At first glance, cardio training seems simple: hop on the treadmill, sweat for half an hour, go home. In reality, there are more questions than answers. How many times a week? At what intensity? Why has the scale stopped moving? Below are the most common questions, answered by exercise physiologists and experienced personal trainers.
How do you fit cardio training into your week?
The solution is to alternate easy days with hard days, says Carla Sottovia, a physiologist and senior personal trainer at the Cooper Fitness Center in Dallas. On a low-intensity day you train for longer and let your body recover from the previous day. The next day, you push harder again.
To get the most out of it, leave a day or two of your week free and get enough sleep. Catherine Jackson, a professor of kinesiology at California State University in Fresno and a member of the American College of Sports Medicine, warns that if you are too tired, you will stop seeing results. “It feels like you’re working hard, but you’re actually training at a low intensity,” Jackson explains.
Five workouts a week — Sottovia recommends the following split (maximum heart rate MHR = 220 minus your age):
- Day one: 45 minutes at moderate intensity, 60%–70% of MHR.
- Day two: 30–40 minutes at high intensity, 75%–80% MHR.
- Day three: 45 minutes at moderate intensity, 65%–70% MHR.
- Day four: 45 minutes of interval training — alternating high- and low-intensity bursts.
- Day five: 60 minutes at low to moderate intensity, about 65% MHR.
Beth Horn, a professional fitness competitor and personal trainer, recommends constantly switching up your types of cardio. “If you like running, do it 2–3 times a week, but on the other days do something completely different,” Horn says. Monotony breeds boredom and reduces effectiveness. According to Horn, athletes who cross-train are in the best shape.
Cardio training on three days — what should you do?
Get the most out of your three workouts: do two interval workouts and one longer, easy session, Horn recommends. Also make sure your strength training is seriously demanding, says professional competitor Elaine Goodlad. Because muscles burn fat, the more effective your work in the gym, the less cardio you need to do at all.
Goodlad adds that doing fewer cardio sessions from time to time is not a bad idea at all. The body adapts to a constant training load and stops progressing. If you pull back a little in between and then jump back in, your body keeps responding.
How do you keep cardio training interesting?
Try circuit training, Sottovia advises. Do 3 minutes of cardio, then 1 minute of strength training — and repeat. Choose exercises that engage large muscle groups and can be done standing up: squats, walking lunges, rowing.
Another trick: split your session between several machines. Goodlad often does 10 minutes on the treadmill, 10 minutes on the cross-trainer and 10 minutes on the stepper. Horn, in turn, changes up the routine with the seasons — yoga, hip-hop and spinning in winter, sprints in the park and cycling in spring.
Does low-intensity cardio training burn more fat?
You burn fat all the time, says Sottovia. It is only a question of the proportions of fuel sources. At higher intensity, the share of calories coming from fat may be smaller, but because you burn more calories overall, the total amount of fat burned is greater. An example: two people train for 30 minutes, one at 65% MHR, the other at 75%. In the end, the person who trained at the higher intensity has burned more fat.
One study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (Vol 34, No. 1, 2002) found that the most fat per minute was burned at approximately 74% MHR, and the 10-percent optimal range fell within 68%–79% MHR. Above 92% MHR, the rate of fat oxidation dropped sharply.
How much fat you burn also depends on your level of fitness. A body in better aerobic shape uses more fat cells for energy than an untrained body — this is one of the greatest benefits of regular cardio training.
Frequently asked questions
I do the same cardio program, but my results have stalled. What should I do?
Let your body experience change, Sottovia recommends — increase the duration or intensity, or change the type of exercise. If your cardio volume is already high, review your nutrition as well. Goodlad is blunt: cardio only burns fat if the number of calories you take in does not exceed the number you burn.
Is boredom a sign that something is wrong?
It is more a sign that your body has adapted. Change the format of your workout, the machine or the environment — a new stimulus brings a new response.
Is progress always possible after years of training?
At some point you may come close to your genetic ceiling, Jackson explains. Then it is worth accepting yourself in your current, excellent shape and being proud of it — that is a result in itself.
Source: Muscle&Fitness Hers
Source: WHO – physical activity.
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