Have you noticed that some people sweat out in crowded aerobics classes or cycle to nowhere on stationary bikes? That is because they think that aerobic activity burns a ton of calories. But here’s the unfortunate truth: If you put milk and sugar in your morning coffee, you’ve just consumed more calories than you burned during an average cardio workout. Cardio is an incredibly effective waste of your time—an average of only 200 calories burned per 45 minutes of activity.
Cardio exercise keeps you weak and fat because cardio exercises don’t build muscles. In fact, cardio exercise causes a loss of muscle, because your body will shed anything it’s not using. And if you’re only doing cardio, you’re not using most of your muscle mass. As you realize now if your goal is to get lean, you need to build muscle mass using some form of resistance training, plain and simple.
As you become aware that your focus should not be on the few calories you burn during exercise but on the metabolic boost that muscles give you the rest of the time, even while you sleep. Gaining muscle through resistance training is the key to losing fat.
Imagine your muscular system as an engine that requires fuel (calories) while both working and idling. On average, each kilogram of muscle burns 22 calories a day at complete rest. That’s 8,030 calories a year—more than a kilogram of fat, which clocks in at 7,700 calories. Adding just a few kilograms of muscle is equivalent to upgrading to a stronger engine that burns more fuel!
Not only is aerobic activity ineffective at improving body composition or overall fitness, but it’s also not nearly as safe as most people believe it to be. Its highly repetitive nature makes the risk of overuse injuries high. You need to realize that thousands or even millions of identical repetitions that you undertake over the years are likely to cause unnoticed cumulative stress on joints until chronic injuries eventually surface.
There are the few genetically exceptional people who can run, cycle, or jump around for a decade without problems, but these people are 1% of population. For every success story of someone who has spent a lifetime pounding the pavement or hunching over a bike, there are many more for whom injuries resulted in a loss of mobility.
I instantly start to feel pain every time I see an overweight man or woman running to get in shape, jumping up and down, with knees and elbows all going their own way because of the amount of force which they put on their joints.
If you are overweight, 1st thing you should do is change your diet, 2nd thing is to start walking and moving more. Without first developing a foundation of strength and stability, running or jumping around in an aerobics class is a formula for injury!
Media Contact
Company Name: Pentagram of Health
Contact Person: Dom Draganic RD & PT
Email: support@pentagramofhealth.com
Phone: +385 95 533 7528
Country: Croatia
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