Kurt's Fitness Tips

At any one time walking into Blue Springs Fitness you will see people running on the treadmill, jogging around the track, or slowly doing cardio on an elliptical trainer. So which is the best way to perform cardio while in the gym, and on what machine?

As with anything there is no clear cut answer. When it comes to which type of cardiovascular exercise you should do I tell people to pick what they like to do the most. There are certain machines that are comfortable for some, but not others. I also recommend that people switch things up just like they would their weight training. This helps prevent over-use injuries, breaks the monotony, and works different muscle groups. If there are certain machines that you don’t like, and tend to be uncomfortable to you, then don’t do them.

The intensity that you perform cardio is a hotly debated topic in many fitness related forums. This is where a persons overall goals play the biggest role in what intensity they perform their cardiovascular exercise. Another big factor is a persons diet, and what the macronutrient breakdown of that diet is. A bodybuilder preparing for a competition is not concerned with cardiovascular exercise as it relates to conditiong of the heart, lungs, and circulatory system (aerobic capacity). The main goal for a bodybuilder is using cardio as a tool to strip fat off while maintaining as much muscle as possible in the process. Therefore I have competitive physique athletes perform cardio at a slow pace for a long duration.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, a person that is looking to lose the most amount of weight in the shortest amount of time possible should perform a high intensity cardio program that increases the heart rate into an aerobic capacity. It is possible that muscle tissue will be lost in the process, but that would not be a huge concern in this situation. However endurance will be greatly increased, and the many health benefits that go along with it.

As with anything in the fitness industry there is not a cut and dry answer to this common question. This is a topic that you should cover with your trainer and ask his/her advice as it relates to your overall fitness goals. Staff at Blue Springs Fitness are always available for any questions that you may have.

There is often a misconception when it comes to working out that more is better. You have gotten spectacular results by working out for one hour 5 days a week, so just imagine how much more you could accomplish by working out for two hours a day for 7 days.

Believe it or not you will most likely end up going backwards by working out more and more. You are not a robot, and you have to give your body time to rest. What some people don’t realize is that you don’t grow muscle while your working out in the gym. Your muscle grow when your outside of the gym, and your muscle cells are regenerating themselves. If you keep pounding your body harder and harder without giving it ample time to recover what will end up happening is that your body will actually start breaking down muscle tissue in order to keep up with the demands you are placing on it. This is what is refered to as “overtraining”. You can look at your body like a sports car. You can run a sports car at redline for a short period of time without doing much damage, but if you run that same car at redline for an extended period of time then engine will blow.

Another factor in your training volume is the demand placed on your central nervous system. This is one of the main reasons that it’s important to keep your training sessions brief, but intense. It’s also the reason that you need to make sure that you get plenty of sleep each night as well as taking entire days off from the gym to recover.

So don’t fall into the trap that more is better. It’s not how much time you put in at the gym, it’s what you put into your workouts when your here. Come into the gym and push yourself hard, but don’t do it for hours on end. Try to limit weight training sessions to 45 minutes to one hour, and the same goes for cardio. When your outside of the gym make sure you are eating a good diet with high quality foods, and try to get 8-10 hours of sleep each night if you can. Unless you are training for a competition don’t come to the gym 7 days a week. Take a day or two off and rest.