Too Much Cardio Increases Body Fat

I don’t know what it is but every time I go to the gym I see this massive schism. This major separation between men and women. The women are busy pounding away on the cardio machines and the men are busy grunting with the free weights. The norm in most health clubs are men mostly do weights or resistance training and women mostly do cardio or aerobics. However, there comes a point when you can do too much cardio or aerobics and the guilty culprit is usually a female. Women just seem to have this predisposition to anything aerobic. If you’re training for a 10 kilometer run then an excessive amount of cardiovascular training would be justifiable but if your goal is to lose body fat there comes a time when performing too much cardio can hurt your weight loss results.

Explanation

When you do too much cardiovascular training you run the risk of losing muscle. For example, an aerobic instructor who doesn’t make time for resistance training will become the overweight aerobic instructor. Kind of an oxymoron when you think of it. Your aerobic instructor is supposed to be the one who you aspire to look like.

Here’s what’s happening inside of your body. When you’re in aerobic mode your body can use two methods of energy, glycogen or glucose (your bodies fuel) or fat which is stored fuel for a rainy day. People who do too much cardio using more energy than your body can supply will end up losing muscle (muscle burns fat). When you do cardio or aerobics training in excess you use up all of your bodies glycogen or glucose. Depending on how hard you’re working aerobically will determine your body’s next step. If you’re entire workout is intense or in anaerobic mode  your body can only use glycogen or glucose for your energy demands. On the contrary, if your workout is at a moderate pace or in aerobic mode then your body can now move on to fat stores for your energy demands. Therefore, if you do intense aerobics greater than 45 minutes you run the risk of using up all your glucose/glycogen. When this happens your body is forced to look for alternative methods of fuel and will break down existing muscle tissue using amino acids to keep up with your energy demands.

To Prevent Muscle Loss

An easy way to prevent muscle loss and/or to be aware of what state your body is in you can do two things. The first thing you can do is not to engage in any cardiovascular activity that is longer than one hour. The second is to perform this simple test to see if you are in aerobic mode or anaerobic mode. If you are not able to talk or carry on a conversation then your workout is too intense. You are in anaerobic mode and you do not want to remain in condition for to long. However if you’re able to talk without gasping for air then your workout is moderate and you are in aerobic mode.

A safer strategy would be to perform interval training where you spend equal or staggered time periods in aerobic and anaerobic modes however some people just starting out have such poor cardiovascular health it will be hard to achieve the aerobic mode as the slightest bit of activity will be deemed anaerobic.

Skinny Women With High Body Fat

Just because you’re skinny it does not mean that you are healthy. Many women I have seen have an appearance of health on the outside but carry a high body fat percentage and muscles that are severely atrophied causing flabby legs and a sagging but. These women are generally those who only engage in cardiovascular or aerobic type exercises. They’re skinny because they’re always doing cardio and believe it is the best way to manage their weight. They’re soft and mushy to the touch and usually have a high body fat percentage despite their efforts.

The problem with  this weight loss or management approach is you will not be able to have the toned body you are after because the very muscle you need to maintain your tone is being destroyed at each workout. You will also slow your metabolism  due to catoblism or the breaking down of your muscles. This becomes a greater problem because the minute decrease your cardiovascular or aerobics training the weight will return. As a result the person employing this strategy thinks they need to do more cardio type training further worsening the problem  and creating even a larger catastrophe. Muscle and good nutrition is what is needed to maintain a slim toned physique, a truth that usually is unknown to a person using this weight management strategy.

Conclusion

Aerobics is a definite part of an overall health and fitness routine but if your concern is weight loss don’t execute too much of this activity. Change your weight loss or management strategy to either, circuit training, interval training or resistance training followed by cardiovascular training. You might want to contact me to start a health plan to lose weight the right way by clicking here. I’ll incorporate the proper exercise and the proper diet for your goals.