Are You Doing Too Much Cardio?

I always take a health first approach with my programs. As I write this, I am thinking of everything I want to say about health, fitness and fat loss or weight management, particularly for women over 40. However, I am going to cover fitness in this issue and my next newsletter.

This week, I will focus simply on my exercise philosophy and cardio. I like to deliver information in a way that allows one to implement without overwhelm.

I like to do a Q&A with women who approach me for help. What I often hear is frustration, self-defeat or simply a loss of what to do and where to start. This week, I want to talk about cardio as it seems to be the go-to for women wanting to improve their health and fitness. It is quite common for one to tell me that they are doing an hour of cardio a day every day and they are frustrated they are not seeing results.

First and foremost, correct nutrition should always be the base. You can’t use exercise to offset poor eating habits. Exercise should also never be used as a tool for punishing yourself for what you ate. That point of view is not only unhealthy, it tells me that there is an unhealthy relationship with food. I will expand on this in coming weeks.

Let’s get back to cardio. Don’t get me wrong, your heart is a muscle. Cardiovascular health is important and can be managed by both exercise and a healthy diet. That being said, if you are leaning on cardio as a tool to get you to the goal you have set for yourself, how is that working out for you? Probably not so well.

I have been a certified trainer since 2006. I am always thrilled when I am in the gym and see people there moving their bodies. Yet, I see a pattern, the same people on the same machine for an hour and nothing changes. Perhaps they are just there for movement which is great. However, if body recomposition is the goal (reducing body fat and increasing lean muscle) then excessive cardio is not the way to get there, and here’s why.

First, too much can be damaging, and cause injury which sidelines you. I’m sorry, but the “no pain, no gain” all out cardio approach is outdated. I was that person that once got up at 4:00 a.m. to run before going into the office (in my previous corporate life) and if I didn’t, I felt this overwhelm of self-guilt, disappointment and I was convinced I’d set myself back.

I understand that some set a goal of training for a half or full marathon, that is commendable. I also understand that for many, they use that daily run for stress release and that the endorphin rush is addictive. However, again if you are simply doing it for fat loss or body recomposition, there are other ways to achieve that. When I was running every morning or weekend, I also found I was in a constant cycle of injury, most likely from over training. It was also putting a lot of stress on my body.

Excessive aerobic activity will increase cortisol production, the longer the duration the higher the cortisol and the slower it takes to return to normal. Exercise in general helps to reduce your cortisol levels at night; but it has to be the correct amount. This is even more applicable if you are over 40.

You do not have to be drenched in sweat and gasping for breath to get in an effective workout.

In addition, too much cardio can damage muscle tissues or joints in the long term and actually stunt your progress. If you are doing too much, you may be metabolizing muscle tissue. Why is this a problem? Muscle increases your metabolic rate. It also makes day to day tasks easier. You not only want to preserve muscle (it diminishes each year after 30) but you want to increase lean muscle mass as you age. The more muscle you have, the stronger you will be and from a purely aesthetic standpoint, the more lean muscle you have vs body fat, the more compact and toned your body will be. That’s a fact. This is why I tell my clients to ditch the scale and take measurements or find a piece of clothing they want to fit into.

Your body also plateaus, and if you are putting it through the same cardio routine every day, you will not see the changes you are looking for. You don’t want to risk losing the muscle you are working so hard to build. Too much cardio can lead to fatigue and excessive muscle soreness as you are not giving your body adequate time to rest and rebuild.

So, what should you do?

Let’s start with walking. A brisk daily 40 minute walk in the fat burning zone. The fat burning zone is approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate. To determine your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. If you want to keep it simple, I tell my clients that if they are walking and holding a conversation, they should feel a little winded. You want to walk at a good pace. Walking is an excellent low stress method of movement and it is low impact which is ideal for those with hip, knee and back issues.

Your other option is 15-20 minutes of H.I.I.T. (High Intensity Interval Training). HIIT is beneficial because it does not take a long time and you are less likely to place stress on your body. Your metabolic rate is elevated longer post workout and it burns a lot of calories in a short period of time. It can help you burn fat and depending on what you are doing, it can help you build some muscle. It reduces blood sugar, improves insulin resistance and it can help reduce heart rate.

For HIIT, you can pick a cardio machine and simply switch between high and low intensity. For example, if you are on a bike, you can do 1 minute at a fast pace and 1 minute at a recovery pace. You can even do this if you are outside walking.

Another great option for HIIT is using body weight moves. You don’t need equipment and you can do it anywhere.

You don’t want to do HIIT everyday, 3-4 times a week is sufficient. Again, you don’t want to overtrain.

Here is an example of a HIIT circuit.

Start with 1 minute of jumping jacks or marching on the spot.

Jump or stepping lunges – 45 seconds

Marching on the spot – 1 minute

Burpees – 45 seconds

Marching on the spot – 1 minute

Jump or body weight squats – 45 seconds

Marching on the spot – 2 minutes

Be sure to cool down and stretch or roll when you have finished.