10/05/2026
Happy Monday!!
Let’s talk about cardio for a minute and why simply walking is often the best option.
Each day I see ALLOT of people doing cardio for LOOOONNNGGGG periods of time. Let me begin by saying endurance cardio absolutely has its place! For example, if your goals are aerobic stamina and improved cardiac/pulmonary health or sports specific training (please consult your general practitioner for guidance/limitations first, if under the care of one)!
Walking puts the least amount of stress on your body, improves heart/lung health, can help w/ blood glucose regulation, and is a very effective weight loss aid! Most of the time, the average person’s goal primarily leans toward increasing muscle mass while decreasing fat (which makes incorporating walking a very useful tool)!! If that’s the case for you, my friend, please STOP 🛑 worrying about the calories burned in every workout. You’re missing the bigger picture and setting yourself up for problems in the future. My clients often joke with me that we have to stop whatever we’re doing because they forgot to start the workout on their smart watch and want the credit for the fruits of their labor. 😂 I do understand that! We receive instant gratification from that and it can be a source of encouragement for people to keep going. However, the bigger picture is that you need to look at the adaptation of your workout and ensure that it matches your goals!
If your goal is to increase lean muscle mass (to any degree) and lose fat, then your goal should be strength training! It should not be endless hours of cardio! Let me repeat, it should not be long sessions of cardio! What we don’t want to do is look for things to increase the calorie burn in the gym. That is a direct conflict to what we’re trying to achieve. The body was created with such amazing detail that we can adapt beautifully to an intensive cardio session in as little as just two weeks! So if you are running to try to achieve this goal, the only outcome you will gain is that you will become a better runner, however, your body will become more efficient at running, which will make your calorie burn less and less overtime!
What that means is you’re going to have to do more and more running to keep your calorie burn high like you want it to be! When in reality, what we really need to be doing is chasing strength and letting that be our driving force! Any of us that had done the Beachbody, P90X, insanity, etc. all know that we were trying to basically kill ourselves to achieve a “look.”
I’m so glad that I learned from that and realized that’s not the way to go.
At the age of 49, I do far less now (as far as weight training and especially cardio) than ever before in my life and I have the best results because I get it! 🙏 I want to help y’all get it too so that you don’t waste your time.
It’s simple (once you know what you’re doing) and I promise you that.
Eat mostly whole foods while prioritizing protein.
Sleep because that’s when we grow. Get to the gym 2 + times a week, depending on your goals and programming!
Hydrate yourself.
Focus on this 95% and don’t worry about the other 5% because it doesn’t matter if you’re not consistent with the big players!
The 5% does have its place, but not until you master the 95% and have it on repeat!
I’m here to help and I would be honored to assist you on your fitness journey to help you understand the process, because once you do, you’ll be set for life!
I currently have 2 openings for 3x/wk personal training sessions, so what’s stopping YOU from getting to your peak health & performance?
Reach out and let’s talk!
Strength changes everything.💝
