Can Cardio Make You Fat?

The worse fitness mistake I see most often with people returning from an exercise layoff is that they usually have the “I’ll do cardio for a few weeks and lose weight before I train with weights” mentality.

Myth: Cardio burns calories, weight training adds bulk

Truth: Muscle is where fat is burned, train it to adapt to stress and grow, you will burn more fat than you ever will doing cardio alone. Cardio is simply a supplement to your fat burning efforts. And 99% of ALL people get it wrong.

Many people think that they can lose weight by doing cardio alone, it’s simply not the case – not if you want to look good when it’s all said and done.

Cardio (the slow steady type you’re familiar with) has barely any true fat loss enhancement effects. It can increase your metabolism in small increments, but nothing compared to training to increase or maintain muscle size.

It’s certainly understandable if you want to begin with cardio for the first few days to ease back into exercising, but if you MUST do cardio first to get into the habit, keep it no longer than 3 days before you begin a weight training routine.

Any longer and you risk sacrificing muscle tissue and literally sabotaging your fat loss efforts.

The best way to get back into training after a long lay off is to perform 2-3 full body weight training sessions per week, and keep them light to moderate in intensity. Once you’ve gotten through the first 4-6 workouts, you can begin strategically increasing the intensity to ramp your metabolism and burn more fat 24 hours a day.

Here’s a sample full body routine to get you started:

Workout 1

A1. Shoulder Press
A2. Bent Row
A3. Dumbbell Swing
A4. Barbell Curl
A5. Jump Rope (30 seconds)
A6. V-Ups

* Perform 8 reps of each exercise (A1-A5) moving from exercise to exercise without rest until #4 is complete. This is 1 round. Rest 90 Seconds and repeat for a total of 3-6 Rounds.

Workout 2

B1. Squat
B2. Hammer Curl to Press
B3. Stiff Leg Deadlift
B4. Overhead Tricep Extension
B5. Step Ups
B6. Plank (30 Seconds)

* Perform 8 reps of each exercise (B1-B6) moving from exercise to exercise without rest until #4 is complete. This is 1 round. Rest 90 Seconds and repeat for a total of 3-6 Rounds.

What about abs training you say? You can read about ab workout exercises here:

http://HowToGetSixPackAbs.com/articles/ab_workout_exercises.html

What about cardio? Here’s the deal… with a program like this, you don’t even need it! If your nutrition choices are decent, then cardio at this point can be counter productive. But if you MUST do cardio – Opt for Interval training 2-3 times per week – Either immediately after your weight training session, or at a different time of the day.

Todd Scott is a advisor to Men’s Fitness magazine and founder of the internationally best selling book http://HowToGetSixPackAbs.com. To learn more go to the lose stomach fat homepage.

Also, grab a free report on the truth about losing body fat and abs workouts at How to Flatten Your Belly