Cardio workouts have gotten a bad rap recently. I have to admit, I'm as guilty as the next fat loss guru when it comes to "standard cardio" bashing. Don't get me wrong, my reasons for preferring shorter, more intense and fully dynamic fat loss workouts are quite validated, but standard cardio training does still have it's place.
With all of the anti-cardio workout messages constantly being spewed out by so many fat loss experts, I'm afraid the general public may start to get the wrong message. It's not that traditional, longer and slower paced (aka steady state cardio) cardio workouts are ineffective, but rather that they are highly inefficient and potentially less effective overall.
To clarify, doing a 60-minute jog on the treadmill six days per week is quite a time commitment for the average person. Assuming a shorter and more intense workout could burn the same amount of calories overall (thanks to a post-workout boost in metabolism), a time crunched individual would benefit greatly from performing six 15-minute weekly workouts, instead.
The second option is what I preach and there are numerous benefits that accompany the huge time-savings. But this approach is not without downsides and a given individual's workout plan does not have to be one form of cardio workout or the other.
It's important for the general public to understand the benefits of traditional cardio workouts and shorter, more advanced cardio training, so that an optimal blend of fat-burning exercise can be achieved.
The "new age" cardio workouts that often encourage using intervals, plyometrics, circuits and other, more intense techniques, may not be appropriate for everyone. True beginners, injury-prone individuals and those who are opposed to hard work, all would be poor candidates for this type of fat loss training.
These exercise enthusiasts would be best-suited for traditional cardio workouts, with perhaps a gradual introduction to more intense training as their fitness level progresses. Simply put, lower effort cardiovascular workouts carry a substantially lower risk of injury (although overuse injuries can occur) and are more appropriate for the fat loss newbie.
Another limitation of shorter, more advanced workouts is the overtraining phenomenon. It's a known fact that one cannot workout at maximum effort levels day after day, workout after workout. Eventually, the body will throw in the towel, as the overtrained individual continues to try and push past their recovery abilities. This leads to diminished fat loss results and may even cause backwards progress.
For this reason, any workout plan must find the right balance between intense training and lower effort, longer duration workouts. Plus, longer cardio workouts can become a more powerful calorie-burning tool with slight adjustments. For example, by using moderate intervals, one can potentially create a slight post-workout bump in metabolism, without subjecting their body to intense stress. A second option is to use incline and/or resistance variations to accomplish the same effect. Finally, a tempo effort may be used to enhance the overall calorie-burning effectiveness of any cardio workout.
The bottom line is that each form of fat loss workouts has a unique set of pros and cons. Depending on the individual at hand, one method may be more preferred than the other, but ultimately all individuals will need to use both to achieve an optimal balance between obtaining results and preventing injury or burnout.
