You all ... Seriously? This is your trainer speaking -- Stop slacking off on the cardio!
Ok, so ... have you seen this chart? No, unless you have special concerns or heart issues or are JUST beginning to work out - etc, etc - you don't stick to the "lose weight" category while doing cardio.
Let's be real here: Do you really think that any trainer or runner who's trying to keep fit is keeping their heart rate at 130-some beats per minute and below? Toss that crap out the window and let me see you sweat and work hard for a sustained period of time. I think, too often, trainers are afraid to negate charts like these that "give exercisers a pass" for half-*ss workouts because they believe they're in a "fat burning" zone. If you have no physical/cardiac issues and are trying to lose weight or get in shape, please focus your beats per minute between moderate - hard (average is somewhere between 150-160 bpm). Don't bother with maximum unless you know what you're doing; and don't bother with light and very light unless you're going for something light.
I've been training individuals for almost 20 years and clients or new trainers that discuss this infuriating chart with me has been my pet peeve. I don't want my clients to NOT advance their cardio or to NOT lose weight - plain and simple. I'd recently caught another one of my clients sticking to a "fat-burn" 109bpm program on the elyptical when she was supposed to work towards having her heart rate at 140-150bpm for a sustained 30 minutes. (Yes, I check what my clients are doing with their cardio frequently - sometimes I resort to 10 minutes of standing over them if they're on a machine, or dragging them outside to run, pushing on their backs for them to move ... yeah ... until I can trust they'll do that part right on their own). See, I couldn't figure out why she wasn't losing weight if she was doing was she was supposed to be doing without me (the sustained cardio) along with the conditioning she was doing WITH me. Trainer GROWL, right here! She wasn't even breaking a sweat. And then she says to me, the machine says it's "fat burn" and so did a magazine - she conveniently forgot what I'd told her to do. Ohhhhhh no no no no no no no no ...
If ANYYYYYY trainer/book/magazine tells you that you can la-dee-dah on the cardio because you've gotta stay in some zone that allows you to not work hard but magically helps you lose weight, please don't just walk away - walk briskly, jog, run, break a bloody sweat and keep that body moving in the opposite direction until you've actually burned some calories and woken up.
This is what you're going to do: You're NOT going to do a machine "program" (if you're indoors). Put that machine on MANUAL and focus on how long you can keep that heart rate around 150 bpm (give or take 10 bpm tops!). If your heart rate (hr) is at 140 bpm and is really tough for you, then let it lower slightly and stick to somewhere like 130/135 until you can condition yourself to up it. But don't putz. Don't let it fall unless you need the break. Don't do 30 mins of cardio all at 105 bpm - please, PLEASE! Break if you need to, yes, for a couple mins, but don't you dare dream that you're fat burning -- you're BREAKING! That's it.
Now, disclaimer: I have no idea what fitness levels any of you that are reading this are at ... these charts and zones are designed to keep people "safe" ... they're generalities. And we haven't discussed weight training in this article - however, my point is, to step back and really think about what is happening with your body when you're doing cardio and NOT seeing results. My client has started to lose weight. She isn't happy doing the cardio in a higher zone, but it's paying off for her, and it can for you too.
30-45 mins today of cardio at a moderate to hard SUSTAINED intensity. What do you say?
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