Cardio ain’t the way to go.

You’re trying to lose fat not weight, the weight loss is a side effect of eating less than you’re burning for energy daily. Hear me out . 

  Firstly cardio , streetname for cardiovascular training can be any exercise that is done  for a protracted period of time which keeps your heart rate at a significantly higher pace . 

  A practice that task’s the body’s respiratory system, promoting more blood flow , strengthening the heart and lungs , reducing blood pressure and generally keeping you healthy.

  A variety of exercises ranging from running to rowing to jump rope and jump squats, cardio sends an endurance building stimulus to the body making it more efficient utilizing oxygen and conserving energy expenditure.

  That said , except you are an athlete and training for competition, hours of cardio as your major stimulus for fat loss can be quite detrimental to an individual .

  Cardio does not discriminate between bodyfat and muscle mass. It burns everything. A majorly cardio routine coupled with a restrictive diet might very quickly aid in weight loss , but weight isn’t just bodyfat. Weight is the sum total of your body composition which isn’t just bodyfat alone but includes, muscle mass, bone density, water weight, and visceral fat. Excessive cardio burn all tissues at relatively the same ratio , leaving you a smaller version of yourself. 

  This might sound familiar to you  , you lose a lot of weight from using the treadmill and other cardio based routines , but you take a little vacation and all the weight comes rushing back even faster than before . You get back to training lose a couple pounds , take a little break and it comes back faster and the cycle just continues for years. You’ve been an exercise enthusiast for years but you somehow have never stayed lean for a period of time. You’re not alone.

  Cardio is designed to send an endurance building signal to the body , meaning you’re telling you body you have a longer distance to go. Your body in response gets very efficient at conserving the rate at which it burns calories( energy) to enable you have a better gas tank for the journey. Your body think “we have to go far so let’s reduce the speed we burn food at so we have more in reserve for longer” . It does this by significantly reducing your metabolism , reducing how fast it burn food and how much food it burns. 

  This becomes a significant problem when you reduce the intensity of exercise you’ve been performing because now your body isn’t burning food at a fast rate , turning all the excess unused calories into bodyfat a lot quicker. 

   

 Building a higher metabolism should be the major priority in the fat loss process. A fast metabolism means your body is constantly burning more calories for daily function even when not performing any exercises. 

 

 The fastest and most reliable method to boost metabolism health is through resistance training and a sufficient daily protein intake. Meaning exercises and nutritional choices aimed at building strength and muscle hypertrophy. 

  Muscle is a dense tissue, it does not take as much space as fat , and it needs a lot of caloric supply to maintain, which means it uses more of the food you eat.

 Humans progressively lose muscle mass and strength from around age 30, so building stronger muscles is necessary to offset the neuromuscular decline that occurs as a result of aging and lifestyle choices. 

 A supplementary cardio routine can and should be incorporated into your program to improve respiratory function and heart health . I recommend hitting a minimum of 12000 steps daily for fat loss goals But , the major source of exercise stimulus must come from some form of resistance training.

 

 In conclusion,cardio is a good tool for healthy living but if your goal is minimizing fat reserves then the most sustainable method is through consistently progressive resistance training and educated nutritional choices .