Cardio is one of the most controversial topics in the world of fitness and at the same time one of the modalities that most practitioners have; this can be done anywhere, be it in a gym, in a park or even at home. But is it that everything that people believe and ascribe to cardiovascular exercise is true?
Then, you can know the reality about the 10 most popular myths of cardio and what most people ask about this important stage of your training:
1. "Doing a lot of cardio is the best way to lower my fat percentage"
To lower the percentage of fat, we must spend more calories than we consume; therefore, the most important thing is to take care of the food (calories consumed vs calories burned). Muscle is an active tissue, so developing muscle mass is what really speeds up the metabolism and makes us burn more energy, even when you are at rest. The magic formula is to always carry out cardiovascular exercise and a work of force with moderate loads; In this way, our daily caloric expenditure will increase.
2. "If I am starting a training plan, I must do only cardio for a while until I get rid of the fat and then weights"
The joint work from the beginning of the program allows increasing the energy expenditure for the control of corporal weight. However, it is considered that people who have never done strength exercise start with one or two days of cardio only to not have extreme muscle pain, but the most important thing is always the development of a program that has a balance between consumption and the expense of the exercise.
3. "If I just run, will my body be transformed ?"
If running is your passion and you insist on finishing a marathon, prepare yourself specifically for this challenge, but if your goal is to lose weight, lose fat and/or achieve a defined body, you must complement it with other training methods.
4. "If I do not have an hour to do cardio, better not do it"
In fact, one hour of cardio is too much. Excellent benefits can be obtained by doing high-intensity intervals for more than 10 minutes, without counting the heating and cooling time. If you prefer to do cardio at medium intensity, the recommended time per week is 150 minutes.
5. "If I want to lose fat, I must stay only in the 'fat burning zone'"
This area is between 60 and 65% of the maximum heart rate and is so named because in this range we are burning a greater percentage of calories from fat, and it is a training that provides excellent benefits when done for periods of time long, 30 or 45 minutes; however, the high-intensity intervals, bringing the heart rate to 85 or 95%, are excellent for those who want to lose fat, because they accelerate the metabolism and help us to use more calories during the day, even when we are at rest.
6. "First I do cardio and then weights"
If we do the high-intensity cardio before the weights, we are using the glycogen (energy) of the muscles, therefore, we will arrive exhausted to the training and our performance could be affected; You must have a lot of energy and strength to make weights, because developing lean mass is what helps to have a better body composition and to accelerate the metabolism. It is okay to do 5 to 10 minutes of warm-up when the intensity is strong, but you can exceed that time if the cardio is mild and / or moderate.
7. "If I do a lot of cardio, I can eat everything I want and still lose weight"
The most important for this objective is to achieve a caloric deficit; It is very easy to overestimate the energy expenditure during physical activity and underestimate the number of calories we eat. The first thing we must do to see results is to take care of the diet, cardio can help increase daily caloric expenditure and accelerate metabolism, but diet will always be the determining factor.
8. "The more I sweat more fat I burn"
Sweating is a mechanism to regulate body temperature, but it does not necessarily indicate that we are burning more or fewer calories. Each organism is different, there are people who sweat more than others; In addition, weather conditions also influence. The best way to measure how much we are really burning is a training heart rate monitor.
9. "If I want to increase muscle mass, it is better not to do anything cardio"
Regardless of the objective, any training program should include cardiovascular conditioning; This not only serves to burn fat and lose weight, but it also keeps us healthy and helps us to perform at the moment of doing strength training.
10. "A little cardio before strength training is all the warm-up I need to do"
Raising the heart rate is important before starting strength training, but it is not the only thing we should do. Warming the joints with muscle activation exercises, mobility, and some dynamic stretching is vital for our performance during training and our long-term health.
Each organism is unique and we do not all have the same objectives; we advise you to advise well before making adjustments to your training plan. At BODYTECH you can request your free assessment appointment and our professionals will review your physical condition, know your goals and help you create a program focused on your goals.
Then, you can know the reality about the 10 most popular myths of cardio and what most people ask about this important stage of your training:
1. "Doing a lot of cardio is the best way to lower my fat percentage"
To lower the percentage of fat, we must spend more calories than we consume; therefore, the most important thing is to take care of the food (calories consumed vs calories burned). Muscle is an active tissue, so developing muscle mass is what really speeds up the metabolism and makes us burn more energy, even when you are at rest. The magic formula is to always carry out cardiovascular exercise and a work of force with moderate loads; In this way, our daily caloric expenditure will increase.
2. "If I am starting a training plan, I must do only cardio for a while until I get rid of the fat and then weights"
The joint work from the beginning of the program allows increasing the energy expenditure for the control of corporal weight. However, it is considered that people who have never done strength exercise start with one or two days of cardio only to not have extreme muscle pain, but the most important thing is always the development of a program that has a balance between consumption and the expense of the exercise.
3. "If I just run, will my body be transformed ?"
If running is your passion and you insist on finishing a marathon, prepare yourself specifically for this challenge, but if your goal is to lose weight, lose fat and/or achieve a defined body, you must complement it with other training methods.
4. "If I do not have an hour to do cardio, better not do it"
In fact, one hour of cardio is too much. Excellent benefits can be obtained by doing high-intensity intervals for more than 10 minutes, without counting the heating and cooling time. If you prefer to do cardio at medium intensity, the recommended time per week is 150 minutes.
5. "If I want to lose fat, I must stay only in the 'fat burning zone'"
This area is between 60 and 65% of the maximum heart rate and is so named because in this range we are burning a greater percentage of calories from fat, and it is a training that provides excellent benefits when done for periods of time long, 30 or 45 minutes; however, the high-intensity intervals, bringing the heart rate to 85 or 95%, are excellent for those who want to lose fat, because they accelerate the metabolism and help us to use more calories during the day, even when we are at rest.
6. "First I do cardio and then weights"
If we do the high-intensity cardio before the weights, we are using the glycogen (energy) of the muscles, therefore, we will arrive exhausted to the training and our performance could be affected; You must have a lot of energy and strength to make weights, because developing lean mass is what helps to have a better body composition and to accelerate the metabolism. It is okay to do 5 to 10 minutes of warm-up when the intensity is strong, but you can exceed that time if the cardio is mild and / or moderate.
7. "If I do a lot of cardio, I can eat everything I want and still lose weight"
The most important for this objective is to achieve a caloric deficit; It is very easy to overestimate the energy expenditure during physical activity and underestimate the number of calories we eat. The first thing we must do to see results is to take care of the diet, cardio can help increase daily caloric expenditure and accelerate metabolism, but diet will always be the determining factor.
8. "The more I sweat more fat I burn"
Sweating is a mechanism to regulate body temperature, but it does not necessarily indicate that we are burning more or fewer calories. Each organism is different, there are people who sweat more than others; In addition, weather conditions also influence. The best way to measure how much we are really burning is a training heart rate monitor.
9. "If I want to increase muscle mass, it is better not to do anything cardio"
Regardless of the objective, any training program should include cardiovascular conditioning; This not only serves to burn fat and lose weight, but it also keeps us healthy and helps us to perform at the moment of doing strength training.
10. "A little cardio before strength training is all the warm-up I need to do"
Raising the heart rate is important before starting strength training, but it is not the only thing we should do. Warming the joints with muscle activation exercises, mobility, and some dynamic stretching is vital for our performance during training and our long-term health.
Each organism is unique and we do not all have the same objectives; we advise you to advise well before making adjustments to your training plan. At BODYTECH you can request your free assessment appointment and our professionals will review your physical condition, know your goals and help you create a program focused on your goals.
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