My Relationship Status with Cardio is:  It's Complicated.

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• Cardio sucks and I don't like doing it.

• Cardio can be good for cardiovascular health and for building endurance.

• Cardio is less important than diet and strength training for transforming from fat to fit.

• Cardio is not a viable way to lose large amounts of fat.

• Cardio is more valuable as an appetite suppressant rather than a fat burner for transforming from fat to fit.

• Cardio can help you get very lean once you are already lean.

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Here are the 3 types of cardio that I do:

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LISS (Low Intensity Steady State) Cardio

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Although the name says low intensity, this category also includes moderate intensity as well.  Examples would be walking, jogging, bike riding, hiking, and of course the ubiquitous gym trio of treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes done at a low to moderate pace.

 

If you are just beginning your transformation and you're overweight and out of shape, then any activity or movement is good.  LISS is where you should start.  Take a walk.  Pedal a stationary bike for 10 minutes.  Just do something.  It won't make a dent in your stored fat, but it will get your body used to moving again.  And more importantly, it will help establish your new exercise habits.

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That's where I started.  The first week or two of my transformation, I did 25 to 35 minute low intensity cardio sessions on a stationary bike.  Each session might have burned 100 calories, so it really wasn't even a small part of my fat loss, but it got me moving again.  And it got me in a little better shape so I could do more intense cardio down the road.

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After the first two weeks, I mostly did HIIT and HFIT cardio over the next seven weeks.  But when I discovered Intermittent Fasting, I went back to doing LISS cardio during the last three weeks of my transformation.  I was already lean (~10% body fat) at this point and was looking for a way to get very lean.  LISS cardio can be an effective way to burn fat, but only if it is done in a fasted state.

 

My Intermittent Fasting eating schedule was from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, followed by 16 hours of fasting.  I would do 50 minute LISS cardio sessions in the morning around 5:00 AM.  At that time of day, I had been fasting about 13 hours, so my body would readily burn fat to provide energy for the workout.  It is important that this be a low intensity cardio session.  Do not do HIIT or HFIT cardio in a fasted state.  High intensity cardio done in a fasted state could cause the body to break down muscle tissue for fuel.

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My 3 Uses for LISS Cardio:

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• For beginners to get moving again, build up some stamina, establish the habit of exercise, and to suppress hunger.

• For non-beginners as an appetite suppressant, but only when you just don't feel up to doing HIIT or HFIT cardio.

• For anyone doing daily Intermittent Fasting to burn fat, but only if it's done after 12 hours of fasting.

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HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) Cardio

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HIIT cardio incorporates high intensity bursts of effort with longer rest periods of moderate effort.  It can be applied to almost any form of cardio exercise.  With running for example, after a warm up period, you might sprint as fast as you can for 15 to 60 seconds and then jog or walk for 60 seconds up to several minutes.  Then repeat the sprint/jog cycle as many times as you can, or care to, do.

 

I did all my cardio on a stationary bike.  A typical HIIT cardio workout for me would look like this:

   

• Warm Up:  Moderate Pedaling for 5 minutes.

• Sprint:  All-Out Maximum Effort Pedaling for 30 seconds.

• Rest:  Moderate Pedaling for 90 seconds.

• Repeat Sprint/Rest 10 to 15 times (Occasionally 20)

• Total Bike Time:  25 to 35 minutes 

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I also did other variations on this.  At times, I did longer sprints (45 or 60 seconds) and shorter rests (45 or 60 seconds).

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After the first two weeks of my transformation, HIIT cardio was my main form of cardio exercise over the next seven weeks.  And even after I discovered Intermittent Fasting and began doing fasted LISS cardio in the mornings, I still did HIIT cardio in the evenings to suppress hunger pangs and burn a few extra calories.

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I would usually do HIIT cardio maybe 3 to 5 hours into my fast period, so my body was still digesting my last meal and what I was burning was likely calories from that meal rather than stored fat, but that's OK.  The most valuable function of the evening HIIT cardio session was that it kept me occupied,  suppressed my hunger, and helped me avoid the temptation to eat again before bed.  And if it burned a few calories before they could be stored as fat and revved up my metabolism before bed, that's just a bonus.  Remember, don't do HIIT cardio in a fasted state.  That means approximately 6 hours or more after your last meal.

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My 3 Uses for HIIT Cardio:

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• For non-beginners as an appetite suppressant.

• For non-beginners to improve cardiovascular health and endurance.

• For non-beginners to burn off some calories and rev up your metabolism.

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HFIT (High Frequency Interval Training) Cardio

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You probably haven't heard of HFIT cardio because, as far as I know, I came up with that name.  I did not invent the concept, though!  I discovered it during my transformation while researching fitness topics, which I did almost daily as a way to stay focused, motivated, and also find any edge I could to help me lose fat and gain muscle.

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HFIT cardio is a high frequency version of HIIT cardio.  There is actually some good science behind the concept.  I will do my best to explain, but it will probably be lacking.

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When you do all-out maximum effort bursts of movement (sprinting, max effort pedaling, etc), your body releases hormones (catecholamines, growth hormones, epinephrine, and norepinephrine) which are very beneficial to fat loss and muscle building.  It is one of the benefits of HIIT cardio.

 

With each maximum effort burst, more hormones are released.  These hormones can remain in the blood stream for up to several hours after the workout.  The more hormones released during the workout, the longer and stronger the effect of the hormones will be.

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However, even though you feel like you are doing maximum effort for 15, 30, or 60 seconds, you really aren't.  The human body cannot truly sustain maximum effort for more than 6 to 9 seconds.  This is not to say traditional HIIT cardio is of no value.  However, after 6 to 9 seconds, the release of the beneficial hormones drops off dramatically so you lose that benefit during the rest of the sprint portion.

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If we limit the maximum effort sprint period to what the human body can truly perform, 6 to 9 seconds, then we can maximize the overall release of the beneficial hormones during the workout.

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Here are two example workouts, each 6 minutes long (as mentioned earlier, Rest = Moderate effort):

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HIIT Cardio:  (30 sec. Sprint + 90 sec. Rest) x 3 Reps = 18 sec. of beneficial hormones released (6 minute workout)

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HFIT Cardio:  (6 sec. Sprint + 9 sec. Rest) x 24 Reps = 144 sec. of beneficial hormones released (6 minute workout)

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144 is a lot bigger than 18, so the beneficial effects of the hormones should be much stronger and last much longer with HFIT vs lower frequency HIIT.

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I didn't do HFIT all the time.  I found it to be an interesting alternative to HIIT cardio.  It is particularly useful if you are really crunched for time.  It completely kicked my butt.  I usually only did 5 minutes of it.  Occasionally, I did 10 minutes.  I may have even done 15 minutes once or twice.

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My 4 Uses for HFIT Cardio:

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• For non-beginners as an appetite suppressant.

• For non-beginners to improve cardiovascular health and endurance.

• For non-beginners to burn off some calories and release beneficial hormones.

• For non-beginners to squeeze in a substantial cardio workout in a very short time.

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As always, thank you for reading.  If you have any questions, please feel free to Ask Me a Question!

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