Every so often, the American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine change the recommended daily exercise guidelines. Even more recently Federal Guidelines supported those recommendations. Here they are, briefly for healthy adults under the age of 65:

Do moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week
Or
Do vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week
And
Do eight to 10 strength-training exercises, eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise twice a week.

“Moderate-intensity physical activity means working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat, yet still being able to carry on a conversation. It should be noted that to lose weight or maintain weight loss, 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity may be necessary. The 30-minute recommendation is for the average healthy adult to maintain health and reduce the risk for chronic disease.”

For some, this does not translate and there is much confusion. I am specifically referring to the 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity for weight loss. We all have been to gyms where there were always one or two people who would never leave the treadmill or elliptical trainer. After 2 hours of running or pedaling to obtain their endorphin fix, they would reluctantly give up their machines and head for the shower. I have noticed over the years that many of these cardioholics did not look healthy. Many walked with limps from plantar fasciitis or shin splints or had a gaunt appearance from cell oxidation and effects of an increase in the presence of stress hormones.

I have been approached by many people who can’t lose weight even though they are cutting way back on their calories and spending hours doing cardio. It is hard to convince them that they need to eat more and exercise less, or at least differently when they hit these plateaus. Herein exists the conundrum. Long duation aerobic exercise burns fat when done at a moderate pace. However after extended periods of time….most especially by “dieters”, the workout which more than likely was not properly fueled in the first place, turns to muscle for fuel. Vigorous cardio produces stress hormones not unlike real stress which in turn lowers the body’s immune system and signals the body to hold on to fat cells. So in essence, there is a giving up of that wonderful muscle tissue that is responsible for a healthy metabolism. Not a fair trade, in my opinion.

So what is the answer to this confusion? Cardio benefits can be achieved in many ways…..even off of the equipment. One way is through interval training which involves alternating between short bursts of vigorous activity and short recovery periods of moderate exercise for the duration of the exercise period. This can be done on or off the cardio equipment. One way is through full body exercises which push the heart rate up through maximum effort, followed by a short period of rest to allow the lactic acid to dissipate. Circuit training may also be done in a similar way by alternating multi-muscle multi-planar exercises with single muscle isolation exercises. It is very efficient to combine strength training with cardio training and the fat burning effects are greater. Many people who previously spent hours in the gym have noticed measurable differences after training this way. I for one am a huge fan of shorter, more effective workouts.

The bottom line is, it is better to do something rather than nothing, but it doesn’t take hours to increase benefits. Benefits are derived from a combination of frequency, duration, intensity and type of exercise with emphasis on variety and change.