Pros & Cons of Cardio
Every morning in the gym at my dorm residence, I see a girl who is on the treadmill running for at least 30 minutes. Then, I will see her walking at a brisk pace around campus. It kills me that all she does is cardio, it is obvious that she is trying to lose weight but decides to only do cardio. I have learned so much since I started this blog and these are some pros and cons of cardio that I have learned.
Pros:
-Burns calories
-Can be enjoyable
-No equipment needed
-Builds some muscle
-Helps with endurance
Cons:
-Doing too much cardio can slow your metabolism (I will explain below)
-Does not build muscle as effectively as strength training
-Overtraining can lead to injuries
*There are lots of other pros and cons of cardio but these are the ones that are important to me and that I feel like matter the most.
Here is one of the main reasons why I don't do cardio all the time: Your body will slowly adapt to intense cardio and your metabolism will slow down.
Metabolism is basically how quickly your body burns calories. A fast metabolism means that you burn calories faster than a person with a slow metabolism.
So why would your body raise or lower its metabolism?
Your body will lower your metabolism to conserve energy so you don't need to consume lots of calories to function. Your body will raise your metabolism to fuel your muscles.
Think about this: Why aren't marathon runners extremely muscular? It's because their bodies have adapted to long distances and have lowered their metabolism. This way, runners don't have to consume thousands of calories to run long distances. Our bodies are adaptive machines and will do anything to conserve energy,
For someone who is trying to lose weight and stay healthy long term, lots of cardio is not ideal. You want a fast metabolism so you can be burning calories without having to run 5 miles. People who have a fast metabolism will be burning calories even when they aren't exercising!
So how do you get a high metabolism?
1) Build muscle
2) Eat enough calories to build muscle and fuel your body
One pound of muscle burns 30-50 calories per day AT REST. That's a lot of calories! Would you rather do lots of cardio and have to be at a caloric deficit to maintain your physique or lift weights and be able to eat lots of calories?
On the other hand, I love cardio! I like running, swimming, and biking. I do these activities because I enjoy doing them. I do NOT do them because of weight loss.
Everybody is different and has different beliefs, so I believe finding a balance between strength training and cardio is ideal! My goal is to strength train 3-4 times a week and cardio 2 times a week.
Hope this information helps!
Love,
Gabby
Pros:
-Burns calories
-Can be enjoyable
-No equipment needed
-Builds some muscle
-Helps with endurance
Cons:
-Doing too much cardio can slow your metabolism (I will explain below)
-Does not build muscle as effectively as strength training
-Overtraining can lead to injuries
*There are lots of other pros and cons of cardio but these are the ones that are important to me and that I feel like matter the most.
Here is one of the main reasons why I don't do cardio all the time: Your body will slowly adapt to intense cardio and your metabolism will slow down.
Metabolism is basically how quickly your body burns calories. A fast metabolism means that you burn calories faster than a person with a slow metabolism.
So why would your body raise or lower its metabolism?
Your body will lower your metabolism to conserve energy so you don't need to consume lots of calories to function. Your body will raise your metabolism to fuel your muscles.
Think about this: Why aren't marathon runners extremely muscular? It's because their bodies have adapted to long distances and have lowered their metabolism. This way, runners don't have to consume thousands of calories to run long distances. Our bodies are adaptive machines and will do anything to conserve energy,
For someone who is trying to lose weight and stay healthy long term, lots of cardio is not ideal. You want a fast metabolism so you can be burning calories without having to run 5 miles. People who have a fast metabolism will be burning calories even when they aren't exercising!
So how do you get a high metabolism?
1) Build muscle
2) Eat enough calories to build muscle and fuel your body
One pound of muscle burns 30-50 calories per day AT REST. That's a lot of calories! Would you rather do lots of cardio and have to be at a caloric deficit to maintain your physique or lift weights and be able to eat lots of calories?
On the other hand, I love cardio! I like running, swimming, and biking. I do these activities because I enjoy doing them. I do NOT do them because of weight loss.
Everybody is different and has different beliefs, so I believe finding a balance between strength training and cardio is ideal! My goal is to strength train 3-4 times a week and cardio 2 times a week.
Hope this information helps!
Love,
Gabby
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