Are You Cardio Crazy?

As a fitness professional for the last several years, I’ve seen a lot of things during my classes or inside of a gym–and not all are good. What I have noticed is a certain condition from which many women suffer (myself included because it takes one to know one).

Women have gone “cardio crazy!”

Moms especially battle this because we are so busy, busy, busy! Once we finally start a workout, we want…no, we need it to count. By count, I mean we want to see some serious numbers. How many calories did we burn? How many miles did run? How long did we spin? How many flights of stairs did we climb? We stare at the time or that little digital counter until it hits our lucky number that makes us feel better about ourselves or justifies that cookie we ate last night. We repeat the same workout every chance we get because we are worried that our bodies will change if we don’t. It’s time we review the basics of exercise and break this exercise-by-numbers pattern!

1. Numbers Can Lie

We shouldn’t get our panties in a wad about all those numbers we see on the machines. I hate to break it to you, ladies, but those are only ROUGH estimates (at best) for the GENERAL population on a piece of machinery. I’m willing to bet many people (ahem women) even lie to it when they enter their age or weight anyway. Cardio CrazyFiguring out caloric burn is more complicated than just your age and weight. A machine won’t be able to factor in your individual fitness level. Though most are equipped with heart rate sensors, many don’t work after repeated use and little maintenance. To maximize a workout, I suggest staying between 75-85% of your maximum heart rate. Click here to figure out yours. If numbers are your thing, invest in a heart rate monitor (see Jena’s review here).  A good rule of thumb is to spend 20-30 minutes at that 75-85% zone. Select the intervals or hills option on the machine,  you’ll get a better burn than doing the same level for a longer period of time. Your body prides itself on becoming more efficient so pay attention to what level gets you to that target heart rate zone and be prepared to increase the intensity of your workouts over time to achieve that 75-85%.

2. Weights Are For Women Too

Cardio isn’t the end-all-be-all of exercise!! I know, take a moment to collect yourselves. No doubt we need a cardio component in workouts but don’t ignore those weights! Cardio does have many fabulous benefits on the heart/cardiovascular system like flooding the brain with blood and feel-good hormones like serotonin and dopamine. Weight training produces similar effects with a bonus of creating more muscle. More muscle = more calories burned. When more calories are burned, and muscle is being produced, bodies become leaner, more toned and duh… stronger! Now straight cardio may burn more calories upfront than only lifting weights, but the cardio burn fizzles out once you stop exercising. Weight training, on the other hand, burns calories while you work AND continues after you exit the gym! It’s the gift that keeps on giving. That’s not all, pumping iron builds strong bones. As we get older, women are more susceptible to bone loss and osteoporosis. One of the easiest ways to prevent this right now is lifting weights. Bottom line women need both cardio and strength training to get the optimum workout!

3. Stop Making Excuses

Don’t tell me you can’t do strength training because you will bulk up. That’s one of the oldest exercise rumors in the books!!! Pumping iron a couple of times of a week will not turn you into The Rock. Females simply don’t have enough testosterone or follow the type of nutrition regime needed to produce bulk. Cardio CrazyNo whining about how little time you have to exercise either. Try warming up 5-10 minutes on the treadmill, bike or elliptical then head to the weights for 15 minutes then cool down with another 5-10 on a cardio machine. For the weights segment, perform compound exercises like a kettlebell swing or lunge with an overhead press that keep the heart rate elevated while you strengthen. Boom, you did both. I can hear the next excuse a mile away…”I would lift weights, BUT I just don’t know what to do!” Ask me or another fitness professional, we live for this kinda stuff. Of course there’s the internet, just be careful to choose a legitimate source like this one. Do not be afraid of the gym’s free weight section. Okay, maybe some meat heads do hang out there, but at least you’ll know the only thing they care about is themselves, not you:) Grab a friend if you need one until you feel more comfortable back there. Workout with a plan, know what kind of weight or machine you are looking for and get familiar with it. Not into the gym you say, many exercises can be done at home if you purchase a few varying dumbbells! Mommy workout time is precious. You owe it to yourself to make the most of it. I hope to see you pumping iron soon! Cardio Crazy

Mary Lauren Eubank
Mary-Lauren is a curly-haired Texan in the trenches of motherhood with two sassy and entertaining daughters. A busy body in the truest sense, she teaches fitness classes all week at Define Jacksonville. To stay sane, Mary-Lauren requires a daily dose of dark chocolate, unwinds with a page-turner and folds laundry watching just the kind of reality TV that she will forbid her girls from watching in the future. A wannabe foodie, she loves to learn about, prepare, experiment and indulge in all things food…well except the shopping part with kids in tow. She blogs about all things fitness from debunking the latest trends to goal setting, Mary-Lauren is passionate about being active, being real and being healthy!

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