Just used my son’s new treadmill. Tried two of the fat loss programs: 30 mins, slow speed, minimal elevation. BORING!!
I will stick with my 10-20 minute high intensity interval programs, 2-3 times a week.
Over the next week or so we’re going to be talking quite a bit about metabolic resistance training (i.e. “cardio with weights”), but before we do I want to address something that slightly concerned me when reading through some of the comments that came in on yesterday’s “empty stomach” cardio post.
Apparently, many people are still stuck doing long duration, low-intensity cardiovascular exercise — yikes!
Here’s the deal: if you’re looking to achieve maximal benefit from the time you put into your workouts, long duration “slow-go” cardio is NOT the way to go, and for many reasons.
Here are my top 5:
1. Minimal calories burned — 45 minutes on the treadmill may burn a whopping 300 calories if you’re lucky, the equivalent of ONE TENTH of a pound of fat. Exercise ten hours a week and you might just lose a pound!
Which brings me to my next point:
2. Way too much time involved — I don’t know about you, but I don’t have hours and hours of my time to pour into working out each week. In fact, very rarely do I ever exceed three hours of exercise weekly, and you know what? That’s ALL you need.
Beyond that, slow-go cardio is:
3. BORING as heck — Sitting on an exercise bike staring at the wall in front of me for 45-60 minutes? No thanks.
But perhaps even worse is the fact that slow-go cardio provides:
4. No prolonged metabolic benefit — Did you know that with higher intensity exercise it is possible to continue to burn calories for up to 48 hours post workout? It’s true (and we’ll be discussing this “afterburn” effect in another post very soon). But you know what else is true? Long duration, low intensity cardio provides virtually NO prolonged elevation in metabolism. In fact, with slow-go cardio, metabolism returns to baseline almost IMMEDIATELY following the exercise session.
And finally, the reason that trumps all the others:
5. Minimal fat loss — Minimal calories burned during the session and virtually no additional calories burned afterward = minimal, if any fat loss results. And let’s be honest, the only reason anyone is doing cardio is for the “result”.
So if slow-go cardio isn’t a great solution, what is?
Short duration, high-intensity exercise. Less time, faster results — THAT’S what it’s all about.
And keep in mind, “high intensity” is relative to you. I don’t care if you’re already in great shape or if you’re 40 lbs overweight, you can exercise with intensity.
So what about you? Are you stuck doing slow-go cardio or have you embraced the benefit of much shorter, higher intensity sessions?
Give me at least 750 comments and I’ll be back to talk about short duration, high intensity exercise in more detail tomorrow.
Talk to you in the comments section,
Joel
P.S. Want to learn 3 other specific fat-burning tips that you can start using today? Check out the below link:
Just used my son’s new treadmill. Tried two of the fat loss programs: 30 mins, slow speed, minimal elevation. BORING!!
I will stick with my 10-20 minute high intensity interval programs, 2-3 times a week.
Hi Joel,
I just want to thank you so much for letting people know this because I used to run 3 miles daily and I never lost inches off my waist or hips. It was frustrating. So frustrating in fact that I just kind of gave up on working out. And now that you have revealed a waaaaay more effective way to shed fat, I can’t tell you how excited I am to get started. It’s going to be hard since I am honestly in terrible shape, but I am so ready to put in the work and get the results I’ve wanted for about seven years now. So Thank you and please, do go more in depth about what high-intensity workouts to perform. Thanks again!
Hi guys,
I’ve been stuck with more weight than I want to admit. I’ve managed to lose some with lots of exercise and low cal eating. You’re system makes sense and I would like to lose and keep off the weight permanently. We are expecting our first grandchild and I want to be around to attend their graduations, weddings and so on. Thanks for caring.
Hi,
All may be true but I feel some highly personal opinions slip into this. Who says it is boring to sit for 45 minutes on a bycicle or go for a two hour walk? I know a lot of people who enjoy these exercises. You don’t have to stare at a wall, you can do many beneficial things like letting your mind wander , get away for a moment from whatever daily thing you are occupied with. Many people need the prolonged time to get the feeling that they actualy are exercising, have studies been done about that psychological effect? I personally find walking very enjoyable and also beneficial. Also how many people do not feel the same each morning depending on maybe a late night, too much to drink, arriving in a city with jetlag etc. I find that one can almost always still walk whereas high intensity would not be recommendable.Also I do not agree with that one seems to have less time these days, that is also a matter of planning your life and making sure you do make time. Looking at the unemloyment numbers worldwide I am sure a lot of people wished they had less time! I personally can tell you that I have not lost as much weight in such a short time climbing the Kilamanjaro, which is basically slow prolonged walking. Having said all this I am certain that your method would show quicker and better results, I just want to state that there are other things involved as well. Tom
I really don’t think Joel was saying that all low-to-moderate activities are boring and should be avoided. In fact, in this board he has posted several times that all activities are wonderful if you enjoy them. I believe the point he was trying to make is that, if someone’s goal is fat loss, then the high-intensity interval training needs to be incorporated. Do not stop the activities you enjoy! Just add the HIIT to your program. And if you have to add something to your current regimen, what better than an effective program that takes only 20 minutes or less?
Good luck to everyone! I look forward to hearing all the great results!
hello joel
ive read others articles on why slow cardio is not the way to go for fat loss and im not sure but i did read this” is that by doing slow cardio you can lose muscle also in the process” do you believe that is true or is it true?? i myself have doing high intensity cardio since i first started on my fat loss journey and ive lost about 75 pounds of fat or weight however you refer it and high intensity cardio feels great and i myself have felt the afterburn of high intensity cardio, and im stick to it even after i get to my goal of 170 pounds because i dont want to lose muscle supposedly is what i read on the internet.
Hi there Joel,
I have just joined your “Cheat your way thin” program and just read your article on slow cardio. I am a 54 year old male and started training when I turned 46. Cycling was the discipline I chose then, and I am still into it and enjoy it a lot. My weight dropped from 97 kg’s to 75 kg’s in a year without knowing about cardio, intervals, or any knowlege of how to lose fat. I just rode and cut out the Coke, as I drank far too much of it. Now, I train about 10 hrs per week and enjoy every minute of it. Six hours on the bike on weekends, riding with my friends and kids at 6:00 in the morning and enjoying the fresh air, the early morning sunrise, and the countryside. At 9:00 we are back home and still have most of the day ahead of us ! You just need to plan your day, your week, and your life as there are more than enough time available to do whatever you want to do. During the week I train in the Gym doing 45 min on a Spinning bike, which is not boaring at all, as I train with music, and about half an hour of weight training. This happens 3-4 times per week at 5:30 in the morning. At 7:30 I am in the office doing my job. The reason I joined your program is for myself to get rid of the belly fat (about 5kg’s I guess), and my wife needs to loose about 40 kg’s. Now surely we have to be treated totally different as I am very fit and my wife is just the opposite. I can jump right into any program if need be, but Caroline must first loose some weight and walk a bit, then maybe train slowley and after about 4 months she will be able to do more of the hard intervals ?
Now what I am trying to say is that Cardio has a defenite place in our lives and we still need it especially for an unfit person or for an athlete when he does his base training phase, it is essential to do it to build your endurance. What I have noticed is that when I up my training during the preparation for the provincial champs to 15 hrs per week I loose a lot of the excess fat by training more and doing intervals. Please give me your professional opinion on this.
Have a great day
Bayne
Hi Joel, What about interval training – combining slow/fast cardio? Do you think 20 min on treadmill with about 12-15 minutes at 80% target heart rate and the remainder warming up, cooling down and 1 minute rest breaks in between works? That’s what I have been aiming for, but I don’t know if it is a long enough time to do much good. Wendy
@Duke – Duke, they do it because it is VITAL to get your blood pumping and your joints lubricated before working out. I don’t know many guys doing 45 min, that’s too long, 10-15 min slow cardio is plenty to get your blood pumping (heart rate up) and joints lubricated. As far as post workout, the guys that I know that do post workout cardio only do it as a cool down, not as a fat burner… it kind of eases them out of the workout and keeps their muscles loose.
Hi Joel, I have to agree with you on this. Since coming across Nick Nillsson’s workout book titled ‘Metabolic Surge’ I have already lost 10 ponds in just under 4 weeks. Working out 4 times a week for only 30-35 minutes by mixing cardio & weights into one hi-intensity workout i couldn’t believe how much more enjoyable it was than just spending 45-60 minutes power-walking on a treadmill.
By far the best workout guide i have come across and the results are there to see.
@Adam A – Adam, muscle is not ‘built’ while working out, it is built while resting. Working out with heavy enough weights tears down muscle tissue and your wonderful body reacts in an adaptive manner and rebuilds the muscle stronger and bigger (if properly fed) and most muscle gain comes in the following days and well rested nights.
For me, cardio after lifting weights has been counter productive to putting on muscle. From Oct 5 through Nov 10, I put on 19 pounds of muscle. Previously I could not put on more than a few pounds in any 4-6 week period. The main difference was I took the advice of one of Joel’s friends and only did a few min of cardio before lifting weights to warm up and then 45 min of weights, then immediately off to get some good calories to helpe my body start the rebuilding process.
If you are just trying to lose fat, HIIT has been the most effective for most people that I know (myself included). Sure, LISS has it’s benefits, but what is the result you are really after when you go to the gym? I mix the two throughout the week when I am not in a bulking phase, but I have never seen fat loss results from LISS like I get from HIIT.
hi Joel,
Is there any restrictions /recommendations based on age for high intensity cardio? I am 46 weighing 65 kgs female 5 ft 1(broad built) and Asian. Could you help in defining high intensity cardio for my age?
I have proved that long slow training sessions do NOT help to lose weight.
I have done two ironman triathlons (along with many 1/2 ironmans) and during that time did not lose any weight. I think that all it did was to train my slow twitch muscles and decrease any fast twitch that I had.
Training consisted of at least 20 – 26 hours a week.
I have started doing the shorter high intensity interval training and do not feel any less fit when I was out there for hours!
Hello Joel
I was led to believe that fat burning takes place when your heart rate reaches between 120 – 150 beats/min (for me anyway). If I do HIIT my heart rates goes beyond 165b/min, so even though I am firing up my metabolism am I using energy during this exercise from fat or glucose(carbs)?
Greetings in the name of our Almighty God. First of all, thank you for the enlightenment you have shared with your free tips on dieting/fat loss program. It helps me aware of a very different way of weight reduction program. I firmly believe with your strategy and it is my utmost desire to have a copy of your books regarding the CYWT, but I have a very limited financial resources. Im only a mere contract worker who could hardly meet both ends monthly. I have three the students in college and hopefully I could have chance to get one of your books after they finish their studies. I reiterate, I have a very different views now regarding dieting program and you helps me a lot. Thank you and more power.
Woah, this is all new to me, but I see what you are saying. The slow-go approach, reqiures spending too much time and I have been seeing too little results. Thank you for you insights and for sharing a better way with us. I am ready to learn more. Thank you.
Does shorter, higher intensity always include weight training? Are there days that cardiovascular training must be done on its own? What do you recommend for those cardiovascular days?
Originally Posted By Ron@Adam A – I agree with ya Ron. I dont do Cardio when Im trying to add muscle. I eat like 3 men and lift hard. I have been doing that for 3 months with one of Arnel Ricfrancas programs and now am trying to uncover that new muscle. Hopefully between Joel, Vince, and Arnel I’l lget it done.
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