Is Cardio Really Necessary?

‘But I hate running.’

How many times have you heard yourself, or someone you know say this? Probably countless! When people think weight loss, they think cardio and are instantly demotivated. We imagine being on a treadmill for hours a week, huffing and puffing, in order to reach our goals. So let's talk cardio - Is it really necessary to lose weight?

Cardio is one TOOL for fat loss. Fat loss is all about calories that you take in (food for energy) vs the calories that you expend (exercise and movement). We know that in order to lose fat, you have to take in less than you expend.

So why is upping your cardio first not always the best?

• Adding movement can increase hunger levels making it harder to adhere to your plan. 

• Increased fatigue from added movement makes it harder to maintain your lifestyle. 

• You could begin to burn muscle instead of fat.

• The body becomes efficient the longer it does things and you will continually have to increase cardio to maintain the caloric burn, which often leads to an amount of cardio that can not be maintained.

Instead of starting with increasing your cardio, I suggest these things:

• Minimize cardio when you are initiating a fat loss phase so that you can add more as you go. 

• Establish your daily activity levels (NEAT) using an activity tracker. 

• Focus on your nutrition! It is 85% of your results!

How do I use cardio as a tool in my own life?

When I implement cardio, it is something intentional that I want to do. It makes me feel good and doesn’t detract from my day to day life. I like the feeling of a good sweat and the endorphin buzz after! I like to feel the push of a challenge on my body. BUT I only use it as needed! 90% of the time I am maintaining my physique with my daily activity levels and walking. And when I move, I move in ways that I enjoy. You should not ever do cardio because you HAVE to. You should enjoy the cardio you do and move in ways that feel good to you!