Constant cardio and fat loss
Here's what you need to know...
1. Ironically, spending 20 hours a week in the "fat burning zone" leads to very little fat loss and a lot of muscle loss. The result? Looking like a flabby runner.
2. Steady state cardio should be reserved for endurance athletes, not for those seeking fat loss and awesome body composition. Physique competitors don't even need traditional long-duration cardio.
3. Metabolic interval training can be made even better with advanced work-to-recovery ratios and a few select tools.
In 2008, I started training for long distance running, half and full marathons. By 2010 my running mileage had increased and some weeks I used to run up to 70 KM. Despite twenty hours per week of endurance training, time spent mostly in the so-called "fat burning zone", I barely lost any fat and definitely lost muscle, even with a controlled diet plan and a couple of weight training sessions per week. When I looked at my photos crossing the finish line, I looked soft and I could hardly see any of my muscles definitions. As soon as I was done with a race, I started gradually easing into my weight training and I have noticed that I could only tone up if I cut down on my endurance training.
Similarly during the holy month of Ramadan, when I am fasting, I had to cut down on my cardio and I had to either do weight or cardio training, I ended up doing weight training 3-4 times a week (obviously I am addicted to the iron) and one small cardio session. By the end of the month I became noticeably toned and to my surprise, my fat content had decreased.
This solidified my belief that steady-state aerobics is absolutely ineffective for fat loss. Long, steady-state endurance is not the answer for a defined, lean physique, and it's a waste of time if your goal is long-term fat loss.
Endurance work is only the answer if your goal is to compete in an endurance event, not if you want to actually look your best. If you want to lose fat but not look like a soft endurance athlete, metabolic interval training is the way to go.
That was almost 10 years ago. Have I changed my mind? And what have I learned since then as a qualified fitness professional, and yes, as a woman who still competes in endurance events?
Absolutely not, Get off the treadmill, stop spinning your wheels, and push yourself in the gym if you want to lose some serious fat.
Without changing my diet (and in fact staying very conscious of what I was eating), only shifting my training from mostly lifting to include more steady state aerobics, my body would shift to my "endurance body" with less muscle and more fat as a percentage. Interestingly, my weight didn't change much, my body composition was just responding to the activity I was doing.
I enjoy competing and love crossing a finish line. Unfortunately, looking back, my body composition around race time has once again confirmed my original statement: the more steady state aerobic exercise I do, the softer my appearance seems to be. There are a few things this could be attributed to, other than just the fact that I was doing more steady state cardio, including:
1. By doing more steady state cardio, I end up doing less strength training. Is it necessarily the cardio that's the problem, or just not strength training/metabolic interval training as much?
2. The strength training I'm doing could be suffering in quality and recovery since I usually head out for a run either the morning of, directly following, or on the opposite day when I could be recovering from my lifting session.
3. Increased appetite from doing more steady state cardio. I'm pretty careful about tracking my intake, but we won't rule this out as maybe I do end up hungrier and make up for the extra calories burned in my food intake. And of course the carb-loading process 1-2 weeks before the race
Here's the catch: your body quickly adapts to steady state aerobic activity, decreasing the amount of calories you burn with each walk/run, making you more and more efficient at the activity. This is the goal if you're training for an endurance event – to be super efficient using the least amount of energy (calories) possible to complete the distance. You want just the opposite if you're trying to lose fat.
Advanced Interval Training
Here are three types you can do for high-intensity interval training:
1 Fixed Work, Fixed Recovery: you work for 30 seconds and rest for 30 seconds (most basic and suitable for beginners)
2 Fixed Work, Progressive Recovery: Instead of having the same rest period a progressive rest period can be used that gets longer each round as you're getting tired.
3 Variable Work, Fixed Recovery: You work for 30 seconds, however each round you try to achieve more reps and you rest for 20 seconds.
Incorporating Kettlebells, sandbags, free weights and slides in your interval training will help you burn fats and challenge your body constantly. Also, a huge bonus of using sandbags and slides would be that they are having a lower impact than other aerobic options, like running or jumping rope. Easier on your body and more effective!
I always ensure to end my private sessions with 10-15 minutes of metabolic training in addition to weight training. Similarly with group sessions using metabolic training is the most efficient way for fat loss. At the end of the day, nothing beats the burn of a good metabolic workout.
If you're getting ready for a photo shoot, a beach body reveal, or want to look like a physique competitor with chiseled abs, skip your run for a few weeks and make strength training and interval training your priority. Mix in a heart rate monitor, kettlebells, and sandbags and see if you reach the same conclusion I have.
... Stay tuned.
Amira Elshandidi
