5 Reasons “Slow-go” Cardio is NOT the way to go!
May 21, 2009 by Deb
I have seen so many people lately at the gym spending mindless hours doing the long low intensity workouts thinking they are doing such a great workout, yet they can’t understand why they don’t reach their weight loss goals! I have to clear this up now before anyone else wastes another precious hour of their life! Let me refer to the definition of “insanity”….doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result….to me that’s exactly what slow-go/low intensity cardio is….INSANE!!
Here’s the deal: if you’re looking to achieve maximal benefit from the time you put into your workouts, long duration “slow-go” cardio is NOT the way to go, and for many reasons.
Here are my top 5:
1. Minimal calories burned — 45 minutes on the treadmill may burn a whopping 300 calories if you’re lucky, the equivalent of ONE TENTH of a pound of fat. Exercise ten hours a week and you might just lose a pound!
This brings me to my next point:
2. Way too much time involved — I don’t know about you, but I don’t have hours and hours of my time to pour into working out each week. In fact, TIME is the number one reason people say they don’t workout out or quit working out! Beyond that, slow-go cardio is:
3. BORING as heck — Sitting on an exercise bike, treadmill, or elliptical staring at the wall in front of me for 45-60 minutes? No thanks.
But perhaps even worse is the fact that slow-go cardio provides:
4. No prolonged metabolic benefit — Did you know that with higher intensity exercise it is possible to continue to burn calories for up to 48 hours post workout? It’s true (and we’ll be discussing this “afterburn” effect in another post very soon). But you know what else is true? Long duration, low intensity cardio provides virtually NO prolonged elevation in metabolism. In fact, with slow-go cardio, metabolism returns to baseline almost IMMEDIATELY following the exercise session.
And finally, the reason that trumps all the others:
5. Minimal fat loss — Minimal calories burned during the session and virtually no additional calories burned afterward = minimal, if any fat loss results. And let’s be honest, the only reason anyone is doing cardio is for the “result”.
So if slow-go cardio isn’t a great solution, what is?
Short duration, high-intensity exercise, that’s what!! Less time, faster results — THAT’S what it’s all about.
And keep in mind, “high intensity” is relative to you. I don’t care if you’re already in great shape or if you’re 40 lbs overweight, you can exercise with intensity.
Moral of the story: sprinting is more effective for fat loss vs. low intensity walking or cycling for hours on end. It also frees up a heck of a lot of time to get home and recover! ….don’t waste your time, get in and get it done and get on with your life…you will be amazed at how these shorter more intense workouts help you to actually reach your goals!
Watch for some sample high intensity interval workouts coming up next blog. I will share with you three of my favorite intervals that I have used on several clients whom I do personal training with. They will be the first to tell you these workouts are fast and furious and get FAST results!! If you have some interval workouts that you have used that have helped you, please share with us…..one can never have too many interval workouts!! Be sure to let me know if you make the switch, and be sure to tell us your results!!
Train Hard and Expect Results,
Deb
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