Cardio is the most misunderstood exercise in the world. This is increasingly true when we are talking about fat loss. Very rarely do people give cardio the credit it deserves. On one hand you have people that completely overvalue cardio training. On the other hand you have people that consider cardio to be a complete waste of time. In this article I wish to clear up any confusion regarding cardio and it’s role in fat loss and body composition.

Say No to Cardio? 

The recent trend in the fitness industry is to lift weights to promote muscle growth and use diet exclusively to lose fat or stay lean. I feel that this can be an effective approach and a great starting point for most people. You definitely don’t want to get in the habit of relying on excessive amounts of exercise to lose weight and stay lean. That being said, the lift and diet strategy only works well for two types of people. One – people that are just looking to maintain there weight and don’t need to tap into a calorie deficit. Two – people who are moderately active during the day and have larger energy expenditures. However, for those of us who are mostly sedentary, this no cardio approach can mean one of two things when it comes to losing weight.

1) We lose weight at a slow rate

2) We have to consume very low calories

The reality of the situation is that most of us are sedentary. We drive to work, sit on our butts all day and spend a negligible amount of time on our feet. Many of us are lucky to get a combined 30 minutes of walking per day. This results in very low energy expenditures. To even tap into a calorie deficit, we have to eat a very modest amount of food.

The Fat Loss Advantage of Cardio  Continue reading →

Cam Gigandet in Never Back Down

If you are anything like me then a typical cardio workout will bore you to absolute tears and make you question your life. When it comes to gym cardio I just feel like a hamster on a wheel wasting the precious day away. You see I would much rather play a recreational game of basketball, football or even ping pong for that matter. Anything with a little purpose and competitiveness. Unfortunately my three brothers aren’t always down for a little game of pigskin and that’s when I have to drag my ass to the gym, park or sometimes your gf’s bedroom :D

Making Cardio Awesome 

I like to break up my cardio workout into 3 periods, kind of life a game of hockey. By segmenting your cardio workout into 3 separate periods all of the sudden it becomes much more do able. Each period lasts 15 minutes and is followed up with a few abs exercises.

Period #1 – HIIT (15 minutes)

The first 15 minutes of the cardio workout is dedicated to high intensity interval training. The goal is to boost hgh and trigger the release of fat cells into your bloodstream to be burned for fuel. A side benefit of HIIT is improvements in conditioning and anaerobic endurance. In addition HIIT will promote lean, powerful and athletic looking legs. The kinobody way. If I am doing this workout at the gym I will perform the intervals on a treadmill, stationary bike or jumping rope. I’ll usually use a 1:2 or 1:3 work rest ratio.

Example on Bike Continue reading →