The majority of fitness fans, weekend warriors, or anyone trying to get in shape or lose belly fat, don't have any doubts that they need cardio exercise to achieve these goals. They would never even think of questioning it. However, I'm not only skeptical about it, I'm even going to disprove it. As a matter of fact, you may be amazed to know that some of the leanest and meanest people I know (both among men and women), actually never do any type of traditional cardio. And I've spent years working out in various gyms, and hanging out with athletes of all kinds, so I've seen it all. I admit that there can be a place for low to moderate level cardio workout for very overweight or deconditioned people, but even in those cases, there can be much more effective methods. So what is this cardio training all about? Most people would think that doing cardio means pumping away mindlessly on a treadmill, riding a stationary bike or an elliptical trainer, while watching one of the large TV panels at their local gym. This is what I refer to as "conventional cardio". If you think about it, there's no wonder that most people get bored with their workouts and abandon them after a few months without achieving any results. By definition, cardio training can be considered any type of exercise that aims at strengthening your cardiovascular system. Simply put, anything that gets your heart pumping, and gets you out of breath, it can be considered cardio. There's no difference if you're holding dumbbells or a barbell and people call it a weight training exercise - it's still conditioning your heart. Here are a few examples Let's take a barbell or dumbbell clean and press as an example. This exercise consists of lifting a barbell from the floor up to your shoulders and then push pressing overhead. At first sight, most people think of the barbell clean and press only as a weight training or strength exercise. But what if you try to perform an intensive set of around 10-15 repetitions? Make sure you use a challenging enough weight, and you'll find that your heart rate raises to probably 80-90% of your recommended maximum, and you are breathing like you just ran a 100 meter sprint. By the way, I believe that sprinting beats jogging any day if you want the quickest way to get a six pack. Try doing the same thing for a set of 20 repetitions of one-arm dumbbell snatches or swings with each arm, and see if your legs aren't burning, heart racing, and you're gasping for breath. And what about trying 5 minutes straight of bodyweight lunges, squats and push ups with very short rest time between the sets. You will again notice your heart pounding, your body sweating, and your chest heaving for breaths. Do you already believe that you're conditioning your heart with this kind of exercise? Popular belief says that these are typical weight training or strength training exercises. but as you've just learned, they are also fulfilling your cardio workout needs and saving you lots of time. By choosing this type of exercises, not only do you save time, but you also strengthen and condition just about every muscle in your body if you perform them with enough intensity. Now, compare that to that old boring stationary bike ride or treadmill session while reading or watching TV. let me tell you something: Reading or watching TV while you working out is a nonsense. The truth is that if you manage to read or watch TV while working out, you're not concentrating enough on what you're doing, and you're probably not exercising hard enough to see any tangible results. I can promise you that if you decide to abandon traditional cardio for a month or two, and start working out the way I explained in this article, you'll soon see how you start getting more defined, and your six pack beginning to become visible under what used to be stubborn belly fat.
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