5 Reasons “Slow-go” Cardio Sucks

Wow, how stupid of you. You completely bash LISS and leave out all its amazing benefit.s People, you need to realize that both HIIT and LISS are efficient at burning fat, you just need to know when to do which.

Do LISS after each weight training
session, for more added fat burning results. By following up a weight session with a 20-30 minutes of LISS, you’ll get another chance to burn fat, and by keeping the intensity low, you won’t burn up the muscle you’ve just worked so hard to build. Remember, your goal is to build muscle, and do whatever it takes to hold onto that lean body mass.

Never do HIIT on your weight training days, or before, or after leg days. If you do HIIT on lifting days, you end up cutting into your muscle gains in order to fuel the activity. Keep away for HIIT anywhere near your leg training days, so you can give legs the full effort, and get the proper recovery
time needed to repair and build your

HIIT should not be overdone. Their are easier ways to burn fat and hold onto muscle, such as LISS, and weight training combined.

You must find balance betweem your weight training and your cardio and between HIIT and LISS. Do some RESEARCH and create a training program that is optimal at burning fat and/or (depending on your goals) gaining muscle. Do NOT blindly follow one mans advice when their is so much research out there.

Joel,

I have no dispute on the efficacy of short, high-intensity energy systems work, but I’ve always based which type and how much/how long on current food intake (especially carbohydrates), current overall program (volume, intensity, other competing demands for time and recovery capacities, etc.), current ability level, and so on. Furthermore, I use the least possible “dose” of weight training and ESW needed to produce the desired results. Therefore, I don’t look at slow-go cardio as something that sucks, but merely as a tool that may be of additional use under specific circumstances.

I’d never just throw someone on a machine or track for 1-2 hours willy nilly and then have them have at it, but I also grow weary of people constantly throwing it under the bus. Although perhaps it’s just semantics, but I have a problem with ABuse of slow-go cardio more so than very focused use.

Everytime I do a routine that involves weights and a shorter duration with higher intensity I see results quicker than walking or jogging for longer periods of time. Why is there still such a push towards the work out for 45-65 minutes routines 5-7 days a week? The routines that have you work maybe 25-35 minutes 3-5 times a week seem to give better result when combined with a reasonable meal plan. We went to a health fair recently and that’s what the trainers were pushing. I’m sure it works out better to have you in the club facility longer than a shorter duration but I’m sure they’d drum up more folks having the target person show results faster in a shorter amount of time.

i have been enjoying the benefits of using “static contraction training” for gaining mass and strenth for just over a year. Pete Sisco, who developed this program, cautions his followers NOT to use HIIT during the recovery phase (time between trainings) and only promotes slow-steady cardio.

he says that static contraction training is so intense (and let me tell you —IT IS!!!) that HIIT will push the body into overtraining. I love intensity of any kind, so, i am guilty of doing HIIT 2-3X’s a week and at times i feel the effects of overtraining, but yet, i love it too much not to do it. i was a long distance runner for many years. I never want to go back to that.

overall, i have gained mass, strength and i have leaned out. most effective weight training program ever!!!!!!!! and HIIT as cardio is short, sweet and effective. as a personal trainer, i stress HIIT with my clients and teenage sons and they, too, see great results even in combination with the static contraction weight training.

most of my clients hire me to train them because they have been doing continuous moderate cardio on the treadmill for months and light weight training with machines without any results and they feel discouraged and desperate. there is a better way!!!!!!!!!!

hey joel,
so i do high intensity interval training but i do it for an hour- are u saying that i would get better results doing it for only 20 minutes? i weight train after and i do this about 4-5 times a week. i have a heart rate monitor to track my calorie burn and i actually burn about the same amount of calories doing high intensity interval training and high intensity steady paced cardio for hour…but i do realize that im burning more fat with the intensity training. i just started the interval training about 2 weeks ago… how long before seeing results?

hi joel!

that’s absolutly true!
since january i do intervall training and sprint trainings – and the effect (lose fat) is sensationel!

Ok…I’ve heard of this before…what is disturbing is that I was taught in my Cert III that the best way to lose fat without losing hard earned muscle is LSD…long slow distance…
Scary isn’t it…

Hi – HIIT is the key to Fat Loss !! no second thoughts about it. I’m telling this from my own experience.

Regards,

Sumeet

No …fortunately they are not stupid:)
I have been body building for about 8yrs….
I made an earlier comment and have since read thru a lot of the comments others have made…there are some very knowledgeable people making some very valid points.
IT ALL DEPENDS on WHAT you are training FOR>
The high intensity/interval training I think is fine if you are looking for fat loss, however, as a bodybuilder I don’t want to burn up all my hard earned muscle just to lose weight. I want to burn excess fat & maintain my muscle.
Therefore I am going back to my original belief that for me long slow distance is the key to stripping off the last fat stores before a competition (as I learned in my Cert III in Fitness training)
By long slow distance I mean power walking on the treadmill for an hour ~ morning & night when I can manage it until I achieve the desired look. This of course is along with a diet designed for a few weeks before competition.
Everyone is different even amongst bodybuilders and I know of some who prefer the short hi intensity cardio. It works for them but not for me:)
Thanx to all those people out there who have made such interesting comments, including you Joel…we all have to make our own decision based on our individual goals & body types:)@Duke –

Hey Joel

Have just moved to the high intensity interval training cardio… and waiting to see if it shows results. Have lost 28 kgs in the last year or so but have hit a plateau so we’re trying out something totally new.

Hi Joel,

I was recently using hiit cardio but then decided to give circuits a go. They are quite similar in terms of heart rate with the added benefits of resistance on muscles and sharing the cardio load across the whole body. Its pretty tough to hit the hiit after some hard deadlifts or squats. I’m currently doing a circuit of pushups, stepups, military press, jump rope, situps, burpees, punching bag, squats; little rest between exercises and a few minutes between circuits.

What are your thoughts on circuits over hiit??

cheers

@Howie – Howie is right on. The long term health and endurance benefits of working your aerobic fitness are proven. This is not to the exclusion of HIIT. Quite to the contrary. A balanced approach which includes aerobic training, anaerobic trainng, and resistance training is ideal. Ultimately of course depends on your fitness goals. I have recently incorporated long distance running into my routine, targeting my aerobic fitness, and recently completed my first marathon (in under 4 hours). However, I have found my overall fitness level significanty improved in all of my fitness activities from when I primarily engaged in HIIT. So, I firmly believe if you can spare the time, combining a couple of steady state workouts with HIIT each week ultimatley has greater overall health benefits. Also no matter what your fitness goals, if you are trying to burn fat, you must include a resistance routine — especially as you age.

Hello,
I am a new subscriber. I have been a runner for 20+ years, with some weight workouts occasionally. Now that I am over 50, I am having trouble keeping weight down. I will try your program and see how it does for me. Thank you.

@Nghia –
‘Mind set’ is everything..Yours is there. Glad to see a post like this.. I to like the weighted vest added intensity.

20 for Cardio & pull -ups. 40 for push-ups. If you have any Seal/Army fitness exercise. I’d appreciate adding to my excercises. Thanks;Tony.

what is exactly high intensity cardio? as the one I read was bout a few seconds walk and a few seconds running with the treadmill stepped up, and I really find it hard to count those seconds while running……..could you explain please?

Ps, I agree with you since I ve been doing the normal cardio for a whole while and I had no effect on my body, so thanks for the advice.

I do a hard execise session twice a week cosisting of 5 minute sessions on the ergo, cross trainer, treadmill and multi gym. Twice around making a total of 40ish minutes with heart rates ranging from 125 on the multigym up to 165 on the treadmill. Would this be classed as slow go or high impact?

I just did some high intensity cardio yesterday. It was supposed to be 2 sets of 3 minutes. Each set consisted of (split up and supersetted) 50 burpees, 2 hill sprints, crabwalk down the hill and bear crawl down the hill.
I couldn’t even finish the first set. Today I’m still feeling it.

WOW JOEL! Way over 40 comments!

I try to vary my workout building to high intensity for as many minutes as I can and then back to a more comfortable level.

I have Rheumatoid arthritis and Fibromyalgia and can’t tolerate more intensity for long before I have to slow back down. Should I just do the best I can or are there any secrets to help someone like me.

Love all the info Joel,

Thanks,

Diane

I am a 159 lb 5’4″ woman that has tried to do high intensity training several times. Whenever I do high intensity training for several weeks my clothes start to get tighter rather than looser. I am an endomorph body type and build muscle easily and I have a good amount of muscle under my 38% body fat. When I do low intesity cardio for long durations (45-60 mins 6 days a week) I lose lbs but I gain flab and it’s boring as heck. When I do high intensity cardio with weight training using sets of 12, 10, 8 6, 12, and 12 reps for each major body part my clothes get tighter. What can I do for cardio? I would like to get down to 20% body fat without having to go up a size in clothes.