Joel -I’m 59 and had a stent placed 5 yrs. ago. The doc says 30 minutes on an eliptical 4-6 days a week should be good. I’ve done this for 1 yr. now with some diet changes but have only lost 10 lbs. He’d like to see 15 more come off. Is 30 min. slow for my age? All my numbers are in great shape ie BP HDL LDL T GLYCERIDES ? Thanks,Gregg
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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I have been doing 10 minutes of full intensity sprinting. On the treadmill I am doing a low intensity of 30 seconds followed by full intensity (16km/hr on treadmill) for 2 minutes. I do this 5 times equaling a total of 12 minutes. I get off and my heart is racing, but is this really burning more for me than doing interval running for 30 minutes, where I typically start at a 10km/hr and periodically go up until I reach 16km/hr.? Basically, is 12 minutes of this enough or do I need to do at least 20 minutes?
I saw a man running (not jogging) on the treadmill for about 45 minutes whenever i visit the office gym. I don’t run or jog but that looks really lean, not masculine but not thin, his body is so ripped. After running, he looks he just bathed.
I am doing exercise with weight. I don’t sweat like him. I just sweat normal.
So I am confused whether only cardio (running), is good to get ripped, btw my waist size is 37″, or doing only weight exercise will get me ripped or cardio + weight exercise will do the thing.
What do you think?
I appreciate that the ‘long and slow’ approach is not top of the heap in burning off fat but sometimes its just hugely enjoyable to go for a ten mile run in beautiful countryside on a sunny day – it ain’t all about ‘the burn’! I cant believe that a long run has NO benefits at all. At the very least it gives your heart and lungs a work out and improves fitness levels. Personally I will do at least one good long run a week, a couple of shorter, paced runs and one sprint session. Coupled with two or three good compound exercises a day and I think I’m doing just fine! Why does it always have to be about going to a gym and chucking weights about??
Hey Joel
Thank goodness someone finally said it – I spent a lot of time running (even Marathons) a few years back, and did a lot of research on this which fully bears out what you say. After 20-25 minutes cardio (at any speed), the metabolic changes that kick in ensure that any further exercise does absolutely nothing in terms of fat loss. So it’s much better to just do a 5-minute warm-up, 20 minutes high intensity cardio, and then a 5-minute cooldown at the end. Better to spend any remaining time stretching those muscles.
I am a former BB competitor and a personal trainer. For a majority of folks, HIIT works much better than those long walks. For myself when I was getting ready for comps, those boring hours on the treadmill or walking the hills cut the last few % of body fat.
So I have to put myself in the camp of: it depends on what your goals are, it depends on how your body reacts to training regimes, and your diet. There is a time and place for all forms of workout. The fact remains that there is no one size fits all workout, regardless of the number of supporters.
Hey Joel
Definitely agreed with you that slow cardio sucks. Having been a personal trainer and using both slow cardio in the past for my clients and now getting them to do high intensity interval training (HIIT), slow cardio is just too time-consuming and does provide as much results as HIIT. Awesome blog!
Is it better to run for a period of time or walk for 1 min run for 1 min etc ? What about incline on treadmill is that better to stay up or alternate up & down?
Cheers
My goal is to lose 50lbs in weight by the summer next year. I am presently doing high intensity workouts each morning for 30mins but I want to know how, when I feel so sluggish because of my present weight how to turn a walk with my dogs into a high intensity workout too?
Joel, Somewhere amongst your constant emails trying to sell stuff you have a very good point here. Here is my thoughts on cardio:
When you go to do cardio, you are there to burn calories, you’re not there for an enjoyable stroll on the treadmill. If you’re gonna spend the time there anyways you may as well make it count. Leave the gym with nothing left in the tank, and a pool of sweat on the ground.
Here’s my cardio workout:
Go in amped as hell, ipod on, techno or metal.
Hit the treadmill, 5 minutes warm up at 11kph (7mph)
Fast run for 1 minute 16kph (10mph)
Back down to 11kph (7mph) for 2 min…
Basically go 2 min normal pace then 1 minute run, and every time you do the fast run, increase the speed a little.
I do this until I hit the 30 minute mark, and by 30 minutes I am sprinting at 19kph (12mph)
This sounds fairly easy, but I assure you it will send your body into “what just happened to me?” mode. Plenty of after burn, and you better allow about 2 minutes for cleaning the treadmill afterwards.
I then usually follow up the interval run with another half hour of fast paced weights and cables with a focus on core.
TRY IT, you’ll see what I mean.
So, why am I doing 30 minute evening runs 3 out of 5 days on YOUR XFat Loss diet?
Why the hell do you incorporate it then in the xtreme fatloss diet (Yes I bought and on cycle 3 now)….
could one just drop it? Maybe just walk a bit more instead, here is why: Quote from Body by Science:
The average person
weighing 150 pounds burns roughly 100 calories per mile—whether the
person walks or runs that mile. Since there are 3,500 calories in a pound
ot bodyfat, it would be necessary to run or jog for thirty-five miles to burn
1 pound of bodyfat.
Silly question, but what qualifies as high intensity? (My muscle building workouts generate sweat and being out of breath, but not as much as when I’ve done, say circuits – which are good but don’t put on any muscle).
Could you define “high intensity”? I’m REALLY overweight and just starting, so slow-go IS pretty high intensity for me right now.
Well I think the whole cardio thing should be looked at from the point of a whole workout. If you’re looking at a workout session consisting ONLY of cardio than yes this is true, but if you kicked your ass with let’s say 30-45 minutes of EDT than some slow cardio is better cos people can rarely do HIIT, intervals like sprints AFTER that. Plus the whole core of your workout if it’s good will give you that afterburn effect.
Please share an intense workout that a double
Knee replacement can handle. Already walking
About 5 miles every other day. Need something
More intense
What are good high intesnsity excercises for a 66 year old that 50 lbs overweoght? The time required is what sounds good to me since time is the biggest reason I can not stay on a program.
So give it up and explain this concept.
Great article!
I adhere to the motto “Go hard, or go home!” when hitting the gym. My favorites are high intensity Zumba class, spinning, a session on the moving stairs machine, and weight training of one superset on each machine of 8-12 reps. Since it’s all a calories burned game to lose weight, I agree high intensity shorter duration is the way to go!
Keep up the great articles! They’re a great source if information and well written and to the point.
I started with interval training a couple weeks ago – my clothes are fitter better but both weight and body fat % is still the same – guess I’m on the right track after all?!?!?!
Thanks a lot….i am doing intense exercises and i do treadmill wid 1 minute walk and 1 minute jog….but i am stuck …wht to do now?plz tell me your expertise….
Sabrina
Hi Joel:
I would love more info on the high intensity, I do have fibromyalgia and have been doing the low intensity long duration with little effect, however the fibro is stable…I do have to be careful, but I need to lose another 18 lbs to be where I need to be, I would love to hear your tips.
Joel,
I agree 100%. I have a few clients who deem themselves “runners”; haven’t been able to convince them the long, steady/slow cardio crap isn’t going to help their fat loss efforts.
In strength,
Rebecca
I just wanted to say that I used to get onto the treadmill for 40 min. on daily basis and -although looking some good results- I had to stop because of my hips… they started giving me serious pain… according to the doc (a sports medicine specialist with a passion for long distance running) the problem was that I was not doing it right, and was keeping a “super static” position instead of relaxing the hips to allow the joint to “move on it’s own”… I left the threadmill for once and all and started doing body weight workouts, and found that they are really useful and I’ve got really good results.
I understand that there are people that really enjoy running and all, but I must confess that I don’t, and comparing the results hand-on-hand, body weight workouts have revealed way better… at least for me.
@ Kim:
Hi Rahn
There are sample menu plans available for the three types of days (put together by Jayson Hunter I believe) – I got mine with the deluxe version of CYWT.
Although I do have a question for Joel on this as I was going through the LowGI/GL day plans and many of the snacks didn’t seem to have any carb component (e.g. cottage cheese with carrot sticks, or almonds with red pepper). Is this because the three “main” meals have all the carbs for the day? I tend to make my 5 meals as even as possible, i.e. so I’m getting rougly 1/5 of my protein carbs and fats per meal. Is this wrong? Should the snacks be smaller? The reason I was doing this is because the manual says one portion of each per meal/snack. I am following the calorie method due to my slight control freak nature so my overall (and P, C & F) calories are what they should be for each of the three types of days.
Really interested to hear if I’m doing the right thing!
Thanks
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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...