Too much of a good thing? 4 ways you’re doing cardio wrong

(BPT) – Does your exercise routine live and die by the treadmill? Does your workout consist of an hour on the elliptical? While you can’t ignore the positive impact aerobic exercise has on your health, it may not be the dream weight-loss solution you hope for.

“It seems an awful lot of people walk, jog, run and cycle on a regular basis, hoping the time spent on the treadmill, bike or trail will equate to drastic weight loss results,” says Paul Kriegler, registered dietitian and nutrition program manager for Life Time Fitness. “There’s a fair amount of research on how much cardio is best for realizing health benefits, but there are a few factors that could be compromising those benefits for you.”

You’re doing cardio, but moving less throughout the rest of the day.

Think about this: you wake up early, get to your health club and work hard for a solid hour, spinning your legs until they feel like jelly. A puddle of sweat surrounds your bike and your heart rate monitor says you burned 950 calories. That’s great, until later on, you forgo your normal walking break because you feel too worn out. And later that evening, you catch a nap before dinner rather than walking the dog or mowing the lawn. People often justify inactivity in the hours after a strenuous workout. Most experts recommend getting the majority of your movement throughout the day instead of condensing it into one particular segment.

You’re doing too much cardio.

The health benefits of cardiovascular training appear to begin after around 30 minutes of moderate intensity four to five days per week, totaling around 150 minutes. When it comes to cardio, more isn’t always better, especially if you don’t give your body time to recover. According to an article titled “Effect of the volume and intensity of exercise training on insulin sensitivity,” published in the September 2013 edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology, opting for long, frequent sessions is often less effective than shorter, higher intensity. Doing long sessions of cardio, more than 60 minutes, is rarely necessary unless you’re training for a specific event. Another observational study of recreational joggers suggest you’re better off capping your strict cardio time at 30 minutes and including several days per week of resistance training.

You think cardio means “I get to eat extra calories without consequence.”

While exercising to burn off some energy may give you a little room for forgiveness, exercising to prepare for or undo poor eating habits doesn’t guarantee you results. In fact, according to a study in PubMed, large amounts of cardio training have been shown to induce compensatory eating patterns, especially in women. It’s easy to get into this mindset, but exercise is far more than just a way to expend calories. Well-planned, properly executed bouts of activity can stimulate your body to go through incredible changes, but not if you’re using food as a reward.

All your cardio sessions are the same.

Cardio can be helpful for getting a little solitude or zone out time, but doing the same workout every day when you’re looking for results is definitely not the answer. A good exercise program incorporates variability from one workout to the next. Your body has a few major energy systems, and they all need to be challenged over time. Try an Active Metabolic Assessment from Life Time to scientifically determine your most efficient heart rate zones so you can exercise smarter.

Cardiovascular exercise may promote a positive mood, better cognitive function and reduce diabetes risk, but only if you do it right. Take these factors into consideration the next time you lace up your gym shoes and hop on the nearest cardio machine.

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz3AG-oCXTE&fs=1&rel=0]

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By far, the most popular question asked by hardgainers is how to bulk up fast while still staying lean. Most answer that question by saying that it’s impossible to build muscle and burn fat at the same time. They say that these are two polar opposite goals that require to completely different calorie needs to achieve. I say…that’s not true. In fact, they can both be done at the same time if you take the right approach to your workout and nutrition.

In this video, I try to dispel the bulking and cutting myth once and for all to show you how to bulk up fast without sacrificing your current leanness. You don’t ever have to follow a bulking diet or special workouts to bulk up. Instead, you’ll learn how to get big fast by sticking to the only two things you ever need to focus on to get there.

A positive nitrogen balance and hypocaloric diet is the winning combination for hardgainers. This approach is the way to add muscle bulk and size, but of the clean variety. Dirty bulking is the process of adding size, but often comprised mostly of just excess body fat. Clean bulking is what we do at ATHLEAN-X. It’s the process of adding 100 percent lean athletic muscle.

So can you bulk up? Yes. Can you bulk up fast? Yes. Do you have to be fat half of the year to do it? Absolutely not.

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How to BULK UP Fast! (TRUTH about “Bulking and Cutting”)

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