The secrets to maximizing your cardio for your health!

Cardio training is often thought of as an effective method of weight management. However, I often hear from people: “I do a lot of cardio and have been gaining weight without losing weight!!”

Confusing problem, right? After all, you would think that with the amount of cardio you do you would be expending a lot of calories that would make you lose weight.

Adding to this belief is that the latest fitness craze is promoting high-intensity exercise, whether it’s weight training or cardio training.

I’m going to suggest you’re doing it wrong! For a number of reasons that I am going to discuss. First of all, it is important to understand that as humans we can be active for long periods of time without needing to stop, unlike other mammals, as they need to stop to release some heat from their body. We do that, in other ways, which allow us to continually move.

In longer efforts, such as events that last two hours or more, ninety-nine percent of the effort comes from the aerobic system. Of our three energy systems, this one often seems to fall short in terms of respect.

Quick Summary of Power Systems:

1. The first 5-10 seconds are powered by the ATP/CP system
2. After that time, the body begins to switch to a system that produces lactate (the buildup of which causes you to burn the day after exercise)
3. Finally, in periods of 2 minutes or more, there is a change to the aerobic system that allows us to sustain prolonged efforts.

Fat is the main ingredient for fueling the aerobic system and is the reason the body is covered in it. This system is used regularly throughout the day, in fact, right now, as you read this, to some extent you are. The stronger your aerobic system, the better able you are to use fat for fuel instead of sugar (simple carbohydrates).

When your aerobic system is weak, you need more of your energy supply to come from sugar (since this is the fuel of choice for the second system mentioned above). But when you eat sugar, there is an increase in insulin production, which prevents further breakdown of fat for energy. This leads to you needing more sugar, which further reduces your ability to burn fat.

If you’re one of those who’s gained weight from increased cardio, chances are you’re eating more to deal with the loss of energy.

Side effects of being aerobically weak are:

• Fatigue – Mid-day fatigue leads you to reach for more sugary foods
• Increased body fat – increased dietary carbohydrates (sugary types) to deal with the energy your body needs
• Inflammation: common musculoskeletal or nerve-related injuries
• Hormonal imbalance: It is observed that there are higher levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. This further signals cravings for sugary foods and high levels of body fat.
• Physical injuries: The body requires oxygen delivered to the tissues, muscles, nerves, ligaments, tendons, etc. Oxygen is delivered through the blood vessels. With age comes the loss in the vascular system and the supply of oxygen to the tissues that require it. Aerobic exercise improves and, in some cases, helps build more blood vessels to facilitate the transport of oxygen to tissues that need it.

Last on this list is where I do a lot of my preaching. Often with patients I ask them to implement this little aerobic workout that I’ll mention at the end, and it’s enough to get them out of pain (even without addressing some of the key dysfunctions that lead to their injury).

So how do you know if you’re getting aerobic exercise? Simple. Follow the guidance of Dr. Maffetone. He has studied this for many years and has worked with many great athletes of our time. His guidelines on proper aerobic training are as follows:

1. Subtract your age from 180

2. Modify this number by selecting from the following categories the one that best suits your fitness and health profile:

• If you have or are recovering from a major illness (heart disease, any operation or hospitalization, etc.) or are taking regular medication. Subtract an additional 10.
• If you are injured, have regressed in training or competition, have more than two colds or flu attacks per year, have allergies or asthma, or have been inconsistent or just returned to training. Subtract an additional 5.
• If you have been training consistently (at least four times a week) for up to two years without any of the issues listed above. Hold the number 180 – age.
• If you have been training for more than two years without any of the problems listed above and have progressed through competition without injury. add 5.

I promise you that very few people reading this will have been sick less than 2 times in the last 12 months, and almost everyone reading this once they put on a heart rate monitor will be amazed at how slow you have to go to maintain your heart rate. cardiac. recommended range.

My recommendation is to stick to the formula. 30-40 minutes each workout, 3-4 times a week, and over 6 months you’ll not only notice a significant change in your body composition (which will be long-lasting, I might add, unlike weight loss on diets), but which you will also notice Notice that you are less sick, less injured, have higher energy levels. You can then go back to whatever high-intensity training you’ve been doing before and be amazed at how much better you are.

I do this work with most of my patients and all of my elite athletes.