My thought on cardio

My thought on cardio

My personal belief in cardio is very mixed. I find that cardio does a lot of different things to my body; Some affect me well and some affect me not so well. I will share my personal experience with cardio with you.

First and foremost, I should better explain what cardio is. Cardio in my books is any activity that lasts for a long period of time (e.g. 10 minutes) and uses a lot of energy. This can be anything from running on a treadmill to jump ropes to manual labor. I will say that some of the best cardio sessions I've been in involved carrying bundles of shingles on a ladder all day! Others' opinions may differ and do not include outside work, but everything does the same thing: burn calories. However, for the purpose of this article, I will discuss cardio that takes place in the gym.

The Good: Cardio is the healthiest exercise you can do with your body. I have no doubt about it because it is what strengthens your heart. You can live without bulging biceps, but without a good heart you have absolutely no chance. I recommend doing cardio every day, even for just ten minutes. Run on the treadmill in the morning to start your day, or take a 30-minute walk after work to get your heart rate up. Cardio is always necessary, even if some of us don't like it (including me). Where some people seem confused is the amount of cardio to do. Let me explain:

If you're trying to gain size, consider doing a little less cardio, especially if you're having trouble eating enough to do so. To achieve serious size, you must be in a calorie surplus (eating more calories than you burn in a day). If you're doing large amounts of cardio while trying to gain weight, you'll need to eat extra. Although I've never had a problem with appetite, I know a lot of people who do. They keep their cardio to a minimum when trying to bulk up because they have trouble consuming the necessary calories. I also recommend cardio after strength training in this situation. I strongly believe that weights should come first so that you can put your maximum effort into them. Long-distance cardio like running on a treadmill isn't too strenuous, so it can be done after lifting weights. There is another secret that I firmly believe in. Since I know you all eat breakfast before lifting (if you don't read my blog post about eating breakfast before lifting), you will get additional benefits from training cardio after. Because cardio increases blood flow and blood supply to your muscles, you can more easily supply your stressed muscles with the nutrients they need. This will help your muscles get stronger and repair themselves faster. In my personal experience, I experience less pain when I do cardio after a workout than when I don't. It's honestly pretty amazing. In my personal experience, I do 10 minutes of cardio 5 days a week (I only work out Monday to Friday). Sometimes I do more on the weekend, but I have the appetite to make up for it.

Second, you may be trying to save weight. In this case, I recommend more cardio. As I've mentioned in some of my previous articles, calories in vs. calories out is the name of the game for weight loss. You need to consume fewer calories than you burn in a day. This is where cardio really shines in most people's eyes. For example, let's take someone like me who loves to eat (I really love eating; it can be a real problem when I'm trying to diet). If I need to consume 2000 calories to lose weight, I can simply eat 2500 calories and do 500 calories worth of cardio to reach my 2000 calorie mark. Quite simply, doing cardio while trying to lose weight will help them feel more satisfied during the day. Instead of just eating salad, throw a baked potato into the mix (by the way, potatoes are loaded with potassium, which reduces the chance of a muscle cramp). All you have to do is increase your cardio to achieve your weight loss goals! Don't get too out of control, though, as I wouldn't recommend doing more than 30 minutes of cardio daily. When I'm trying to get back into summer shape, I usually do about 20 minutes of cardio every day of the week. I run at a decent pace (usually around 6 miles per hour), but I think that's a lot of cardio. Participating in extra cardio leaves me feeling very fatigued because my body can't recover as well when in a calorie deficit.

I also forgot to mention that the pace of your heart also makes a big difference in determining my recommended times. If you prefer cardio, you can go much longer than my recommended times because you'll burn far fewer calories per minute. You will need to ride longer than my recommended times to achieve the same results. Another thing to point out offers in daily activities. If you're a construction worker, you probably need to do little to no extra cardio to get the results you want. If you're trying to gain weight and stay healthy, I'd say you're probably doing well. If you're trying to lose weight, you may need extra cardio, but not much.

As I like to emphasize again and again, none of this is gospel. Results vary depending on your body, but I think this is a good guide to start with. Stay safe and happy lifting!

Inspired by Dillon Carley