Cardio

Now that you have a diet plan in order it's time to hit the gym! The mantra is simple if you create a larger calorie deficit you'll loose more weight. The thing is most people get that to some extent but the way they go about it is by eating less. What they fail to account for is that human body is a result of millions of years of evolution and it knows to slow things down in case of low calorie intakes. So, the way to go about creating a deficit should be by working out more. As counterintutive as it may seem, you'll loose fat faster if you eat more and workout more. The two are synergistic, eating frequently (5-6 time a day) boosts your metabolism and so does working out. Having clarified that let's spend a moment on what exactly is cardio:

"an activity that’s rhythmical in nature, involves large muscle groups (namely your legs or back), and, here's the kicker - can be sustained continuously for long periods of time (at least 20 - 30 minutes)"

Running, bicycling, stair climbing, rowing and elliptical exercise are some examples of cardio. Other queries which people generally have regarding cardio include:

1. Duration: For maximal fat loss you should do 30-60 minutes of cardio per session. Less than 30 minutes is too little and more than 60 minutes is edging on overtraining. If you really wanna do more than 60 minutes then the suggestion is to do double cardio (i.e. twice a day) but for most people 30-60 minutes will give good results. The thing to keep in mind is your goal, if you just want to maintain your weight (or bulk up), 20-30 minutes cardio is also sufficient.

2. Frequency: If your goal is fat loss, 4-6 days a week of cardio is required for good results. Enthusiasts can add a 7th day but sustaining it for long time periods is tough to say the least. For maintanance and bulking 3-4 days is sufficient.

3. Time: When the hell should you do your cardio? In the morning? Before weight training? After it? And so on... People can go on rambling about the findings! Most important thing though is that you should do cardio and not just debate. Doing it anytime burns calories so you get leaner everytime you finish your session. That being settled, morning fasted cardio (without eating anything) is probably very good. I say probably because there's arguments for and against the idea. I personally tried it but found it so damn difficult that I was back to my post weight training cardio in two weeks. If you can hit the gym in 5-10 minutes after you wake up, it's worth a shot otherwise hunger kicks in bad and it gets a lot tougher. Post weight training cardio is next best, your glycogen levels are low so more calories are burnt from fat.

4. Intensity: Phew!!! This one is even more controversial. The two schools are low intensity long duration cardio and high intensity short duration. After a lot of back and forth with jargon what I synthesized is if you do cardio at higher intensity you burn more calories plus your metabolism gets a better kick so that's what I adhere to. By high intensity I mean 75-85% of your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR). A great technical variation is High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) wherein you have work intervals when you push yourself to 85% or even above of your MHR followed by rest intervals to catch your breath. By the way, a simple empirical formula for MHR is (220-age). So that a 20 year old guy should aim for 150-170 heartbeats per minute. Though many cardio machines have some sort of heart rate monitor, buying your own will be a great investment. I bought mine off amazon for 33$ and they are one of the best 33$ that I spent. I now know throughout my cardio if I am slouching or being overzealous.

One concern that many people seem to express is that they would loose muscle if they do cardio. The truth is you may loose some muscle doing cardio but you are much more likely to loose muscle if you don't eat frequently or don't include protein in every meal. As long as you are eating right it's unlikely that you'll loose much muscle. Once you reach your desired fat levels you can switch to moderate cardio, this also helps avoid overtraining and adaptation.

Let me conclude with my cardio regimen. I do HIIT (1 minute work, 1 minute rest interval) cardio six days a week close to 85% MHR. On my weight training day, it's 35 minutes post workout and on dedicated cardio days it's 45 minutes. My weapons of choice are elliptical and stationary bicycle in succesion (with no break in between), I am less of a runner because of the high impact nature of the exercise (combined with dancing it gave me shin splints). This routine works for me, you can start slow and reach your own optimal point using the above guidelines and a little hit and trial.