Body Composition: Getting The Most Out Of Your Cardio

You do cardio – but are you getting MAXIMUM results from your efforts?

DAYNE HUDSON from FIT’N’FLEXED gives his supplement tips on how to get more bang for your buck.

You tighten your shoe laces and breathe out heavily.

Yep. It’s cardio time.

And so you take off, with goal of either increasing your fitness or shedding body fat.

For this article, we will focus on losing body fat, which is what most people are aiming for as they take to the pavement.

However, there are two things I wanted to focus on here, 1. The TYPE of cardio you’re doing and the SUPPLEMENTS you’re taking BEFORE cardio, to further enhance that fat burning process!

TYPE OF CARDIO

Let’s not joke around – the harder you work – the better your results.

Short and intense HIGH INTENSITY CARDIO sessions will help you to continue to break through your fat loss plateaus. I’m talking about 30 seconds on the rower WITH EVERYTHING YOU’VE GOT, followed by 30 rest, for 12-15 minutes.

But there is a down side – it’s VERY intense and can make your recovery, in conjunction with a heavy weight training schedule, very difficult.

The alternative is LISS cardio – LOW INTENSITY STEADY STATE CARDIO. Although this will only bring temporary results to the fat loss table, it’s a lot easier to perform.

However, fat loss gains will continue to come from LISS training, if you LENGTHEN the time you walk for slowly over time and even bring in a SECOND LISS session in later on in the evening.

FOR EXAMPLE:

Week 1-2

MONDAY, WED, THUR (LISS sessions in the AM)

Week 2-4

MONDAY, WED THUR (LISS sessions in the AM and AFTER WEIGHTS on the WEDNESDAY [and just the AM on the other days])

Week 4-6

MONDAY, WED, THUR, SAT (LISS sessions in the AM and AFTER WEIGHTS on WEDNESDAY [and just the AM on the other days])

If you’re part ENDOMORPH like me (see earlier articles on training for your body type) HIGH INTENSITY cardio is a GREAT way to kick a SHREDDING phase off, but because I’m part ENDOMORPH, I need to drop my carbs A LOT (I’m talking just 100 grams of carbs on a high day) to lose body fat (I’m currently at 5% bodyfat as I write this).

I simply can’t afford to sustain doing HIGH INTENSITY cardio, because I DON’T have the adequate nutrition to RECOVER.

But when I’m starting out – HIIT is the preferred option, to frighten my body into realising: “It’s time to drop fat buddy!”

REMEMBER: RECOVERY is the MOST IMPORTANT thing when it comes to making changes to your body.

You can’t race a car with a tired/wasted engine. It’ll lose and BREAK DOWN every time.

For more DETAIL on the studies behind both LOW INTENSITY STEADY STATE CARDIO and HIGH INTENSITY CARDIO, watch my video on my TV show FIT’N’FLEXED here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk31Mtlk1Aw&feature=plcp

FAT LOSS is like a final fight scene between the good guy and bad guy in a HOLLYWOOD movie.

To succeed – you must always have that BACK UP WEAPON in your back pocket ready to surprise your enemy with to win!

In this case, your obvious enemy is your stubborn pockets of body fat that you’re convinced you can’t lose.

But as you know – the bad guys always die, and you’ll be killing all of them after this.

SUPPLEMENTS

Let me focus on just TWO supplements that will really enhance the fat burning effect. Bring them in after week 3.

Remember: the weapon to surprise your enemy with!

The first supplement is good old-fashioned CAFFEINE.

Now be careful here – BLACK COFFEE is the best option. It’ll rise your metabolic rate, helping you burn MORE calories throughout the day. Throw a cup of BLACK COFFEE down your neck (for the cost of ZERO calories) around 15-30 mins before cardio.

I shake my head at the people who drink a high-powered energy drink before cardio – thinking the caffeine will help them. The sugar will put them onto the express train to obesity, diabetes and more body fat before they can even say “FAT LOSS!”

The next – CARNITINE.

Not only do recent studies show it boosts athletic performance, but it’s a very STRONG fat burner.

Carnitine is responsible for transporting fat into cells used for the body for energy. When you take Carnitine, you body becomes better at processing fuel – which will subsequently give your energy levels a boost.

Take your CARNITINE a half an hour before your walk in conjunction with your cup of black coffee – and you can be sure that like always, the bad guys will ALWAYS die.

DAYNE HUDSON is the host of FIT’N’FLEXED – coming soon to AUSTRALIAN TV screens.

Check out his developing website www.fitnflexed.com for more details and follow him on TWITTER via
– and be sure to “like” his Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/fitnflexed – for regular updates and giveaways.

Dayne Hudson

Host/Creator of FIT’N’FLEXED

Happy Lifting!