The Cardio Myth

If you’re trying to lose weight, tone-up, or just feel better you will probably ride stationary bike or jog on a treadmill. Why? Because you have been told that ‘cardio’ will get you fit. This is the ‘Cardio Myth.’

First off, traditionally, idea of ‘cardio’ involves running or biking on some stationary piece of equipment.


(ancient technology really)

Fine, but it’s wrong! ‘cardio’ means ANY activity that spikes your body’s usage of oxygen. Your heart beats, your blood pumps, your lungs crave oxygen and effectively, you burn calories.

So ‘cardio’ should stand to mean any exercise that makes your body work hard.

Okay, so how does this new definition get me fit?

It’s simple. When you ride a bike or run (traditional ‘cardio’) you burn calories, which is good. But there’s one problem with these methods; you aren’t re-training your body to function differently. Your body is operating the way it always has except for burning some extra calories.

To really get fit, you need to focus on resistance exercises. Weight training, and especially circuit training, helps you burn a lot of calories. But more than just that, weight-lifting RE-TRAINS your body.

By tearing down and then building up muscle (the process of gaining muscle) you are effectively re-training your body to function in a different way. The calories you consume can now be put to work, repairing broken down muscle, not just sitting there.

Put it this way:

Traditional Cardio -> burn calories -> then you re-consume calories -> calories sit idle = same loose body with a little less fat

Weight training -> burn calories -> tear muscle -> then you re-consume calories -> calories are used to repair muscle = trained, fit body

I’m not saying traditional cardio is bad, but I think it’s over-rated. If you weight training, your body will constantly be using calories for repair – reshaping your body.

Weight training isn’t just for bulky body builders, anyone can do it and by doing it properly you can achieve your fitness goals – big and strong, long and lean, sleek and slender, etc.

I hope this makes sense, but if you have any questions feel free to drop me a line. Let’s discuss.

Stay tuned for the next blog post on Circuit Training!