Controversy abounds over the ideal way to structure a cardio workout to achieve both fat loss and a stronger heart and lungs. Everyone has his or her own ideas about which methods are best; the good news is that exercise experts are increasingly in agreement over how to make cardio work for you. While you may read a variety of opinions on the topic, from those promoting cardio abstinence to those singing its praises, the following suggestions will be beneficial to most exercisers.
When’s the Best Time to Do Cardio?
A common query about cardio is whether it’s better to do it in the morning or at night. The most important thing is that you do it at all, so if it suits your schedule best to work out after work, then you should do so. However, many experts advocate doing cardio in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat. According to Jeff Behar on Bodybuilding.com, your glycogen stores are at their lowest in the morning after a night of fasting. The less carbohydrate your body has to burn off, the sooner it can get around to burning fat.
Similarly, many experts recommend doing cardio immediately after strength training, as weight lifting requires carbohydrates (found in the blood as glucose and in muscle tissue as glycogen) for energy. Carbohydrate is the body’s primary energy source, so any carbs consumed prior to working out will be burned up while lifting. After 30 minutes of high-intensity strength training, your body will be better able to access its back-up energy source: stored body fat.
An important consideration is that no matter what time of day you work out, you must have some carbohydrate in your system before engaging in moderate to intense strength training; otherwise you risk a blood-sugar crash. So if you’re a morning exerciser and you plan on both cardio and weights, eat a small something (like a banana) before hitting the gym; on cardio-only days you can put off breakfast until after your workout.
Is Interval Training Better than Steady-State Cardio?
Interval training, or a cardio workout in which intervals of high intensity (work) are alternated with intervals of lower intensity (recovery), has lately been espoused as the best way to burn fat. Indeed it has been many virtues. Interval workouts are short in duration (20-25 minutes including warm-up and cool-down) and less monotonous than steady-state cardio. They also optimize excessive post-oxygen consumption (E.P.O.C.), which means that the body burns calories at an elevated rate for up to a couple of hours following an interval session.
However, interval training can be stressful on the body (running sprints on the treadmill, for instance), which means an increased risk of injury, and it’s not appropriate for beginners. Therefore, an ideal strategy is to alternate days of intervals (two to three times/week) with days of steady-state cardio (two to three times/week) to minimize the risk of overtraining. Additionally, doing steady-state cardio the day after a leg workout will aid in muscle recovery.
How Long Should I Do Cardio?
Generally speaking, the duration of a cardio workout should be inversely proportional to its intensity. In other words, a high-intensity interval workout (with work intervals of 80-90% intensity) only needs to last 20-25 minutes, including five minutes each for warm-up and cool-down. On the other hand, a low-to-moderate intensity workout (55-75% intensity) can safely last 45 minutes.
With the exception of endurance training, it’s rare a cardio session needs to last more than 45 minutes, especially when fat loss is the goal. A common mistake exercisers make is to spend the bulk of their workouts on the elliptical, even forgoing strength training in the hope of losing weight. While it’s true that weight loss can be achieved via cardio alone, this loss comes from muscle and water weight as well as body fat. Over time, the loss of muscle and subsequent drop in metabolism will lead to difficulty shedding pounds, often resulting in the “skinny fat” look.
If your goal is to lose fat, maintain or build lean muscle, and improve your cardiovascular fitness, aim for three to five days a week of cardio training (incorporating both interval and steady-state cardio) and at least three days a week of strength training. Vary the equipment you choose (such as the treadmill, stepmill, and elliptical) to stave off boredom and adaptation and to reduce the risk of injury from overtraining. Finally, remember that where fat loss is concerned, nutrition and strength training are just as important (many experts say more so) as cardiovascular exercise.
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