Should you do any at all?…
Does it “eat up” your muscle?…
As a personal trainer, obviously I lift weights. A lot! In fact, up to 8 times a week depending on my workout routine at that time. So, you’d think I must have a low opinion of cardio?
You thought wrong. I am a huge believer in doing cardio. I’ll be honest – at first, I wasn’t at all. I just wanted to lift and lift and lift some more. But the more I researched it and the more I performed it the more I totally believe in it and perform it several times a week now.
Here’s why:
- Cardio is good for your health. It strengthens the heart and helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol – all areas of particular concern for gym goers.
- Cardio makes you more insulin sensitive (when done the right way…keep reading!). Your ability to handle insulin is the #1 determinant of your muscle building success. “Smart cardio” helps optimise this.
3. Cardio lets you eat more, for both dieting and bulking. Doing your cardio allows you to eat more food, which helps keep you satisfied and with a healthy metabolic rate. That means the more effective your cardio, the more you can eat, and the more you can grow in the off-season or stay full while dieting.
That said, when I say “do cardio” I do not mean marathon jogs on the treadmill or riding the stationary bike for hours at a time…
In fact, the way to perform it is “short & sweet.” Actually, “short & painful” is more like it!
To do a “real cardio workout” requires you to learn about your own limits. How hard exactly can you work! The best way to measure this is on an RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) scale. To understand RPE, let’s use the example of a stationary bike:
Think of a light slow pedal as being a 1/10
A brisk, moderate ride as 5/10
8-9/10 would be all out, hard as you can go
And 10/10 would be that much higher; something you could not sustain for more than a few seconds.
So, this particular cardio workout below may only be 15-25 mins long, but in that short amount of time it really pushes you…and sees what you are made of. The key is to PUSH HARD, push all the way up to an RPE of 10. Not for very long, but definitely level 10.
Why push so hard? Because this is where cardio truly works its magic on blood chemistry, cardiovascular health, even hormones like GH and testosterone. Cardio can improve all these health markers amazingly, but you have to reach an RPE of 10.
It’s tough, in fact it’s very tough, but the results are so worth it 🙂
So, START TODAY
15-25 minutes, three times a week
Start with a brisk 5-minute warm up
The, 20-45 seconds of all out effort and 45-90 seconds recovery (depending on your conditioning and level of fitness), repeat the process for 15-25 minutes and job done!
Keep this up for a matter of just a few months and I guarantee you will be delighted with your results.
