In a previous post regarding Lance Armstrong’s marathon performance, I explored the heretical idea that there exists no general “conditioning” attribute; that aerobic capacity was activity-specific. With apologies to Greg Glassman, I’ll now explore the idea that the conventional idea of “cardio” simply doesn’t fly.

Forget about the layperson; speak to any doctor, personal trainer, exercise physiologist, or other health/medical professional and ask them to describe the concept of “cardio” to you. What they are likely to tell you is this:

“Cardio is short for cardiovascular exercise. It’s basically any type of activity that gets your heart moving, but for real benefit you’ve got to get your heart rate above 65% of its maximum. Most authorities like the AMA and ACSM say that you’ve got to do some cardio (at least 30 minutes) everyday. It strengthens your heart and lungs, and helps you lose weight.”

While well-intentioned, these are not true statements. here’s why:

1.) Cardio is not required for health.
What all the epidemiological studies (in particular, longitudinal ones like the Harvard Nurses Study, MRFIT, and the Blair study) on exercise and mortality show is that people who were moderately active lived the longest. What they don’t indicate is what “being active” means (aside from saying expended 2000 calories per week). You can “be active” by regularly strength training – the AHA says so. You can “be active” by walking to work in the morning, gardening on the weekends, playing with your kids in the evening – it doesn’t have to be 30 minutes on the treadmill.

Additionally, the people who “exercised” in those landmark studies did so because they chose to. Does that mean that they may have also engaged in other activities that prolonged their lives (such as eating healthfully, minimizing stress, etc.)? Likely. And there’s no way of separating this effect from their activities. So it’s possible (and probable) that these people lived longer because they led healthier lifestyles as a whole, not just because of the “exercise.”

2.) Cardio doesn’t strengthen your heart and lungs all that much.
Physiologists measure cardiovascular power by looking at VO2 max - the maximal ability of your body to utilize oxygen for aerobic metabolism (i.e., to perform work). The stark reality of VO2 max? It’s not that modifiable. Meaning, you can’t increase it much (less than 10%). Why?

Answer: Because in most healthy individuals, your cardiovascular system is already running at 100%. Your heart already is pumping at its optimal output (increasing heart size via training may not be the best idea for long-term health). Your lungs are already absorbing and transporting 100% of the oxygen molecules that they can into the bloodstream.

So how do you account for dramatic increases in performance?

Answer: Your muscles improve in their ability to take in and utilize oxygen in the bloodstream. The issue of “conditioning” is a muscular issue, not a cardiovascular one.

3.) Cardio doesn’t help you lose weight.
It simply doesn’t, if diet is ignored. Here’s my tired analogy:

Running 5 miles requires an output of roughly 500 calories. It takes a fit person roughly 45 minutes to run 5 miles.

By contrast, eating 500 calories can take less than 30 seconds, for any human being. In fact, my college buddies could probably chug 500 calories in less than one second.

If you don’t control for diet, there’s no amount of cardio that will help. Period.

BTW, at the low intensities most people exercise at, they’re likely burning just under 175-200 calories a shot. Just enough for a handful of almonds.

Don’t forget that cardio has a negative flipside:

1.) Prolonged exercise can actually damage the heart.
2.) Too much cardio causes muscle wasting and deleterious hormonal changes that increase likelihood of obesity.
3.) Too much cardio causes wearing away of joints and connective tissue, increasing likelihood of injury.

Now, if you’re a person who enjoys doing cardio, go right on ahead. I’m not telling you to stop running or kickboxing or biking. I myself live an active (overactive?) life – Brazilian Jiujitsu, snowboarding, mountain biking, general mayhem, etc. But I do all these things because I love doing them, not because I have to fulfill my “cardio requirement” for the day. My message is for those who thought it was a requirement for life. Believe me, if you stop doing cardio tomorrow, you won’t drop dead prematurely.

Well, to be honest, if cardio is the only exercise you’re doing, then maybe you will. Better start strength training instead – it’s safer and better for you in the long run.

Even the originator of “aerobics”, Dr. Kenneth Cooper has culled his recommendations somewhat, placing more emphasis on strength training and less emphasis on aerobics for health. Maybe one day he’ll even admit that saturated fat is good for you.

Bottom line: If you’re doing cardio because you think you have to for health or fat loss, you can stop now. It’s ok, you have my permission.

What’s the secret behind the runaway success of Curves? Why, if the training program is so bad, is the franchise such a moneymaker?

My colleague Mike Collins suggests that it is because Curves encourages consistency and fosters a nurturing, peer-oriented environment. It’s marketed towards women, who tend to thrive on group-based endeavors. A Curves circuit isn’t like the impersonality and relative anonymity of a group exercise class, rather, it’s like one big mass personal training session (without the personal trainer).

In other words, Curves provides a safe context for you and your other overweight friends to work out in.

Cynic that I am, I think there’s a (slightly) darker subtext afoot.

Perhaps what draws women in initially is the safe training environment, but what keeps them coming back is the opportunity to lose more fat than their friends.

Humans are naturally competitive. But this isn’t a bad thing – competition can often spur us on to greater heights than we may have pushed ourselves to. Competition isn’t an unhealthy thing if viewed as a way to elevate ourselves as opposed to “beating someone else down.” And by helps our competition grow as well, since they consequently raise their own game.

If you are pursuing a fitness goal, like fat loss, try pursuing it with a like-minded friend or family member. Make a friendly competition out of it; see who can be the most disciplined with their diet for 6 weeks. Or who is logging more consistent exercise (*cough strength training) . You may find that it makes the process of achieving your goals that much more enjoyable.

…I lost my first match in NAGA this past weekend. To add injury to insult, I sustained a pretty bad ankle sprain in the process, so I had to bow out of my other match as well.

To make things even worse, my opponent tapped me with a toehold, which I had on him earlier in the match but didn’t finish (read: crank) for fear of hurting him. That’s a mistake I’ll never make in competition ever again.

At least I was told my fight was one of the more exciting ones of the day. I’ll post photos later on when I get a chance.

Great way to start off the 2007 Ranked season.

Look at your workouts using a Cost:Benefit ratio:

Is what you’re doing helping you achieve your goals, or impairing your ability to ever get there?

Let’s say you walked up to me and told me, “Eugene, I want to run the marathon and be the fittest, healthiest 35 year old on the planet.”

On the other hand, being the fittest, healthiest 35 year old on the planet is a far body-friendlier endeavor. A test of willpower? Certainly. A lofty goal? Indeed. But achievable without breaking your body into little tiny bits? Yes.

This afternoon, one of my clients keyed me in to poor Annika Sorenstam’s predicament today. Diagnosed disc problems are terrible for us mere mortals, but for a professional golfer, it makes performing your livelihood (and your life) impossible.

In their quests to become the top player, many athletes engage in Herculean workout regimens (usually imposed upon them by a well-meaning coach or trainer) and (*ahem) marathon training sessions. More is better, one argues.

But what’s too much?

This article shed great insight on what I think is a largely ignored aspect of Sorenstam’s problem: her training program itself. While there’s no denying that golf itself imposes tremendous stress on an athlete’s spine, there is the issue of:

“1,000 abdominal crunches a day,”

and

“hours of daily strength training, as well as Pilates and yoga for flexibility.” (emphasis added)

Your body is a machine – the best darn machine on the planet. But like other machines, the parts will eventually wear out, even on a finely-tuned hot rod like Annika Sorenstam. All it takes is a little too much, a few too many…

Look at things from a different angle:

Instead of – “How much exercise can my body endure?”

Think – “How much (little?) exercise is required to get my performance and body from here to where I want to be?”

Ummm….pardon me, Juan Carlos Santana, but you wouldn’t be trying to take credit for all of Mark Twight’s hard work, are you? After all, he’s the one who trained the “300″ actors into Spartan shape, not you.

The Institute of Human Performance offers “Spartan Training?”

*tsk tsk* Capitalizing on a fad is one thing; taking credit for another man’s work is something else completely. Of course, it could be that the reporter mixed up his facts, it sure happens. Sometimes.

Above: Hmmm, I don’t see Juan Carlos Santana anywhere. He must have gone to the bathroom while they were filming.

I’m not all that cutting edge, so I figure that by the time I’ve heard about something, I’ve missed the exciting “early-adopters” phase and am getting in roughly 10 seconds before everyone jumps onto the bandwagon. It happened with Jon Mayer, and I believe it’s happened again with David Belle.

About 2 years ago I chanced upon a random clip on the web of some guy running around Paris. He wasn’t just running, however; he was flipping and spinning and climbing, maneuvering his way around obstacles, jumping off of buildings. In short, he was the living embodiment of the inner ninja that all young-at-heart folks have inside them. At any rate, to me he justified my so-called bizarre behavior on the gym floor wherein I would jump around machines, perch on benches, and perform other such death-defying moves.

I briefly flirted with the idea of hooking up with the American Parkour guys, since freerunning was something I thought was both extremely cool and something I could really get into. Alas, it became yet another line item I had to abandon due to lack of time (which may have been for the best, considering the shape I’m in from Brazilian jiujitsu).

I thought parkour had hit saturation point when District B13 came out (wow, a whole movie based on parkour!). Then Casino Royale came out…

And then…

I happened to chance upon this article yesterday and thought to myself, “Okay, this is definitely the tipping point. If it isn’t, I don’t know what is.”

I’m happy Mr. Belle is finally receiving his due. Hopefully there’ll soon be a whole generation of juvenile delinquents testing their mettle and physical abilities (a solution to childhood obesity?).

Vive le parkour!

My friend and one-time training partner Gary Valencia used to talk derisively about the concept of the “Weekend Warrior” – the 5 day a week Nine to Fiver who, come the weekend, engages in strenuous physical activity all weekend (as if he were a top-notch athlete in prime competitive condition). Of course, being a Captain in the US National Guard, he came into contact with his fair share of weekend warriors (although they were literal “warriors”).

(Aside: You know, I miss training with ya, Valencia-san. It was fun testing our skills against Sifu Vinny’s students, et al.)

Fast forward years later, I am confronted with “Weekend Warrior Syndrome” each and every Monday, when clients confront me with a host of maladies sustained from their weekend activities. The interesting thing is that they need not have been involved in sports; nearly any strenuous physical activity can be the root cause (i.e., gardening, shoveling, playing with kids, etc.)

Our conversations roughly follow this template:

Me: “So, how was the weekend?”

Client: “Oh man, I tweaked my (insert body part here) in the worst way when (insert activity here)! But it’s ok today, I took a Motrin/Advil/generic NSAID before I came here. Squats?”

At this point, I typically bury my head in my hands and shake it vigorously.

There are several reasons why taking NSAIDs prior to a workout is a bad idea. But the 2 major reasons are:

1) How do I know I’m not making it worse with an exercise we’re doing?
Answer: You don’t. That’s why unless it’s absolutely necessary, refrain from taking the med “just to get the workout in.” It’s definitely ok to delay the workout a day or two to heal.

2) NSAIDs interfere with muscle rebuilding.
Taking NSAIDS prior to working out is akin to drinking a jar of honey before eating a low-carb meal; all the potential benefit of the activity is undermined by what you did prior to it. I quote:

So what can we do to combat this problem?

1) Stay in good condition:
The best advice I can give is to keep strength levels high by strength training. Don’t allow yourself to degenerate. If you want to continue playing tennis well into your 50s, 60s, etc., maintain your muscle strength and conditioning. It will make your performance that much better and your recovery that much easier.

2) Don’t overdo it, i.e., ask for help:
It’s ok to ask your son to shovel the driveway for you, or to bribe the neighborhood kids to clear the backyard. It doesn’t mean you’re getting old and lazy, really. Besides, with age comes wisdom, right? If you insist on doing things yourself, pay close attention to the signals your body gives you – a tweaky or sore muscle or tendon is a good sign you should stop for the time being.

3) Utilize non-pharmaceutical solutions:
Have a hot bath with Epsom salts. Get a massage from a professional. Supplement with antioxidants like Vitamin C and E, or take glutamine. Apply ice and heat.

I feel that at a minimum, self-professed “Weekend Warriors” require 3 workouts during the week to maintain performance and prevent injury: 2 full-body strength workouts and 1 “safety workout.” The full-body workouts are to maximize strength and performance, and the safety workout comprises all additional work to ensure the weak points are addressed as well (e.g., forearm, wrist, and rotator cuff work for a tennis player). More on that later…

After reading part 1 of my post on food journaling, Sairalyn so sweetly reminded me of the one big pitfall of food journaling:

It’s very true that underreporting on food journals is rampant. It has killed many a decently designed nutrition study, as well as sabotaged the progress of countless trainees. What can be done to counter it?

Well, you can’t insure that it will never happen. In fact, if you happen to be a trainer reading this, count on folks underreporting. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve “busted” someone eating something then not reporting it (or being told that his roommate’s sister saw him eating raw cookie dough over the weekend, which mysteriously went unreported).

I implore trainer and trainee alike; give the ritual the gravitas it deserves. It’s ok if the journal doesn’t reflect a paragon of virtue; it’s not supposed to. Food journaling is for accurate reporting of the facts so that a plan can be devised, period.

It helps to treat the food journal like a checkbook – think to “balance” it right away. Better yet, since the food probably won’t get up and run away, write it down before you eat it. Whatever it is, no matter how little (or how much). This has the added benefit of making one reflect upon the virtues of the foodstuff before it enters the Great Digestive Ride (one of the great reasons to perform food journaling in the first place).

So please, be honest – you only have to do it for a week.

Just recently my friend Matt was kind enough to share his food journal with me (he’s been chronicling his intake off and on for years, as he has severe digestive problems). It struck me that in the time I’ve known him it was the third food journal I’ve known him to keep. Matt needs to keep a food journal almost out of medical necessity, yet even he finds it a difficult practice to maintain.

Perhaps no request is more reviled than when I ask that clients keep a food journal.

Perhaps no discipline is more useful for a client interested in fat loss.

Why is keeping a food journal so difficult? For the same reasons it’s so valuable:

1) A food journal shows you what your real intake is.
Quick, who can remember what they had for dinner last Wednesday, or their 2nd snack on Friday? The best reason to keep a food journal is to serve as a resource of what you’ve eaten. By keeping a food journal you can easily monitor how alterations to your diet affect your mood, and more importantly, your waistline.

2) A food journal highlights your bad habits.
Maybe you don’t realize that you tend to snack on 600 calories worth of popcorn between 5-7pm each day when you get home and plop down in front of the TV. Maybe you tend to eat a less than worthwhile breakfast of 2 raspberries and a chocolate mint, but don’t realize that this doesn’t qualify it as a bonafide “meal.”

3) A food journal puts the ball in your court.
As much as I hate to say it, some people don’t want to get better, faster, stronger, leaner, etc. They only think they do for whatever reason drives them (usually the attention or sanction of other people), which is any reason except the most important one: because it is something they want for themselves. Someone who is driven to bring themselves to the next level in anything in life will be willing to do whatever it takes to get there. Let’s face it – if it’s too much trouble to do an extra 15 minutes of paperwork in a day, then you really don’t want a better body all that badly. Which is totally ok, by the way – but you should keep lifting weights anyway.

Best of all, it’s easy. For computer buffs, it takes all of 10 minutes to set up an Excel spreadsheet for easy food entry. But it doesn’t even require that; all that’s really needed is a scrap of paper and something to write with. What goes into a food journal? Anything that goes into your mouth – food, water, bits of your finger skin, etc. The final requirement? The approximate time you ingested said food. Keep it for at least a week (yes, including the weekend).

You don’t have go as in depth as John Stone did. Even if you don’t write down amounts, count calories, or calculate daily micro and macronutrient breakdowns, just a quick glance of the daily menu will shed a lot of light on whether or not you’re making good food choices, eating too infrequently, stacking your diet in favor of unhealthy or fat-storing foods, etc. It is a really useful tool to help one get on or stay on the right track.

Which reminds me…time to fuel up.

Probably one of the top 10 questions I get asked by new clients is,

“How long will it take before I start to see some results?”

Well, the answer to that question is a tough one, because a great deal of it relies on the client. It depends on:

• How motivated you are to create changes in your body
• How well you will adhere to nutritional and lifestyle changes
• Your age
• Your sex
• The amount of stress you have in your life
• Consistency

…and so on and so forth. Now, assuming that you follow my instructions and advice reasonably well (you strength train consistently, you eat mostly correctly, you get semi-adequate recovery) then you can expect to see real, tangible results at about the 4-6 week mark, maybe later if you aren’t particularly good with nutrition or if you miss workouts, etc.

This answer usually is met with some surprise. In this world of Hydroxycut and Trimspa, people are used to hearing things like, “Lose 40 lbs of fat in just 3 weeks!” and the like. But the reality is that real, lasting results take time. Programs that work don’t involve crash dieting or 4 hour long workouts that are unsustainable for prolonged periods of time. Programs that work involve lifestyle changes that force the body to adapt – this takes time. It takes time to get into the habit of eating for optimal leanness. It takes time to condition your body for truly beneficial (read: truly hard) exercise. It takes time to lose fat without sacrificing precious muscle along the way.

John Stone has a website that shows what a dedicated, young, out-of-shape person can achieve given the proper training, nutrition, and (most importantly) application. He has been kind enough to chronicle his transformation day by day. The pictures tell the story!

John Stone Fitness

Note that the greatest amount of change occurred in the first 4-5 months of his program, when he went from fat to lean. Note also that in the day-to-day pictures, you don’t start to see visible changes until…

…about 4-6 weeks.

Of course, if he had just taken Trimspa…(he would probably have washed out after 3 weeks).