Break Out of Your Cardio Rut

Walk into just about any gym at 5 p.m. and you’ll get a very similar experience. The area with the cardio equipment will be buzzing, the stationary bikes humming away, the thump-thump sound of feet running or walking on the treadmills. It’s one of the busiest times in most gyms and the cardio area is usually the most crowded place to be.

Why is this the case? Probably because most people believe steady-state cardio exercise (working at the same moderate intensity the whole time) is the best way to burn fat. They believe that by getting on the elliptical/treadmill/bike/stairmaster and performing the required 30 to 60 minutes of exercise, they will be rewarded with a slim, toned body. We have also been told for years that we need to work out in the “fat-burning zone” to lose the most fat.

What if I said you could actually burn more calories by doing a shorter workout; would you be interested? My guess is that you probably would be. Because last time I checked, most of us were fairly busy. Fitting in just 20 minutes of exercise can be challenging on many days.

So where did this idea of a “fat-burning zone” come from? During a steady-state workout, your body will actually burn a higher percentage of fat than if you were to perform higher intensity intervals. The problem is, your body is quite intelligent, and it will quickly adapt to this kind of workout. In other words, your body will figure out how to use LESS calories to do the same amount of work. Another issue with this kind of training is that your body becomes very good at storing fat. In the same way that your car will burn less fuel if it is fuel-efficient, your body will use less fuel—fewer calories—for the workout as it becomes more efficient and it will instead store the extra fuel as fat.

Now that you know how smart your body actually is, how can you get the most bang for your workout buck? Interval training! In an interval workout, you would perform about 30 to 60 seconds of intense exercise followed by a recovery period. The length of the recovery period is up to you. Depending on your current fitness level, you could perform just a few intense intervals during your workout or you could alternate an interval with equal recovery time. Because you are pushing very hard during the interval, you will probably not have the energy to last 30 to 60 minutes. A 20- to 30-minute intense workout like this will be sufficient.

There is more good news. Studies show that your metabolism will continue to be elevated after a workout like this for 24 to 48 hours. This is when the real fat burning begins.

Here is one way you could format an interval workout:

30 seconds on (working as hard as you can), followed by 2 minute recovery
30 seconds on, 1 ½ minute recovery
30 seconds on, 1 minute recovery
30 seconds on, 30 seconds recovery
30 seconds on, 1 minute recovery
30 seconds on, 1 ½ minute recovery
30 seconds on, 2 minute recovery

You can begin with a 3- to 5-minute warm-up and finish with a short cool-down. This can be done on any cardio machine or by walking and/or running outside.

Some of you might be thinking right now, “But, I love to go for long walks/runs!” That’s great! Feel free to continue doing that, especially if you are training for a long distance endurance event like a 10K or a half-marathon. However, if your primary goal is to lose fat, break out of that cardio rut, save yourself some time and be willing to push yourself harder to achieve even quicker, better results!