Cheston on a Treadmill?

Those of you who have asked me about cardio know that I'm not a huge fan of treadmills and ellipticals. Here are a few reasons why I don't recommend either for fat-loss:

Treadmill

1. Hi-Impact: The amount of stress and impact that your body endures over a long duration is damaging. Remember: Stress is cumulative! I've met so many runners with damaged knees, tight hips and other chronic movement dysfunctions. If you compare the amount of stress endured by an elite marathon runner (under 2hr 30min) and an amateur (4hr+), you'll find less damage in the elite competitor. This is because their joints and muscles are under tension for a much shorter period of time.
   
2. Kills your metabolism: Long duration running eventually becomes catabolic and eats away at your muscle proteins. Remember: Less muscle = Less Metabolism!
3. You become efficient: After the initial few weeks of treadmill running, your cardiovascular system begins to learn how to conserve energy better. Our bodies adapt to the stress we place upon it. When we run for a long period of time, our body reacts by saying "Hey, I need to find a way to make this easier so I don't ever run out of fuel". If fat is fuel, the last thing we want is to be thrifty and efficient. The only way then to increase your fat/calorie burn during long slow runs is to run longer (which brings us back to reasons #1 and #2 why I don't recommend treadmill running).

Elliptical Machines

1. They're easy: The reason why so many people run to the elliptical for their workout is because they are the easiest machine in the gym! You'll crank out 45-60minutes in your very first workout and barely break a sweat. And best of all the machine tells you that you've burned 500 calories. The reality is you've probably burned less than 200 calories and you've lost 30 minutes of your life that you'll never get back! Is it possible to get a good workout on an elliptical machine? YES! (I'll explain in a minute how to do so)

I still use the treadmill as part of my fat-loss program, but I use it in a way that doesn't break any of my rules/objections from above! The name of the game with fat-loss is intensity. When you push yourself into the higher heart rate zones you create what I like to refer to as "Metabolic Disturbance". The higher the intensity, the greater the Disturbance! What happens after the workout is the magic part... you are still burning calories (mostly fat) for up to 36hrs. This doesn't happen with traditional long duration slow/moderate cardio exercise. The other beautiful part is that your workouts are generally 30minutes or less. Lets look at my 3 objections again with respect to this style of exercise:

1. Hi-Impact: Yes, this workout is still hi-impact, but you've reduced your time under tension to less than 30minutes! Therefore the cumulative stress is much less than a long run. For people who are overweight or have minor joint pain, hi-intensity workouts will do less damage over time.
2. Kills your metabolism: At these intensities your primary source of energy is almost entirely carbohydrates during the workout and fats after the workout. Proteins do not play as much of a role as a fuel source saving your metabolism from destruction!
3. You become efficient: The trick here is you never get used to sprint intervals! Since we are always working in an anaerobic heart rate zone, your muscles will always demand more oxygen than your cardiovascular system can supply making economy and efficiency impossible to attain.

Below is a sample 30minute hi-intensity workout that I use 1-2 times a week in my program. This workout can be performed on any piece of equipment (tread, bike, elliptical). The only rule is that during the hi-intensity (red) interval section, you are pushing yourself to your max intensity! This is the only way for this workout to be effective. If you're only going to work at 50%, then there's no use in even trying it. You can print this workout by "right clicking" the picture and select "OPEN IN NEW WINDOW". It should open the picture file in a separate browser from which you can print it and bring it to the gym.

If you need help getting started on your hi-intensity cardio workout you can email me at cheston.bogue@gmail.com or visit me at the gym!