat Loss
Even though you may think I’m opposed to cardio training judging by what I wrote above, that is NOT the case. Cardio definitely has a place in a fat-loss program.
I have three main issues with cardio training for fat loss:
1. It shouldn’t be the main focus of a fat-loss exercise program when it so often is.
This is a point I mentioned above – I believe weight training should be the focus of an exercise program for fat loss. Not only is it more effective for fat loss, there is actually LESS chance of injury than with the typical repetitive-movement cardio activities (anyone who has tried to take up jogging when they’re 20+ pounds overweight can attest to that!).
2. It’s normally done with low intensity and for long periods of time, which does NOT boost the metabolism.
The REAL key to losing fat is ramping up your metabolism to burn calories ALL THE TIME rather than just when you’re exercising. By keeping intensity low, you only burn calories DURING exercise, not so much after. But when you boost intensity, your metabolism gets cranked up and you burn more calories ALL DAY.
3. It’s typically done WAY too much.
In order to get results with typical long-duration cardio, many people do it upwards of 5 or 6 and even 7 days a week! This is fine if you’re an athlete training for an endurance competition but if you’re a busy person (as many people are), you just don’t have TIME to sit on a stationary bike for an hour a day.
Couple that long duration and high frequency with a repetitive movement and you not only have greater chance of injury, you also have greater chance of boredom (which sometimes means giving up on exercise altogether because “it just doesn’t work for me”).
My recommendation is always to use interval training instead of the long-duration cardio training. It can be done MUCH faster (10 to 20 minutes), boosts your metabolism for long periods AFTER training, and finally, it actually helps your body hang onto muscle tissue while burning fat.
There are two ways to include cardio in with the weight training program I described above.
1. Do your cardio training immediately AFTER your weights.
When you do it this way, don’t eat anything after you do weights – just go directly into your cardio after a few minutes rest. You only need about 10 minutes of training to really make a dent in your fat stores. This has the advantage of allowing you to get all your training done all at once (in the gym 3 times a week and that’s it).
2. Do your cardio training on separate days or separate sessions
This is a good way to go in that you won’t be tired from the weight training when you do the interval training. You may need go a bit longer in your sessions (e.g. 15 to 20 minutes) when done on its own. This method does have the advantage of giving your metabolism a separate boost in addition to the weights. When doing it this way, you can do cardio on its own on Tuesday and Thursday, for example.
Either method is very effective. The real key is working hard at the training.
NOTE: DO NOT do interval training every day. It may work well for a little while but you will very quickly overwork the body, which will stop your results.
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