Cardio: What’s the point?

Alright, so in the Go Deep and Heavy series we talked about one of the aspects of fitness called muscular strength- which is limit strength like a 1 repetition max; it’s slow tedious form work for multiple sets, and it lights your CNS (central nervous system) on fire, because of the force needed to perform it, and because of the time under load. Cardiovascular exercise, however, is very much the opposite of limit strength. It’s movement done for long periods of time in a very efficient manner. At this point you’re probably saying “efficient manner…I thought Cardio was about burning calories so I can lose weight?”
Well in the last few years you’ve also probably heard about interval training, and the Trembley study showing that people who did intense short bursts of exercise burn 9 times more calories than those doing steady state aerobics. However, what you might not know is that for the most part exercise- (thought of in the usual sense, or even in the Trembley sense)- matters very little in the equation to lose weight. The text book Obesity does a good job of going through the research illustrating this point, yet this point is very easy to see when you look at what weight loss is all about.
Weight loss is all about expending more calories then you intake. Most Dietitians recommend intake to be around 1500 to 2500 calories/ day. Has anyone ever tried to burn 1500 to 2500 calories in a workout? If you’ve even tried to burn 1000 I commend you, because unless you’re working out for hours those types of numbers are practically impossible. 500 calories a couple of times a week is a very possible number to reach for during your workout, but even that is high and takes a really hard workout to achieve. Yes an intense workout elevates your daily calorie burning potential through increasing your lean mass, and yes it increases your metabolism through E.P.O.C. But in the end you’ll still probably have to burn up to 2000 calories more from your activities of daily living. If those activities are sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours during the day, followed by sitting in front of the T.V. for 4-5 hours at night you’re not going to get there. So if you want a sprinter’s ripped midsection, you’re going to have to start training for the Olympics.
This doesn’t mean that people don’t lose a lot of weight on a reasonable diet, and on a reasonable exercise routine. They do, but if you think that is the norm then you’re dead wrong. Most people who lose large amounts of weight change their entire lives. In essence if you’re looking to lose 10- 20 pounds, exercise can probably help, but if you’re looking to lose more than that, then it’s going to take more than a few hundred extra calories on the elliptical. You’re going to have to change your life.
So if Cardiovascular exercise isn’t going to be a panacea for weight loss, why do it? And that’s a great question, because to be honest it isn’t necessary. Any reasonable strength training routine is going to give you cardiovascular benefits. If you target strength endurance, and/or power you’re definitely getting heart and respiratory benefits. Furthermore there was a landmark study sited in the book The New Rules for Lifting for Men which illustrates that people who kept their power over the years lived 3 times as long as those who didn’t, and twice as long as those who merely kept strength. If you read my previous blogs you know that many weight training exercises focus on fast movements- (i.e. the snatch, clean and jerk, etc...)- thus targeting the cardiovascular system with training is not all that important. So what’s the point?
Alright, I’ve been in this field now for almost 12 years, and in the last 5 years there has been a huge push to get rid of strict Cardio training- and for good reason. However in the late 90’s ACSM, the American College of Sports Medicine, use to recommend that before starting any weight training routine a baseline of at least 2 weeks of Cardio training ought to be achieved, where for 14 day’s 20 minutes of constant activity was the goal each day. If you couldn’t do it you kept walking until adaptation took place and you could, and only at that point did they believe you were in acceptable condition to start a strength training protocol.
ACSM’s reasoning for this was based on the fact that weight training is rather tough on your Cardiovascular system, for more than just the duration of your training. Anyone starting a weight training protocol understands this, because they’ve gotten DOMS, Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. DOMS are rather random, but one thing we do know is that if you can get the edema and inflammation out of your muscles after a workout you’ll be less sore. Since this is the function of your Cardiovascular system, training it before you started weight training was a fairly reasonable activity. Thus if you don’t like soreness Cardio training aids in recovery.
Yet there is another great thing about Cardio training in the beginning- it’s weight training with your body, and done properly it’s power training. That’s right people walking is a great lower body resistance training workout for people who can’t do lunges, plus squats, plus leg raises, plus standing rows, plus pushups, plus cleans and jerks for 5 sets of 5. Furthermore it’s a motor skill that most people have, and could practice more- remember most if not all asymmetries show up in our gait patterns, so working on gait patterns is rather functional work.
Therefore I still believe in old school aerobic work. Getting on a treadmill or an elliptical might really fit an out of conditioned client, and help them develop some baseline strength. This doesn’t mean you should jump on the treadmill as a meaningless exercise to help burn some extra calories, but as a progressive resistance training drill that works a functional skill. So the answer to the question of what’s the point of cardio training- its functional body weight training exercise. It’s about power out put – which I didn’t emphasize here but will in further articles- and your Cardiovascular system gets better at it’s job of disposing of waste and depositing nutrients to working parts. There are some draw backs, but nothing that proper instruction and progression can’t address. Thus get ready to enjoy sweating and heavy breathing.

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