Will Cardio Kill My Gains?

No.....

But not doing it, may kill more than. Social media shows us the madddddd events and training some people are doing; we live in a bubble that makes it seem like everybody nails cardiovascular training and creates a distorted “standard”.

But we are currently living in a time, where being sedentary is reallyyyyy easy. Everything’s quick, convenient and done to make life easier for us. Never has it ever been more simple, to get what you want, when you want on demand. We can literally order everything from the comfort of our sofa, get a robot to write things for us and people are trying to bio-hack their way to eternal life. General activity on mass is at a record low, with related health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver disease and general poor hormone markers on an overall high. A lot of people still don’t hit recommended minimum activity guidelines. Which, given how much data, science and technology we have at our fingertips, is alarming. We should be able to make fitness, wellness and health accessible for everyone. Yet still, people undervalue the important of leading a more active lifestyle and over value the possibility of a quick fix to sort them out. You only have to look at the adverts that you'll get over the day to prove this point. You can't escape the bombarding billboards selling you pills, injections, treatment plans and 6-week shreds. Which is understandable- because consistent, boring, repeatable action isn't sexy. It doesn't shock or create headlines. It also doesn't create excitement or a buzz. Doing things like eating well, moving more, having structured cardiovascular training and resistance training don't stand up to the super products you see promoted. Buttttttt......

There's a reason these things, are what we resort back to in the long run. They work. Each has an important part to play in building a hopefully longer, more resilient, healthier future. Bodybuilding style training has a MASSIVE part to play in having reduced cardio to just steps, fat burning zones and making people scared thinking 'will cardio kill my gains?'. I’ve had conversations where people said they felt confused, embarrassed and intimidated to try improving their cardiovascular health. They thought cardio, meant bleep tests, burpees, sprints, HITT and left on the floor in a pile. So rather than starting gradual, they think because they can’t do what they see online, they don’t bother at all. Or it’s too late to make significant impact once you’re past a certain age.

The guideline range currently sits at 150-300 minutes over a week.  Be honest with yourself…..do you hit that? Or do you…

Say you’ll start doing it once the weather improves, all or nothing. Only do it when you decide you want to lose weight and then because you overdo it, never go near again. You copy what you see online, realise it makes no sense to you and isn’t relevant, so sack it off…You don’t have the time/Won’t make the time. Can’t find the time. Don’t like feeling gassed out……but won’t do anything to improve the system that helps them feel less gassed out??

Because ⬆️ are the common things I see and why most people sack off any sort of cardiovascular training after a short amount of time. They’ve gone about it wrong from the start. When really, starting steady, meeting yourself where you're at and removing the stigma placed on cardio is where the gold lies. You don't need to be hammering it from the get go or gearing up for a huge cardio based event/goal. A few ways I make it achievable for my VIP Clients.

🚴‍♀️ Tag it on to your session; warmups, post strength session and within structured circuits help us tot up the time, when they’re already in the gym. 🏊 Dedicated cardio day; put it in your diary as you would other training. Make time ahead of time, commit to it and if it helps, incorporate a couple of smaller lifts in the same session to soften the blow. Things like prehab, rehab, core, orrrr if you really must hit biceps again in the week be my guest.

🏃‍♂️ Make it enjoyable; you might never LOVE doing cardio, but it helps if you find something you hate less. Most people are set in their ways about what counts as cardio, they forget things like hiking, swimming, rollerblading, surfing, pole dancing, outdoor swimming. It doesn’t have to be done on a treadmill in the corner of a gym to count.

💃 Rituals; tag something on to your cardio to make it enticing. There’s a reason group cafe rides, post run club smoothies and hiking with mates are popular. It creates an experience to look forward to.

🏏 Gamify; if you enjoy hitting numbers, set challenges that match. With one of my clients, we said money she saved on taxis and public transport by cycling to work, went into a savings account and pay for a holiday she’d otherwise go without.

🏸 Enlist help; some people are more likely to stick at something if they’re held accountable, pushed and inspired by pals, classes, run clubs, Parkrun and sports teams.

As with most things in fitness, you have to get deliberate and be specific. Intentional cardiovascular training, MUST be planned in your training week and prioritised like you do everything else. Big biceps are useless if you can’t breathe properly.