Its no surprise that the newest member of the gym is discouraged by the array of cardiovascular equipment on display! But we always need to cycle with our hands? Never climb a flight of stairs? Or are these machines here to entice us to part with our money?
Healthclubs and gyms are desperate to keep members happy. Keep them entertained and keep paying. Thats why they are investing in the latest "Bun Blaster 5000"
"But we must do our cardio workout right? We need to burn calories and improve our cardio vascular conditioning putting ourselves through a 45-60 minutes noioso constant low boring slog on the treadmill while watching the latest weeks Eastenders don't we? "
But what if its only been running a scam (Pardon the pun)
Now first off I want to just affirm that any programme must include some gym cardio-vascular training. I just think the way we have been told to do so is not working.
I worked in 2 large healthclubs for over 4 years before I started my own business and I saw the same people come to the same hour of the day, everyday and do the same workout and I saw those same people never lose any weight or get any editor.
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"-Albert Einstein
Every single one of those members (without exception) spent approximately 40-45 minutes + on various cardiovascular machines. Around 20% of them would then spend 5-10 minutes on various weight training machines. Sounds familiar? I can honestly say that the training that I have just described, in my experience, account for over 80% of all members of the gym.
"You make my heart!"
"Hows that working for you?"
The human body is an animal. A typical example of this is the fight-or-flight response. When perceived to be in danger of some kind your body releases a hormone Rush that tightens the muscles and sharpens the senses. The body prepares to stand and fight or sprint and jump on the nearest tree. It prepares to run at 60% of our maximum heart rate for more than 40 minutes.
Heres another example. Prehistoric man, is walk through the Woods and see a rabbit "I could do with eat some rabbit right about now, I'll chase him to a slow, steady pace for 60 minutes + before him overs falls with exhaustion"
or
"Hey, wheres theres a rabbit in a heavy stone I can throw at him"
Our body responds better to short intense workouts explosives that reflect more correctly what the human body has made by a couple thousand years. Cardio machines are blazing a new invention and our body is not built for their use. Need further evidence?
Cortisol is a hormone that the body releases at times of stress. For example, to argue with someone suffering from lack of sleep, exiting in front of a bus, be awakened by the alarm clock in the morning, etc. etc.
Its a hormone vital, we need it!
However, there is a problem.
During periods of stress, the nervous system, "nice" is in full swing, thats when cortisol is released into the blood
During periods of relaxation ' Para symaphetic ' nervous system is in action, this allows us to relax and flush all stress hormones from the body.
The problem is that in our ' high Stress lifestyles ' once we get into how much stress we struggle to get out of it. Stress work stress ratio, plus the lack of sleep more alcohol stress etc etc stops us from relaxation. This is when cortisol becomes bad boy ...
Impaired cognitive performance
Suppressed thyroid function
Blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemia
Decreased bone density
Reduction of muscle tissue
Higher blood pressure
Lowered immunity and inflammatory responses in the body, slow wound healing, and other health consequences
Increased abdominal fat, which is associated with more health problems than fat deposited in other areas of the body. Some of the health problems associated with increased stomach fat are; heart attacks, development/higher rates of metabolic syndrome "cholesterol" (LDL) and lower levels of "good" cholesterol (HDL), which can lead to other health problems!
This is all the effects of excessive cortisol secretion. Now see why half killing oneself on a treadmill may not be a good idea?
Your body needs to learn how to de-stress myself, of course, how to lose weight without losing your mind doing cardiovascular exercise such as undying life expectancy increase (and running the life expectancy of scarpa)
Distance/duration long slow cardio is not the answer for most people, I recommend it only for endurance athletes. Mainstay.
Take the guess work out of training and hire a personal trainer that gets results.
Ben winter from http://www.benwinterpt.com/is a results driven by personal trainer in Bristol with a list of before and after photos that speak for themselves. With over 5 years of experience for Bristol personal training, to get his clients the results, time after time. http://www.benwinterpt.com/