What if I were to tell you that most if not all of the cardiovascular exercise you do was worthless? Well, guess what…over 50% of the people who perform cardio in an attempt to burn fat are wasting their time… hours and hours of it! Are you one of them?
Before you call me crazy, let me explain. I’m not saying that cardiovascular exercise can’t or doesn’t burn fat; it’s just that most people are not performing the right type of cardio workouts. Before I get into the details, let me first cover some of the basics. Just like anything in life, if you want to be successful you must do two things:
- Know what you’re doing (or learn); be knowledgeable
- Have a plan (detailed/well thought out)
How Cardio Exercise Affects Your Body
Well, I’m going to make sure that after reading this today you will be able to do both. So let’s start with your knowledge. It’s critical that you understand how your body works and what happens when you exercise.
The human body is constantly burning a mix of fuels or energy sources: fat and glycogen. Glycogen is energy stored in muscle cells that are primarily used during intense muscle contractions. Some examples of these intense muscle contractions would be strength training, running, hard physical work, etc. So basically, during low to moderate activity levels, your body first uses what’s in the bloodstream and then uses primarily fat.
When you are highly active you use more glycogen and less fat. You are probably wondering what all this has to do with you and your cardio workouts… right? Well, it matters… a lot!
There are different benefits of different levels of activity. Let me explain to you the system used, why I use it, and why it’s the most effective.
I recommend three basic levels of cardiovascular exercise:
Level 1: Long easy workout (ex. walking 60 minutes
Level 2: Moderate intensity / moderate time (ex. fast walk for 45 minutes)
Level 3: Short, hard workout (ex. running 20 minutes)
NOTE: It doesn’t matter what activity or piece of equipment you choose.
All that matters is that you get to the desired level.
Let’s talk about what happens at each of the three levels.
When exercising at Level 1 pace, your body burns more colonies from fat, HOWEVER, the total number of
calories are small. In order for you to burn a lot of body fat at the easy level you would need to do it for hours at a time! Not too practical is it? This is not to say there aren’t benefits because there are…it’s just not the best choice when it comes to fat loss. The primary benefit is increased blood flow and circulation, which means you’ll feel better, you’ll recover more quickly, and you’ll be healthier in general.
Ok, let’s talk about Level 2 now. At this level, you burn more calories but less are from fat. Moderate work will result in a larger increase in metabolism than the easy Level 1 and will last 2-6 hours in most cases. You also get the benefits of increased blood flow but you also have to remember that it’s a bit more stressful than Level 1. The main benefit or I should say the possible benefit is increased endurance (cardio/respiratory) IF your workouts are progressive (challenge the body’s systems to work harder overtime nearly every workout if possible).
Last but not least Level 3. At this level, you burn the most calories per unit of time. You also burn less fat during the workout, but the plus side is you deplete muscle glycogen which means you’ll be less likely to store “new” fat because any excess calories will be stored in the muscles instead. This type of workout also results in the largest increase in metabolism, which will generally last 4-24 hours or more.
The Level 3 workout is by far the most effective when it comes to fat loss for four reasons:
- Burn more calories in less time
- The largest increase in metabolism that lasts the longest
- Helps to add and maintain muscle tissue
- Depletes muscle glycogen which means you’re less likely to store new fat
So what’s your goal? As you can see there are benefits at each level and how often you perform each workout should be based on your goals. You can get the benefits of all three but you must be cautious in how you structure your program. Here are some general guidelines to follow:
If your primary goal is: Fat loss
- 1-3 Level 3 (10-20 mins)
- 1-2 Level 2 (20-30 mins)
- 1-2 Level 1 (40-60 mins) – Optional
Endurance
- 1 Level 3 (10-20 mins)
- 2-3 Level 2 (20-40 mins)
- 1-2 Level 1 (40-60 mins)
General Fitness
- 1 Level 3 (10-20 mins)
- 1-2 Level 2 (20-30 mins)
- 1-2 Level 1 (40-60 mins)
So to recap, you really need to know what your goals are, what levels you need
to be at, and how often. On the following page is a chart that gives you the
heart rate zones for all 3 of the workouts based on your age.
NOTE: If you are on blood pressure-regulating medication you should first consult with
your doctor and reduce the numbers by 10 each. If you are not currently
exercising or have not exercised at the different levels before I advise you
to build up your intensity slowly.
Heart Rate-Based Cardiovascular Exercise Guidelines
| Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | |
| Intensity | Long + easy | Moderate | Short + hard |
| Approx. time | 30-60 mins | 30-45 mins | 10-30 mins |
| Benefits | Increased blood flow and circulation, general health benefits | Increased cardio and respiratory endurance | Largest increase in metabolism, increased cardio and respiratory output |
| Heart Rate Zones | |||
| Age 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 | 114-138 108-132 108-132 102-126 102-126 100-120 96-118 96-118 90-114 90-114 84-108 84-108 | 144-162 138-162 138-156 132-150 132-150 126-144 118-136 118-136 114-132 114-126 108-126 108-120 | 162-185 162-180 156-176 150-168 150-168 144-162 136-154 136-154 132-152 126-150 126-150 120-138 |
Jesse Cannone is a certified personal trainer and author of the best-selling fitness ebook, Burn Fat FAST. Be sure to sign up for his free email course as it is full of powerful weight loss and fitness tips that are guaranteed to help you get the results you want.
