I was asked by a client recently to critique and advise on his cardio routine, he was doing a form of HIT training. I thought part of my reply might also be a useful post for other people to read, so here is my reply below:
Ultimately cardio is done for one main reason - to create a calorie deficit. But you don't have to do cardio in order to create a calorie deficit.
When it comes to losing bodyfat, its all about finding the easiest and most enjoyable way to achieve a calorie defecit. If your method is really hard work then it's not going to be sustainable and you will struggle to stay consistent.
Years back I would torture myself with cardio because I didn't know any better, don't get me wrong, I got results because I can be very disciplined. However, when I focused my efforts on cardio to create a calorie deficit, it was always something I perceived as something I would do for a short period of time just to GET lean. That leaves the problem, what happens when you achieve that goal? You stop the cardio, and you relax on your diet because its just plain hard work. So I used to do this cycle, I'd get to my goal and then I'd won so I'd stop the cardio and relax my diet and I'd gain the fat back.
I never do "cardio" now, whenever I used to do cardio, I'd get a lot more hungry and so it often negates the effect of doing the cardio. Also I get tired, and eventually it catches up with me because when I train with weights I train hard and so I don't have room to add more work into my routine and still recover effectively and maintain good energy levels. Personally I find it much easier and enjoyable to reduce my intake of calories by 500kcal than do 500kcal worth of cardio work. So I don't do any typical cardio at all.
I like to walk and that is the closest I get to cardio - because it's super easy, therefore I can do it consistently and it does not effect my ability to recover from my workouts. I walk to and from the gym and generally choose to walk where I can, I end up doing 45-90 minutes walking a day. I stick a podcast on or listen to some music and its relaxing and healthy.
If your goal is to build a lean and muscular physique you have to also take into account how much exercise you can do and still recover effectively. So you should prioritise the type of training you do, I always prioritise intense weight training. I don't let any other training negatively effect my energy for these workouts or my ability to recover from them.
If you find cardio to be part of the most enjoyable method of creating a calorie deficit, then do that. In terms of what type of cardio to do, it's more important to choose cardio that you enjoy over what is most optimal. Because its only optimal if you can do it consistently. HIT is quite good if you really feel like you need and want to do cardio, there have been studies conducted that show it is less detrimental to muscle development than steady state cardio.
Ultimately cardio is done for one main reason - to create a calorie deficit. But you don't have to do cardio in order to create a calorie deficit.
When it comes to losing bodyfat, its all about finding the easiest and most enjoyable way to achieve a calorie defecit. If your method is really hard work then it's not going to be sustainable and you will struggle to stay consistent.
Years back I would torture myself with cardio because I didn't know any better, don't get me wrong, I got results because I can be very disciplined. However, when I focused my efforts on cardio to create a calorie deficit, it was always something I perceived as something I would do for a short period of time just to GET lean. That leaves the problem, what happens when you achieve that goal? You stop the cardio, and you relax on your diet because its just plain hard work. So I used to do this cycle, I'd get to my goal and then I'd won so I'd stop the cardio and relax my diet and I'd gain the fat back.
I never do "cardio" now, whenever I used to do cardio, I'd get a lot more hungry and so it often negates the effect of doing the cardio. Also I get tired, and eventually it catches up with me because when I train with weights I train hard and so I don't have room to add more work into my routine and still recover effectively and maintain good energy levels. Personally I find it much easier and enjoyable to reduce my intake of calories by 500kcal than do 500kcal worth of cardio work. So I don't do any typical cardio at all.
I like to walk and that is the closest I get to cardio - because it's super easy, therefore I can do it consistently and it does not effect my ability to recover from my workouts. I walk to and from the gym and generally choose to walk where I can, I end up doing 45-90 minutes walking a day. I stick a podcast on or listen to some music and its relaxing and healthy.
If your goal is to build a lean and muscular physique you have to also take into account how much exercise you can do and still recover effectively. So you should prioritise the type of training you do, I always prioritise intense weight training. I don't let any other training negatively effect my energy for these workouts or my ability to recover from them.
If you find cardio to be part of the most enjoyable method of creating a calorie deficit, then do that. In terms of what type of cardio to do, it's more important to choose cardio that you enjoy over what is most optimal. Because its only optimal if you can do it consistently. HIT is quite good if you really feel like you need and want to do cardio, there have been studies conducted that show it is less detrimental to muscle development than steady state cardio.
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