Hands up all the cardio bunnies out there?

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If you’re not sweating, you’re not working right? I used to think there was no point in any workout if I didn’t really work up a sweat and it lasted for at least 30 mins. Surely this was the best way to burn loads of calories and stay in shape?

You do burn calories, or course you do, but if you are trying to lose weight and you are running, cycling, swimming several times a week and still not really seeing any results, perhaps it is time to re-assess.

Firstly, just doing more and more cardio could put a lot of strain on your body. And your joints, bones, muscles may not thank you for it. You really do not want to be getting shin splints, tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, stress fractures (if you’re a runner, you will know at least one person with at least one of these!) These will just cause you pain and you will have to stop working out/running altogether.

Even if you don’t pick up an injury, putting too much stress on your body will cause your body to have higher levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) which can actually cause fat gain, especially around the tummy. So if you feel you might be overdoing it on the cardio, maybe take a step back. This is why you see those articles saying “Why exercising less can help you lose weight” which seems to make no sense – this is why. Exercising too much can affect your hormones, which can affect your weight.

But let me be clear, this is extreme. For most people, doing some cardio is exactly what you should be doing. It’s so important for your health – reduces your risk of heart disease, keeps your blood pressure in check, reduces your risk of diabetes, helps you sleep, improves mental health, boosts brain power and boosts your immune system. Oh…and regulates weight too. See all the other reasons for cardio, other than just weight loss? People often get so focuses on the weight/fat loss benefits, they forget the rest…but yes, cardio helps regulate weight.

HOWEVER

Let’s take a look at resistance training. Often when people say they want to lose weight, what they really mean is they want to lose fat and tone up. Their weight might actually be in a healthy range, but perhaps they are carrying a bit too much fat than they would like around the middle. Really perhaps they just want to appear leaner and wobble less.

This is where resistance training can help. As you build more muscle and lose fat, you will appear leaner. This is because muscle is more dense than fat, meaning it takes up less space on your body pound for pound. So you can lose inches off your waist without seeing a change in the number on the scales.

The other great thing about having more lean muscle is that it boosts your resting metabolism – and that means your body burns more calories at rest. Which is why you should add some resistance training to your cardio training if you are wanting to lose weight, reduce your body fat and shape up.

So, if you are just thrashing the cardio in a bid to burn calories to lose weight, stop! Don’t over do it. Remember, it is the combination of the right amount of cardio AND resistance/weight training that will get you the best results.

Step away from the treadmill…