Why Cardiovascular Exercise isn’t Everything it’s Cracked Up To Be
There is one thing which is a certainty in the area of losing fat and building muscle – this is that exercise is an essential element. Everyone knows that more calories must be burned off than taken in in order to lose weight – and of course, to gain muscle mass, the muscles must be worked out. Despite that everyone knows this; there is still much debate and many misconceptions about how best to lose weight while building muscle. There is a wrong way to go about this, however; this is to do only cardiovascular workouts.
Cardiovascular exercise has a reputation for being the best way to lose weight, but this reputation is entirely undeserved. It can take as much as ten hours (!) every week to lose weight and this weight loss is minimal; about a pound. You will also experience a plateau of weight loss if you are doing the same exercises all the time – so you can keep working out very hard while getting nowhere!
As mentioned, cardiovascular exercise takes up a load of your free time. For some people this is an inconvenience, but for many other people this is just flat out impossible. Not everyone can pick up and trek to the gym for 15 hours a week. Plus with cardiovascular exercise, it takes time for your body to warm up and even get into calorie burning mode.
Of course, cardiovascular exercise is good for your heart. However, it can be a detriment to your joints. Intense cardio exercises can place a lot of strain on your joints – this can result in joint pain and increase your chances of developing arthritis down the road. These intense cardio workouts also tend to leave your muscles tired and sore, which means it takes longer before you can work out again.
In order for cardio to be beneficial, it needs to be done on a daily basis. That does mean seven days a week for at least an hour at a time, which can leave the body feeling tired, sore, and unable to perform the next day. This is essential since the body is used to the high intensity workouts, and can actually lead to weight gain if not practiced on an every day basis.
When doing cardio exercises, one must be working out in the fat burning zone in order to get results. Although calories are burned with almost any type of exercise, it is nearly impossible to burn excess fat when exercising at a low intensity. The fat burning zone is usually at a very fast pace and the heart rate must be high, which can be difficult for those just starting to exercise to accomplish.
Cardio exercises also do not do well for those trying to gain muscle. Most cardio exercises only work out the lower half of your body – the legs and abdomen. Cardio exercises like running and bicycling simply do not work out the upper body, meaning additional exercises are needed to work out these muscle groups.
With all of these disadvantages to classic cardiovascular workout programs and exercises, it is important to realize that you can still grab up all of the benefits, without the disadvantages. You can do this through turbulence training. You’ll be able to work your heart and your lungs, without having to run or do high intensity programs. You can save your bones and joints from unnecessary stresses and you can do it all in less time, making it superior to the cardiovascular exercises of yesterday.
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