I currently do 20 min on the tread mill 4 min slow jog and a 1 min fast run once a week, I also lift for 30 min 4 times a week with 30 sec or less rest time, is this a good way of getting that extra fat burn?
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:
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Hi Joel.. I HATE long boring cardio..doesnt keep my interest. I do a set then jump rope for one minuute, do a set then do jumping squats, do a set then do mountain climbers.. I only give myself about a 45 second rest before i start the new set after the quick burst of cardio. I sweat more, my heart rate is up, and frankly i see more results. I have three kids with hectic schedules so i am in and out of the gym within an hour and have to get the most possible out of that time and weight training along with cardio or even plyo gets the job done better than lolly gagging on a tredmill for 45 minutes..
Joel, I am a huge fan of interval ( and reverse interval) training, but I would like to hear your views on “static contraction” workouts using maximum weights for 20 seconds on each lift. They are not the most popular workouts, but I know some very strong individuals who swear by them. Thanks for all your help.
Ok Joel, now I’m confused… I bought your program “Cheat Your Way Thin – Holiday Edition” and in the manual, you suggest the high-intensity, short duration cardio (i.e. – CYWF MIT), but said that lower intensity cardio sessions are welcomed due to extra calories burned and increasing your activity. So which is it – does it suck (the slow cardio) or does it help? Please clarify …
Yeah – makes sense and is a relief, because all that boring treadmill/bike in the gym is soooooo boring – so avoid it al all costs. Where does swimming it into the picture??? Also how does one know that you have ACTUALLY the reached a high intensity level. I am middle-aged and struggling to get fit – and have limited time.
I’m with you on the boring part. I also want to go to the gym, get my routine done, feel like I’ve worked on something, and go on with my day. Slow cardio may wind me after awhile, but I don’t “feel” like I’ve worked out, I’m just tired.
Slow-Go fat burning cardio is a MYTH and needs to be put to rest. Energy production is incredibly complex and NEVER do we burn fat alone. While there is a range of intensity (around 62% of VO2Max) that increases the percentage of fat burned and has been shown to be highest in those well-trained endurance athletes, the adaptations occur over time and efforts must be at least 90 minutes in duration. While this type of training is beneificial to endurance athletes for their given sport the the POST EXERCISE benefit for fat loss drops off to basically minimal. If your goal is to be able to go long distance and maximize fat-burning & minimize glycogen depletion – you must do slow-go training.
If your goal is to simply get as lean as possible, then increase POST EXERCISE OXYGEN CONSUMPTION by HIIT & weight training.
Amen! I am just about to get my certification as a personal trainer, and I plan to preach this message loud and proud!
I have a client whom I converted to intense strength work and interval and HIIT cardio. She referes to the cardio addicted as “cardio zoombies” and “exercise sonambulists”
I not also do high intensity cardio, but i also do super or tri sets as my weight lifting routine. I am done with my weight lifting and cardio in less then 70 min, and i am 66 yrs young!
this HIIT stuff works great and all, but the problem is when u are doing a 5 day body part split (legs, chest, shoulders, back, arms) really intense workouts for 90 min. This “afterburn” is going to make it harder to recover and perform well when u hit the heavy weights, which will negatively impact your muscular development. the weight training is far more important and produces better results than any cardio ever will. that is why i do intense intervals minimally and mostly steady state(under 30 min though)
The larger concern for long duration cardio is the wear and tear on the body’s skeletal system. Especially any cardio which occurs on hard surfaces. That’s why many a marathon runner has been plagued with knee and lower back problems in their later years. No other animal in the animal kingdom does long duration cardio (then again, no other animal in the animal kingdom sits around at a desk job eating chips all day either :).
I have been doing a resistance workout and finishing with 20 minutes of interval work (1 min. sprint or very hard resistance, followed by 1 1/2 min. recovery at resting pace). Is this benificial?
@ Duke:Duke, you’re right, I have to disagree with Joel on this one. I am being advised by a My Universe finalist and am currently doing 45 min low intensity cardio after my intensive weights workout of 50 mins and this together with clean diet and regular cheat days, has got me into single digit BF. With my last personal trainer, I did lots of high intensity cardio and by the time I’d psyched myself up for the intense pain and then recovered, it was taking pretty much as long, and I remained fat! Although I was incredibly fit. Joel’s right, it’s boring, but give me boredom over the pain of high intensity any day. I save the pain for the weights, that’s what gets me lean, not high intensity cardio.
The larger concern for long duration cardio is the wear and tear upon the human skeletal system. Especially that which occurs on hard surfaces. That’s why many a marathon runner is plagued by knee and lower back problems in their later years. No other animal in the animal kingdom performs long duration cardio (then again, no other animal in the animal kingdom sits at a desk job and eats chips all day :).
I guess my problem is at my gym I see other women doing all the ‘wrong’ things-slow cardio, lots of reps with tiny weights, etc. and they have bodies I only dream of having. Meanwhile, I’m lifting heavy, etc. and haven’t changed at bit.
Hi Joel,
How much time ( per work out) you would advice for such such intense cardio?
And how many times a week? I know it would depend upon person to person,
but can we arrive on some generalization?
@ Ursula:
How true Ursula. A few times I’ve gone to the gym, I came on while a certain person was already on. I did 20 minutes HIIT, then about a 25 minute resistance training workout, then sat in the steam room and got ready which took about 35 minutes…and when I left the gym, this person was STILL on the treadmill!
Yesterday I did my first day of training…phase 1. I used to run all the time and for hours…I barely got through the first four exercises…it was acutally pretty hard and challenging…I acually thought it was going to be a piece of cake…loved it though. Today I did a 4 min warm up slow jog, then did uphill sprints…total time was 20 mins….is this enough…did about 7 sprints lasting 30 seconds, followed by 30 sec slow jog back down the hill.
Hi Joel,
I have been on a exercise routine for the last 3 months that I actually love and have been able to stick to. I do weights and cardio for 1 hour 4 times a week. I HAVE BEEN ON YOUR CHEAT YOUR WAY THIN DIET & lost 15 lbs, however I have not lost any inches of belly fat, which is my problem area. Have you got any suggestions on how to lose these belly fat inches, it’s very frustrating when the inches don’t disappear in this area with working out & eating so diligently.
@ Duke:
They (bodybuilders) do that cardio to warmup and cooldown. It’s still unnecessary, but they like to have a warmup, then a really intense exercise session (though with all the sets and isolation exercises, it usually takes several hours), then finally some nice easy cardio while their bodies suddle down.
45 min on the treadmill or bike is too long, don’t have that amount of time in the day. 15 to 20 min of high intensity gives you a boost and keeps going for the day
hey joel i actually stop doing cardio a long time ago. I was getting no results
once i started doing interval training what a diffrence my family comes up to me and asks me HOW DID YOU DO IT !!!
couldn’t agree more!
@ Mario Platt:
Hi, I suffered from an undiagnosed broken knee for many years. It’s fixedish now but will never be more than 60%. I need some high intensity low impact exercises to burn all the fat I gained in the years I couldn’t move much. Please help.
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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...