Why Cardio Doesn't Work for Fat Loss

Cardio exercise is such a bizarre thing. In theory, it should work so flawlessly for all men and women, but as anyone who has tried it knows, the practicality of it just doesn't add up.

After all, a number of men and women do cardio 6 hours, 9 hours, or more per week, and still have belly fat to burn. In contrast, it works just fine for others.

British researchers sought more insight into this paradox, and studied 35 overweight men and women, who weren't exercising beforehand.

(Reference: International Journal of Obesity 32: 177-184, 2008).

Subjects exercised 5 times per week for 12 weeks. That's a lot of
exercise, but it helped the subjects lose an average of 8.2 pounds, which is fantastic - I was certainly surprised by the outcome.

So cardio will work for some people, however, in my experience, it works best in young men, who need the help the least!

Back to the study, the variance in fat loss between individuals was huge. Check this out...

The best subject lost a astounding 32.3 pounds in 12 weeks, while the worst subject actually GAINED 3.74 pounds.

The scientists think they know where things took a wrong turn. They
classified the subjects into 2 groups, called the "Compensators"
and the "Non-compensators".

The Compensators were hungrier, and consequently consumed an extra 268 calories per day, all but destroying out their cardio efforts.

Therefore, the Compensators lost the smallest amount amount of weight, and scientists believe that was due to the enormous "compensatory" increase in appetite experienced by this group.

Does your appetite enlarge when you do slow cardio? If it does,
research shows it will spoil your cardio efforts.

So if your cardio program is not working for you, check your
appetite and calorie intake to see if you are "compensating" for
your efforts. If you are, you might be better off using a program
of high-intensity resistance and interval training (i.e. Turbulence Training ) for your weight loss efforts.

As Australian Professor Steve Boucher has shown in research,
interval training increases hormones called catecholamines. And
increased catecholamines can diminish appetite, among other fat-
burning benefits.

In the real world, few people lose 33 pounds after 12 weeks of
cardio. Heck, few even accomplish an average weight loss of 8 pounds with aerobic exercise.

So again, check your appetite, and think about giving high-intensity
exercise a go for your next workout program.

Beat the curse of cardio with high-intensity Turbulence Training .

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author

Learn about the "Dark Side of Cardio" in the free report from Craig Ballantyne at Turbulence Training . Craig is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit Turbulence Training.