Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I know ours started off a little rough with a sick little one but luckily it was a quick 24hr bug! Today I’m getting back to the gym & decided I needed to kick my cardio up a notch. When you get winded going up the stairs…it’s time 😉
I have a love/hate relationship with cardio so I try to do as little as possible, in the least amount of time, in the least boring way HA! Plus I legit think I look like Phoebe from friends when I try to run…true story. Any-who so many people think that cardio is THE answer to weight/fat loss so I wanted to share with you all some of my secrets, not only from my own personal experience but speaking as a certified personal trainer.
If you are using cardio for fat loss and not seeing any results, then you might be making these mistakes.
Mistake 1: Only doing cardio for fat loss
Did you know that you can use weight training for fat loss? Lifting weight is not JUST about building muscle. BUT the more muscle that you have, the more calories you burn on a general basis. Your metabolism will be boosted for many hours after a lifting session compared to just during your session or shortly after while doing cardio. Also excessive cardio without weight training could lead to a loss in muscle tissue instead of or in addition to body fat. You want to preserve muscle because again…more muscle equals more calories burning throughout the day. So don’t be fooled on the scale because you could be losing precious muscle. Want that “toned” appearance? Only doing cardio will NOT get you that look. Lifting weights is what is going to get those muscles that rounded appearance. And in combination with cardio, shedding the layer of fat over those muscles is going to make you look “toned”.
Mistake 2: Performing the same low-intensity, “steady state” cardio
“Steady state” cardio means performing cardio at a steady pace. You can only get so far with this type of cardio. Sure this will probably work in the beginning. But your body is smart and it adapts…quickly. This is where you might feel like your fat loss is stalling & where interval training comes to play. HIIT (high intensity intervals) is a training idea in which low to moderate intensity intervals are alternated with high intensity intervals. It can be applied to running. biking, rowing, elliptical-ing (i just made that a word) or even weight training exercises. THIS is how I do most of my cardio. It takes less time & it doesn’t get boring! Also if u always choose the treadmill, try out the stair stepper or the rowing machine, switch it up! So next time you are doing cardio, try some sprints on the elliptical or some jump squats or jump roping between sets while you are lifting. This keeps your body guessing & the fat burning!
Mistake 3: Doing cardio before weight training.
If you are planning on having a good lifting session you want to have as much strength as you can. So it’s best not to tire yourself out first by doing a bunch of cardio. Warming up with a little cardio is fine & recommended, but keep the major cardio session POST lifting. There’s also some fancy jargon about your glycogen stores being depleted after lifting which is better for your post lifting cardio to burn more fat…but I won’t bore you will that…just trust me 😉
STILL stuck in a weight loss rut even after changing up your cardio? Then check out my post 10 Reasons You Aren’t Losing Weight or my JumpStart Nutrition Guide.
Want a FREE guide to daily healthy habits for weight loss? Join my mailing list to get your FREE pdf. By joining, you will never miss a blog post & be in the know of what’s happening at Lesley Leanne!
Have a great rest of your week, & hey…only 1 more day til Friday!
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