Fitness basics 101 - cardio for fat loss.

Let's get one thing straight before we start….

FAT LOSS CAN ONLY OCCUR IN A CALORIE DEFICIT

Yes it's banded around social media a lot these days but even more so are these wonderful workouts that promise to burn more calories and fat than the next one. For every personal trainer and fitness program promising high fat burn in their workouts they are simply making your body work harder than it normally would - the degree to which they do so is what needs to be of most importance to you. 

Cardio doesn't have to mean running on a treadmill or swimming, all it means is keeping your heart rate higher than normal for a sustained period of time, you can mix and match any form of movement to elicit this response. The goal of cardio activity should also be the tremendous health benefits it brings besides burning calories, the improvements to your cardiovascular and respiratory system, the psychological benefits from exercise and also the social side of it - many gyms and clubs provide a great network to lean on and make new friends. 

But before we discover which way you should turn, let's just get a few examples in early doors…

1 pint of Carling contains 189 calories and 1 large glass of wine contains 214, to burn 200 calories an 80kg person would need to row at a moderate intensity for 20 minutes, so a night on a few beers can easily rack up 1000 calories thus leaving you a huge 1 hour 40 minute row to shift those calories.

That row could amount to nearly your full weeks worth of cardio (if you’re doing 20 minutes per day, 5 times a week), hardly worth the beers right. This should straight away tell you that if you want to enjoy yourself be prepared to work it off. I’d always discuss with a client the importance of achieving a calorie deficit (if fat loss is the goal) first through diet due to the fact most people will find it extremely tough to out exercise their poor diet choices.

What is right for you?

It’s common practice for cardio programs to tout HIIT (high intensity interval training), tabata, Crossfit WODs, Les Mills Classes or the old school Running as all being the best but the truth is that the best for you is most definitely not the best for everyone. There is research that shows very high intensity exercise using weights burns the most calories - but of course it does, if I load my car so its on its arches and floor it round every corner I use all my petrol up very quickly - I also stand a very good chance of ruining my car if its not looked after. 

Understanding your personal needs and goals is paramount and you shouldn't just be thrown in the deep end thinking that in 10 weeks time doing Joe Wicks HIIT workouts are going to get you shredded. 

You should first sit down and answer the following questions

• What is the goal of your exercise program? Is it just to burn calories and nothing else, do you want it to be social as well and physically rewarding, do you want to learn new things or maybe even play a sport? Have a picture of what you’re looking for.

• What do you enjoy? - you will have a much better chance of exercise adherence if it's something you enjoy doing, this is the number one thing you should consider as it needs to be sustainable. No matter how much you get shouted at by a personal trainer if you hate the exercise you wont stick it out

• What is your current fitness level and training age? - is your body ready to start vigorous exercise? How much have you trained in the past? If you are planning on hitting circuit training 5 times a week you might want to consider how it's going to make you feel, you’ll probably be very sore, tired and worn out quickly.

• How overweight are you? - some exercise programs might be too intense and could potentially risk you having adverse effects to the plan. You should also consider that the heavier you are, the more calories you’ll burn, if you have a lot to shift the good news is to start off with you don't have to work for as long as someone who is very lean to see benefits. 

With some of these questions answered you can then move forward. I've trained countless people that hate running, can't stand very high intensity work and conversely don't like the longer aerobic sessions. Without understanding the needs of the person it would be impossible to reach the goal they are trying to achieve by simply saying - ‘yeah, start doing spin class 3 times a week and you’ll be fine’.

Balancing your week around a blend of low intensity and high intensity has proven extremely beneficial throughout my training career, I often give clients 1 long steady workout, 1 medium higher intensity and 1 very hard interval session once a week.

This isn't to say one is any better than the other at burning calories but what it does is it allows the person to recover and not do the same thing repeatedly. The further you get into your training and as your fitness level improves then consider the amount of sessions per week x the intensity you are performing them at, throwing yourself in the deep end on week 1 is a sure fire way to either hurting yourself or quitting.

Quite simply all cardio is good for burning fat and burning calories, it's the degree in which you approach it will make the difference. Do 5 long steady state workouts a week or 5 very high intensity interval sessions - providing you are in a calorie deficit you will lose fat, so pick something you enjoy and keep doing it

For further help feel free to drop me a message below….