Is it the slow go cardio or the lack of changing up the routine that’s the issue? It’s very easy to become stuck with the same routine and the body get used to it. I’d like to hear your opinion of heavy/super heavy super slow on the weights as well. There are people who swear by it. Always great ideas shared on your blog :-)
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:
==> What “special” foods can boost fat-burning by 207%?
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HIIT rocks! :)
I could not agree more. But I have had lots of people tell me that an hour long walk is as good as 45 minute high intensity training on an elliptical. I say hogwash!!
I have also seen recently some ads suggesting high intensity training can also wear your immune system down somewhat. Is this true?
How many sessions of high intensity training should a person do in a week if they were doing 45-50 minutes a session.
I think most of us want to maximize our results; greater results in less time is what we need. thanks
Right on! I can’t believe how many people at the gym and on the hiking trail are still doing steady cardio!!! People look at me like I am crazy but what I do on the mountain is sprint , rest, sprint, rest, sprint rest etc. At the gym I will alternate doing ski jumps, box jumps, jumping jacks, and mountain climbers in between my regular weight lifting sets. I would like more tips on how to do the exact type of routine that is backed by research to burn the most fat.
I gave this up a long time ago. The greatest barrier was the fear of change … after all, it was written up in Men’s Health at one time. There is so much crap out there. I enjoy HIIT. I sweat a lot, but its over in less than 30 minutes and I have the benefit of increased calorie burn for hours. Why do anything else?
The greatest barrier to change is “FEAR”. Get over it.
Hello Joel. I just read your post about slow-go cardio. I agree with you on the topic. I am trying to apply that myself. The thing is that I need some guide on what exactly to do to make my cardio session intense. I mean I change my pace when jogging, combine it with leg exercises, jump the rope or pretend when I don t have one, and do some sprint -not much. I don t use machines. Is that ok? My average body fat percentage is about 14 to 15. Give me any feedback. Would apreciate that. Thanks.
Couldn’t agree more with the streamlined aspect of HIIT, time savings and better results are hard to argue with. Some are mentioning the aerobic aspect missing in HIIT but if that is what you need (for distance running/training) then just add/substitute on some days. I recall back when I was running track and cross country in HS and college we always did a mix of both distance and short intervals even for distance runners they just didn’t call it HIIT. I think the longest we did was 1/2 mile intervals at a pace of 2min and change then walk/jog 30sec is a pretty good interval and good distance/aerobic as well.
I gave up SS cardio after my only assessment with the trainer revealed a loss in muscle. I immediately switched to complexes and now do HIIT. At the next assessment the muscle lost was back and then some. You couldn’t pay me to plod along on any machine. My 20 total minutes of “work” are causing the fat to melt off of me. It’s challenging and exhausting. I walk out of my gym soaking wet and the cardio types are barely getting a pink face. Results always speak for themselves.
Joel,
You are so right in what you are saying. I have lost over 45 lbs of fat over the course of the last year and 6 months of that year I was doing things on my own with eating better and getting active. I lost maybe 15 lbs but after I got a hold of Mike Geary’s Truth About Six Pack Abs, Dr. K’s Double Edged Fat Loss, your Xtreme Fat Loss Diet and Vince Del Monte’s Maximize your muscle they all que off of high intensity training and I have never looked or felt better in my life. I hate running to begin with but I enjoy sports like ultimate frisbee, basketball and the like but those sports are technically interval cardio training. So there you go and I have gone from about 35% body fat down to just about 20% and my goal is to get to 10% body fat by September
Joel, the best I’ve found yet is Tabata Sequencing.
4-8 minutes (20/10 sec. work/rest ratio X4 or 8 cycles – after warm-up) and I’m done.
Intense. Very productive. Makes me strong all over. Love the way it peels the fat off.
I agree that metabolic conditioning works best (i.e. fastest, most efficient) for fat loss and conditioning. There are still some benefits to long, slow cardio. It works great if you want some mind numbing (or for some, it’s mind freeing) time. You can zone out and go, go, go. Some personalities don’t have the oomph to stick with high intensity workouts like met-con and they prefer the challenge of endurance training. Different strokes for different folks …
Hi Joel,
yea reading peoples comments, I agree with some aspects….
yesterday I was on your day 2 of your XFL….I did HIIT and then 30 min cardio at 5.5-6.0…heart was about 140-165…..
is that consisdered slow cardio?
Hi,
I have been reading this stuff for awhile about HIIT and part of me believes it but part of me is skeptical. I guess this kind of training has to be done “just right”. Also, is this more effective with a low carb diet? I havn’t read your diet plan so I’m not sure what it entails. I have been taking zumba classes for awhile and have not lost much weight so maybe this is the wrong approach! I have read that long slow cardio actually puts you into fat storage mode but the problem for me is that HIIT is not fun and zumba is! What do you think? Should I do zumba and then HIIT on the other days? Also, I know that weight training is important. What do you think about “body pump” classes?
I usually do only high intensity cardio, 30 to 40 minutes 4 days a week, and heavy lifting or lactic acid lifting 3 days a week. Is there such thing as too many high intensity cardio sessions?
Hi Joel:
I hear you! Unfortunately, I must do these slo-go cardio because I’m training for my 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk in November. So, walking/jogging is incorporated.
Did an hour on the treadmill last night with 30 mins of strength training on the Bowflex.
I’m anxious to read your post tomorrow.
-Renee
Thanks for the reminder!
I agree it just makes sense. Dr Al Sears has a program called PACE and it’s just that….interval training. You can check him out and see the scientific stuff behind why it really works. The main thing, though, is you need to work at such a high-intensity that you run out of breath (anaerobic). If you don’t, you aren’t working as intense as you should. You can do a min of high-intensity, a min of rest…and work out for a while 10 min a day!
I am 60, and in fair shape. I bike at a rate of 10 miles in 50 or 55 min. When I swim I do a mile in 45 min. I cross country ski amd do about 5 miles in under 1and a 1/2 hrs. Is this slo -go cardio. What is reasonable for my age group?Kristy
I know that is the truth but how do people with knee problems loss the fat ? we can’t do any HIIT without being in pain and not being able to walk.
I am absolutely a fan of HIIT! Though, I will add that some people are doing longer cardio because they enjoy it, and perhaps they are training for longer cardio competitions. It seems to me that if you are going to run 6, 13, 26 miles, you can’t condition your body to the distances without doing them, and that takes time. I too am confused as to what the definition of steady state or slow go cardio is compared to short duration, high intensity. After my transition from basic training to AIT when I was in the military, I became convinced of the effectiveness of HIIT. When I got to AIT, they added in 30/60’s or 60/120’s once a week, whereas they were done sporadically in basic. My run time increased dramatically from my final in basic to my first pt test in AIT, as well as the rest of my pt tests during and shortly after AIT. Adding in the HIIT consistently was the only major change to account for the huge decrease in my run time. I took almost three minutes off my two mile run in about four weeks!
@ Jacqueline:
It’s not that jogging is BAD in itself, only that it is bad relative to high intensity interval type training. Unless you have some physical condition that might be worsened by jogging, it certainly won’t hurt you. Just won’t give you nearly the results of the kind of alternative Joel is talking about.
i do steady state cardio, intervals, and wieght training but contrary to popular belief everyone doesnt hate cardio. I actually love it and i enjoy slow-go cardio especially after a hard night at work sometimes i need that hour it just makes me feel better.
Wow, this my explain why, I’m stuck, and can’t get to my goal weight.
I started doing karate about 1.5 years ago. We do a combination of warmups-jacks, pushups, crunches then do some boxing/bag work and some special MMA combos. If you don’t have the ability to stay motivated at the gym, find youself a dojo that works you and teaches you at the same time. I am a Fireman and can easily work 3X longer on the fireground without being beat when i am done. I think if I was doing low intensity cardio I would not have seen the great results I have. Besides that, sit on a bike or walk on a treadmill OR Beat up some mitts or a heavy bag. NO Comparison! Remember pain is fear leaving the body.
Hey!
I love my long distance running! It is freeing, I have the time and I do my best thinking then! However, I am all about HIIT! I use it during weight training and my cardio sessions! It is more exciting, breaks the monotony of staying at one piece of a equipment for a long time. And the bonus, the extreme change in my body in a shorter period of time! You want a sculpted body? HIIT is the way to go!
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...