OC Outdoor Fitness

Aja Sedman:

Ok nat. How much cardio should one do to lose lbs?? What's the ratio to lifting weights??? Do they go hand and hand??!

Ok the short answer

How much cardio should one do to lose lbs? You need to BURN 3,500calories to lose a 1 lb of fat Therefore whatever cardio you do 5-7days a week needs to burn 500 calories.

You should lift weights a minimum of 3 days a week, the sessions can beshort and intense or with longer periods of rest, just get the workdone.

YES you MUST do BOTH!

And now for the LOOOONNNGGGG answer

First of all there are MANY theories and just as much research thattells us alllll kinds of confusing things about cardio and weighttraining and weight loss.

First things first, a lot of what you do is (or should be) based onyour goal, your health history and your genetic ability to lose or gainweight. Fitness is NOT a quick fix for weight loss, it is a life longjourney of health and it is certainly NOT a one size fits all plan.

First of all both cardio and weight training are essential for ahealthy lifestyle. Weather you do high HR cardio or low HR cardio… justdo it. Weather you do high load or light load weight training Just doit.

That being said let’s look at specifics.

How your body converts food to fuel depends on several energy pathways.

When your muscles are at work (any type of work) you have to use energy(calories, and stored fat or chemicals) in order to sustain that work,you body will pass through different energy pathways depending on thetype, duration and intensity of the work being performed. See the belowscientific junk for the details.

But basically the longer and slower you do cardio (long walk/hike orjog or bike ride vs. a sprint) your body will by laws of biology after20 minutes stop using glucose and carbohydrates and tap into stored fatin your body. Now JUST because your body is taping into your fatreserves, Doesn’t necessarily mean that if you take a long walk 6 daysa week you will automatically loose tons and tons of weight (HUH!??Why? Because ULTIMATELY WEIGHT LOSS is a more simple formula of acaloric deficit or excess burn of 3500 calories a WEEK (so you eitherBURN 500 extra calories a day or consume 500 LESS calories a day)

So still HUH? Well let’s say you take a walk getting your HR up but notmaking your body work hard at the high end of your HR zone, and you are5’2 and 135 lbs, and you walk 3 miles in about an hour you will burnabout 300 calories, and an unknown amount of fat…. BUT let’s say thatsame person RUNS for an hour. IN an hour you can cover twice thedistance and burn 600 calories but you will BURN more fat because youare forcing MORE muscle fibers to work and ultimately you are buildingmuscle. Remember the more muscle you have ON your body, that musclerequires more metabolic work FROM your body and therefore you areburning more calories at rest.

So now let’s go to weight training. Weight training/resistancetraining/strength training forces the muscles into a state of fatigueand therefore the following 24 hours while you are resting your body isat work (metabolic state) to repair tears in the muscle andstrengthening those muscle fibers. Therefore overtime you burn morecalories and fat at rest additionally the benefits of building musclesincrease bone density, better over all structural support of the body.

Phewwwwww I know it is all very complex but no matter what just MOVE and KEEP moving everyday!

Now… specific to YOU AJA: You are so tight that often times excessiveweight training or cardio in one position can actually lead you toinjury (combined with the fact that you stand all day long) So whileSpinning is an AWESOME workout, if you were to do it 3-5 days a weekover time your back would just be torn up. So you need a very clearbalance of the yoga you hate, jogging, spinning and circuit training,you have to spend MORE time on the foam roller before and after all ofthese activities.

3 energy pathways defined:

· ATP - Adenosine Triphosphate: a complex chemical compound formed withthe energy released from food and stored in all cells, particularlymuscles. Only from the energy released by the breakdown of thiscompound can the cells perform work. The breakdown of ATP producesenergy and ADP.

· CP - Creatine Phosphate: a chemical compound stored in muscle, whichwhen broken down aids in the manufacture of ATP. The combination of ADPand CP produces ATP.

· LA - Lactic acid: a fatiguing metabolite of the lactic acid system resulting from the incomplete breakdown of glucose.

· O2 means aerobic running in which ATP is manufactured from foodmainly sugar and fat. This system produces ATP copiously and is theprime energy source during endurance activities

These energy pathways are time duration restricted. In other words,once a certain time elapses that specific pathway is no longer used.There is some controversy about these limitations but the consensus is:

Duration Classification Energy Supplied By

1 to 4 seconds Anaerobic ATP (in muscles)

4 to 10 seconds Anaerobic ATP + CP

10 to 45 seconds Anaerobic ATP + CP + Muscle glycogen

45 to 120 seconds Anaerobic, Lactic Muscle glycogen

120 to 240 seconds Aerobic + Anaerobic Muscle glycogen + lactic acid

240 to 600 seconds Aerobic Muscle glycogen + fatty acids