Long Steady Cardio Actually Works?

Long Steady Cardio vs. Fast High Intensity Circuits

People have been asking me tons of questions about long steady cardio lately.  "What if I really love it?" or  "What if I want to run a marathon?" or "I like high intensity interval training, but I'm totally bored with it!"

My answer is going to shock some people.

Long steady cardio works.

It isn't the evil that I've made it out to be.  It isn't the source of all that is bad and wrong in the universe. 

I mean, sometimes it is.  Just not all of the time.

It's not that it doesn't work.  It's just the least effective thing you can do.

Sometimes it's even perfect.

A Quick Re-Cap Of My Workout Philosophy

If you are new to reading my blog, I'm going to catch you up to speed:

1.) Long slow cardio is less effective for fat loss than "high intensity interval" or "sprint" cardio.  And long steady cardio takes a lot of time.

2.) Weight training, with big movements like squats and deadlifts, is more important than cardio of any kind for fat loss.

So my biggest beefs with long slow cardio have been that it takes too much time for my average client, and that they need to add strength training.

I only have to burn 26,000 more calories before I can fit into my skinny jeans!

If Long Cardio Is So Bad, Why Does It Feel So Right?

Here are the two times that I let my clients do long steady cardio:

1.) If they hate high intensity intervals.

2.) If they used to love high intensity intervals, but they've been doing them for so long they are bored to tears with them.

If you hate your workout, you aren't going to do it  with any passion or soul in it.

The passion for a workout, and the fun of a workout will bring more results than the "perfect" program.

If you totally love long steady cardio, do it!

After a long day, sometimes nothing helps me de-stress like a nice long run.

How Do I Do Long Steady Cardio And Get The Results I Want?

If you want to do long steady cardio, you must get stronger at the major lifts: Squats, deadlifts, pullups and presses.

Let me repeat: If you want to do long steady cardio, you must get stronger at the major lifts: Squats, deadlifts, pullups and presses.

Long slow cardio will make you skinny fat if you don't lift and don't get stronger.

You have to get stronger.

What If I Want More Results In Less Time?

My clients want to get wicked hot swimsuit lean, and do it in three hours per week or less.

This is my only beef with long steady cardio – if you only have three hours per week, long steady cardio would be a very poor use of time.

Here's what we do:

1.) Short, hard, high intensity cardio.

2.) Get stronger in major lifts.

3.) High intensity circuit training.

4.) Major changes to nutrition.

High intensity circuits are your best use of time, if you want to get wicked lean in a short period of time.

The leanest, hottest, most rockstar, bikini ready girls or boardshorts ready guys always do high intensity circuits.  Most people are shocked at how short these circuits are, and how hard a short, fast high intensity circuit can be.

I just got out of a meeting, I have to go pick up the kids, and then I have another meeting, and I'm lucky to have a minute to read this email at the park.   Fast, hard, four minute circuit workouts get me the body I want for summer, and leave me the time I need to take care of everything else in my life.

Pushing The Envelope Of Powerful Fat Blasting Workouts

The reason I'm so pumped about what's going on at www.fourminutefatlossrobot.com is because this is what the world needs – faster workouts that work.

The reason I don't write much about Madonna's workouts – she works out THREE HOURS PER DAY!  Anyone can get results working out three hours per day.  It's not newsworthy.

Getting results with four minute circuits, that's headline news.

Some e-books like to tell you that they've got a million pages, because that looks more valuable.  I'm like "Can you give me the important information in two pages?"

We need more results, and faster time.

I want to look lean, strong, athletic, and hot, and still have time to hang out with my wife. 

I bet you want to be lean and confident and have your clothes fit well and walk around town knowing you look good – and you also have other things to do besides be in the gym.

That's why I think people would be crazy not to get an infinite number of four minute fat loss circuits that work at http://www.fourminutefatlossrobot.com/

I don't often push this hard with products that aren't mine.  In fact, I don't often push this hard with my own products.  I just think that shorter faster workouts that work are the future of the fitness industry. 

We were taught to do long workouts because no one knew how to do ultra-fast, smart workouts.

These are the ultra-fast, smart workouts:

http://www.fourminutefatlossrobot.com/

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

Josh is a fat loss expert, a kettlebell instructor and a 24 Hour Fitness Master Trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

© Joshua Hillis 2008