Don't be a Cardioholic

Don't be a Cardioholic

 
I love shaking things up a bit, so I wanted to bust some myths about cardio!

Cardiovascular activity, or “cardio” for short, seems to be either loved or despised in the fitness world. We associate that term with fat burning, increasing lung capacity, and overall endurance. But for the sake of bodybuilding/sculpting, let’s take a look at the true benefits of cardio.



For the benefits of bodybuilding and sculpting, cardio plays a part in bringing out the muscle definition that you have worked hard to get. Now, although I believe in the health benefits of doing cardio, I am not a big proponent of the overuse of cardio to decrease body fat to achieve “the look” of being shredded; that can be dangerous to one’s metabolism. As to what I mean by “overuse”, here is an example: John Doe has a show coming up in eight weeks, but by the looks of his physique, he is not ready. The standard protocol that has been traditionally used over many years is to drop calories, decrease sodium, and then do cardio twice a day for an hour each time, and then eventually dehydrate. Now, this will have an effect – and very possibly the effect that John Doe is looking for – but the underlying issue is that this method will have to be matched or increased time and time again until it no longer is effective.