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Original Post: June 2004
"Don't Become a Cardio Queen"
By Kate Street
We all know by now that exercise is absolutely essential. The good news is that when it comes to exercise, more is not necessarily better. You've probably heard many fitness gurus say that the key to success is to work out smarter, not harder. And they're right. And they're wrong. What I would say instead is: working out harder and shorter is smarter!
Any workout lasting longer than an hour is counterproductive and will ensure that we'll never get the results we're looking for. This is especially true when it come to cardiovascular exercise.
Today's tip: DON'T OVERDO THE CARDIO!
If you know me at all, you know that I used to be the biggest cardio queen there ever was. I would teach classes (step, kickboxing, spinning) and then go out for daily 10 mile runs. You'd think with all that exercise I would have been in fantastic shape. But I wasn't!
Instead I was tired, sick, injured, and frustrated. There is nothing more frustrating than putting all your effort and self-discipline into your workouts and never getting the results you want. All that cardio, in fact, made me look worse! What the @#%*!
Well, I decided to change my tactics after doing some research and reading some books. I started making weight training my primary focus and made my cardio training supplemental. Instead of spending hours running, spinning, and kickboxing I decided to...
DO TWO SHORT AND INTENSE CARDIO WORKOUTS A WEEK
This secret set me free from my 10 mile runs— and I don’t miss them one bit! I do much less cardio than I used to and I’m two sizes smaller, not to mention that I haven't been sick or injured since (knock on wood). Contrary to popular belief, we don’t need 45 minutes or 60 minutes of cardiovascular exercise every day to reap maximum benefits (especially if we eat a low carb diet!) Thank God!
We can get maximum benefits in a 20-30 minute workout—but the key (like strength-training) is in the intensity. We want to work HARD for 20-30 minutes, we want to sweat, and be breathless. But it doesn’t have to be an all-out-kill-yourself effort — you can mix short bursts of high intensity with longer bouts of moderate intensity work. For example, my 30 minute treadmill sessions consist of 2 minutes of jogging with 30 seconds of sprinting and when I say sprinting, I mean I put the speed as high as it will go and pound away for 30 seconds (I couldn’t go longer if I tried!).
I’m not saying that you need to sprint, but you should concentrate on working at an intensity that you’ve never done before and aren’t quite comfortable with. You don’t even have to go for 30 seconds — go for 10 or 20 seconds. You can do this with anything — walking, cycling, jogging. If you do it on a machine, set it to ?manual? so you can manipulate the speed. If you do it outside, use telephone poles or a watch as your guide. The key is to work hard for a short amount of time and then recover.
It may not be easy but at least it’s done quickly! This sort of workout is done best on your own. A workout partner will inevitably have a different fitness level than you and you want to make sure you’re working out at YOUR maximum intensity.
After this sort of workout, you’ll be burning lots of calories up to three hours after your workout! So go out there and kick your butt!
-Kate
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Article By Graeme and/or Kate Street ~contact info not valid, websites gone~ Graeme and Kate first met as personal trainers at the Bay Club in Portland Maine and started an In-Home personal training business and a fitness media production business together. Graeme graduated suma cum laud in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. Kate has a BA in Psychology and an MS in Health and Wellness. She holds over a dozen various fitness certifications, three through AFAA.
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