Why You Don’t NEED Cardio To See Results
Over the next few weeks I'm doing a series on debunking the most common misconceptions and mistakes I see people making when it comes to their fitness routines! The good news is, by fixing these fitness mistakes, you will likely be seeing better results while also making your life way easier! The fitness industry is filled with messaging like "no pain no gain" and "go hard or go home," but I personally resonate more with working smarter, not harder ☺️
The 1st mistake/ misconception on my list (and my personal favorite since I personally do not enjoy running/ jogging, spin classes, and anything of that nature), is judging workouts on calories burned or by how much you sweat. I know it can be satisfying to see that high number of calories burned on your apple watch or flashing across the treadmill screen, but some of the most effective workouts are NOT going to be high calorie-burners.
If your goal is to lose weight, gain muscle, increase strength for everyday life, improve general health, minimize aches & pains, or a combination of any of those things, you'll want to focus primarily on building muscle with strength training. Using this strategy, you will be increasing your metabolism so that you are burning more calories every single second of every day, not just when you are on that cardio hamster wheel, while also checking off all of those other goals!
Not only that, but there also have been studies that have shown that high intensity cardio such as jogging/ running, spin classes, etc. can actually alter your hormonal balance, making you feel hungrier than you otherwise would so that you likely end up consuming all of the calories you just burned (and oftentimes more)! Even more though, many studies have supported something called the Constrained Total Energy Expenditure Theory, where it is observed that if you do incorporate high doses of cardio often, your body will automatically slow down it's resting metabolism to essentially make up for all of those Calories spent on your cardio workout to conserve energy! 🤯 ... This is likely NOT what you want!
If you do cardio because you love it and your body feels good afterwards- then definitely keep doing it! However, if you don't find enjoyment out of cardio exercises such as running, cycling, etc., the good news is, you do NOT need it to reach your goals. Plus, your heart will still get the benefits of cardiovascular exercise through weight training and even gentle activities such as walks. Cardio does not need to be intense to be effective!