Friday, February 15, 2008

Cardio Is A Joke

Here is a very controversial article that Craig Ballantyne shared with me. This should open up alot of peoples eyes about training for fat loss.

Sean Barker, CPT,CPTN
www.Workouts101.com

Cardio Is A Joke

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com


Strong statement, I know, cardio is a joke, but I really believe that cardio for fat loss is a joke. Although, not a very funny one...

One woman wrote, "I started out doing 5 hours of cardio per week. No results. So I upped it to 7 hours per week. Still nothing. Do you suggest I do more? I'm worried if I use your program, I won't get any results because you don't even have an hour of interval cardio per week. Please help!"

And from a gentleman on the Men's Health forum, "I took up running and didn't take up stretching until it was almost to late and almost destroyed a knee. What happened was that my IT bands got really tight and my inner quads didn't gain any strength so my knee cap got pulled out of place. I had an MRI done on my knee and have found that my knee cap has bruised my femur. "

Cardio horror stories are a dime-a-dozen. So here's the bottom line on cardio...

Long slow aerobic training remains the biggest practical joke in fitness. Marathon running for the average overweight person? Why don't you just tell someone to go play in traffic...oh wait, that's exactly what they are doing - all while crushing their joints with excess weight and repetitive pounding.

If you do long, slow cardio, its only a matter of time before you end up in a physiotherapist's office with all the others that do too much of the same thing...whether its running or spin classes, overuse injuries are far too common in the cardio world.

After all, what's easier to overdo, total body strength training done 3 times per week for 20 minutes, or the same cardio activity done for 6-9 hours per week?

Heck, I once knew a physiotherapist who was so addicted to spin classes that she had overuse injuries that prevented her from walking normally! Physio,
heal thyself!

Cardio is a joke...

But cardio fits our "more is better" mentality, doesn't it? We go right from a 3000 calorie meal at the Outback Steakhouse to our 60 minute cardio confessional sessions on the elliptical. More, more, more, more. And yet get
less results?

There is a better way.

Take a peek at the weight room when you are in a gym. Then compare the bodies there to the bodies on the elliptical. You'll find the sculpted, toned physiques lifting dumbells and doing pushups, and the plump, "never changing physiques" spinning their tires over on the cardio equipment.

No matter what the city, no matter where the gym, its the same old story.

Burn fat, get lean, and boost your metabolism with resistance training. Finish with short interval training or even bodyweight circuits (described in my DB-BW Fusion TT Workout Bonus from www.turbulencetraining.com) and you are off to the fat burning races.

Or get left behind on the cardio equipment that is getting you nowhere, CB

PS - Turbulence Training is Guaranteed.

If you aren't thrilled with the decreased workout time and increased fat loss and energy from the Turbulence Training system in 8 weeks, let us know and we'll refund your order. Your satisfaction is guaranteed. Turbulence Training has already been trusted by the biggest fitness magazines in the world (Men's Health & Shape), and I guarantee it will work for you too!



About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com