Too Much Cardio Doesn't Work

I often observe gym members as they go through their daily routines. On one particular day, two women caught my eye as they rushed in for a 1pm spin class. They got my attention primarily because I had noticed them running on the treadmill at 6am that same morning, as I met my first client. Each ran for about 40 minutes.

Two things came to mind as watch them head to spin class. One, these were two dedicated individuals, and two, they didn't really appear to be loosing any weight, even though I noticed them every morning at 6am on the treadmill. I forgot to mentioned they are both slightly overweight :(.

Now compare these women to a client of mine who I had only worked with for 1 1/2 months, and had lost 10 pounds while becoming more toned. The question comes to mind. What is my client (a 42 year woman)doing differently? Let me answer that question in parts. I trained a number women who compete in fitness shows, including my wife, Chikondi Mseka. During contest preparation, Chikondi can easily shed any where from 10 to 12 pounds in about 4 weeks, while doing cardio 2-3 per week, sometimes for only 25 minutes.

How is that possible you might be asking? Well for one thing Chikondi, and the client mentioned above, adhere to a very to a simple meal plan, which has them eating six times per day, while cycling their carbs and calories. In addition, they both do resistance training 4 to 5 times per week for up to 1 hour per session. These session are quite challenging mainly because I want to use all the glycogen stores in their bodies. FYI glycogen is derived from carbs, which your body uses as energy. Now since the glycogen stores are depleted during resistance training, when its time to do cardio, their bodies have to rely on their fat stores for energy. This of course results in weight loss. In addition, they both become toned and trim :).

So as I often tell my clients, that becoming trim is not only about how long your cardio sessions are. Its how well you balance them with proper weight training. Of course the right meal plan helps :). If you want further advice don't hesitate to consult KooYah Fitness.