I’m sure you all know that one woman (and no, I’m not being sexist
here, just being realistic because we all know men loathe cardio;)) who is at the gym
for a minimum of 2 hours jumping from one piece of cardio equipment to the
other. Now, one might ask, is this much
cardio really necessary or beneficial?!
Well, to that, I would say it depends on your goals. If you’re just trying to burn calories, well
yes, cardio is a good way to do that.
However, with that being said, if all you’re doing is cardio training,
without any resistance or weight training included, you’re not only burning fat, you’re burning your muscle off as well.
That's no good. How much muscle
we have directly corresponds to how fast our metabolism is revving: more muscle mass = higher
metabolism, and the opposite is also true, less muscle mass - slower metabolism. Not to
mention, burning off your muscle and fat will just leave you looking flabby...(aka "skinny fat), and no one wants that! To avoid this, incorporate 3-4 days of resistance training, along
with your cardio, throughout the week. This way, once you start
burning that fat off, your toned muscles underneath will start to pop through. :)
As for everyone out there who is trying to BUILD muscle, or
is naturally thin and has a hard time
gaining weight (ugh, must be nice ;)), you definitely need to make sure to limit
your cardio... I know, bummer, right?! :). Your body needs those calories to build
muscle, so avoid burning those vital "building" calories off through cardio.
Until Next Time….BActive, BHealthy, BStrong, BFIT!!
<3B
<3B
