8 Cardio Mistakes Slowing Down Fat Loss

These are 8 Cardio Mistakes and Myths that slow down fat loss and muscle growth. Instead of making these common workout mistakes follow these cardio rules. You'll find out what's better cardio or weights and strength training. By fixing these mistakes you'll be able to avoid the common traps that prevent weight loss and kill gains. 

Cardio can help you improve the function of your heart and lungs, it can help increase your endurance and stamina, and when used correctly it can also help you burn fat. However, there are many misconceptions about the role that cardio should play in the fat loss process and if you're doing cardio the wrong way you can actually be hurting your progress rather than helping ut. So today I want to go over the 8 top cardio myths that are slowing down your progress and potentially even causing you to gain fat or lose muscle, which is exactly the opposite of what you're probably doing cardio for, to begin with. 

And one of the core myths is that all types of cardio are effective for fat loss. This simply is not true and there's lots of evidence to support this. For example, a meta-analysis of 14 studies with a grand total of 1,847 overweight and obese participants evaluated if cardio benefits weight loss.(1) And the conclusion was that “isolated aerobic exercise is not an effective weight loss therapy for these patients."(2) Now I know that may seem strange. After all, cardio burns calories, and since fat loss is mainly about being in a calorie deficit, then cardio should help... right? Well, it's not so simple for example one downside of cardio is that it causes 'constrained energy expenditure.' This means burning calories through cardio tends to lower your general activity levels and energy expenditure throughout the day, which often counteracts the calories burned from the cardio itself.(3) Your body burns a lot of calories throughout the day when you're not exercising. This is known as non-exercise activity thermogenesis or neat and neat uses a good chunk of calories. however, due to constrained energy expenditure, your body will look for shortcuts to save calories limiting the effectiveness of using cardio strictly for the purpose of fat loss. 
 Aside from that, many people believe that if they do cardio, they can eat much more food, but as I'm sure many of you know you can't outrun a bad diet. 

The next myth that many beginners fall for is this idea that cardio is more effective for fat loss Than Resistance Training. It is true that incorporating both resistance training and some cardio into your workout routine can be very effective, but cardio-only based programs have many drawbacks. When comparing cardio only programs to resistance training programs, resistance training tends to be more effective especially over the long term, largely because, contrary to cardio, it doesn’t cause constrained energy expenditure. (4) And like I said according to the studies this constrained energy expenditure makes you compensate for the calories you burnt during your cardio workout by reducing your physical activity throughout the day. (5) These are little changes that you might not even notice, like not having the energy to walk your dog, or sitting and laying when you would normally be moving around, or even simply fidgeting less throughout the day. Even though this may not sound like a big deal when your body is trying to save energy it is very effective at doing so and cardio pushes your body to save energy. Meanwhile, researchers have said that “Resistance training, appears to do the opposite, so it facilitates nonexercise activity thermogenesis. Scientists also say that this is particularly true on non-exercise days, which may lead to more sustainable adaptations in response to an exercise program.”(5) On top of that, you burn about the same number of calories during a resistance training session as you do during a cardio session. This was shown in a 2015 study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. (6) So, in that regard, resistance training is just as effective, but, unlike cardio, lifting weights also helps prevent muscle loss while on a diet, which not only helps you look better when you're done dieting but it also helps support your metabolism ultimately helping you keep the fat off. 
The next cardio myth isn't necessarily going to cause weight gain, but you should still know that according to the latest evidence, fasted cardio is not actually better for fat loss than doing your cardio after you already ate. For a while, it was believed that since insulin levels are really low first thing in...

[GravityTransformation]

1. A meta-analysis of 14 studies with a grand total of 1, 847 overweight and obese participants found that “isolated aerobic exercise is not an effective weight loss therapy for these patients."

2. Cardio can lead to constrained energy expenditure:

3. Unlike cardio resistance training doesn't lead to constrained energy expenditure

4. “Results of the present study suggest a compensatory reduction in PA in response to aerobic exercise. Resistance exercise, on the other hand, appears to facilitate non-exercise PA, particularly on non-exercise days, which may lead to more sustainable adaptations in response to an exercise program.
"

5. You burn about the same number of calories during a resistance training session as you do during a cardio session

6. There’s no difference in fat loss results between fed and fasted cardio

7. “Fasted compared to fed exercise does not increase the amount of weight loss and fat mass loss.”

8. “Weight loss and fat loss from exercise is more likely to be enhanced through creating a meaningful caloric deficit over a period of time, rather than exercising in fasted or fed states.”

9. You can burn just as much if not more fat by simply focusing on what you eat, without doing any cardio at all.

10. “Body mass and body fat decreased significantly in D (–1.95 ± 1.13 kg or –1.47 ± 0.87%; p < 0.05) and DE (–2.23 ± 1.28 kg or –1.59 ± 0.87%; p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference observed between the groups.”

11. There was a study designed to compare the effects of maintaining a specific calorie deficit either through diet alone or diet combined with cardio. Both groups maintained the same calorie deficit throughout the study. And sure enough body mass and body fat decreased significantly in both groups, but there was no significant difference between them

12. A 2012 meta-analysis found adding cardio to a resistance training routine reduced muscle growth effect size by 39 percent

13. Cardio reduces the activity of mTOR, which is a crucial enzyme for muscle growth, while also raising AMPK, which is an enzyme that impairs muscle growth

14. If you do the cardio first, the glycogen depletion, the neuromuscular fatigue, and the muscular damage caused by the cardio can interfere with your resistance training session.

15. You would want to spread out your cardio and resistance training session by at least six hours because that will reduce the "interference effect"

16. Research shows that there is almost no interference effect when cardio and strength training is done at least 24 hours apart

17. "Even those studies incorporating exercise stimuli resulting in prolonged EPOC durations have identified that the EPOC comprises only 6-15% of the net total oxygen cost of the exercise."

18. When energy expenditure is matched, research shows that the fat loss results are the same between high and low-intensity cardio:

[amsterdamGG]

When i do cardio early in the morning, most of the time i feel much more energetic during the day.
But sometimes i like to go back to sleep after training

[Kyngdaro]

This is why its always good to continue to DO WHAT YOU BELIEVE IS WORKING FOR YOU, One video says do this, but the other says not to do it. Its good info, but take what you need and leave what you dont.

[SirCumsAlot]

You don't have to complicate your life:

- Eat clean food
- Exercise
- Get enough sleep

[talesara]

I was doing HIIT 3 times a week but never lost any weight. Started walking 20 thousand steps a day a lost 15 kg in 3 months.

[raulr]

Jesus, everyday its something different. When you think youre doing something right its wrong!!

[JRK]

Cardio is good for heart health only reason I do it. I also do it after lifting and dont have a problem with energy nor losing weight.

[elduderino]

I do 20-30 min cardio 3-4 times a week because I feel much better this way.
I'm not doing it to burn fat.

[luisheredia]

I love how he’s unbiased and compares and contrasts both

[elshanmammadli]

You are the best weight loss adviser. I did all things you said in your videos and lost 19kg in 4 month..

I was 96 kg in April 2020, now I am 77kg.

[warrenedm]

I appreciate the fact that you use real science based articles to support your videos. Well made! I will be using some of you tips across your videos. Thanks!

[foolio]

I love your information and how you break it down to me. You always give me confidence in my weight loss struggle and honestly is refreshing.

[mikeballer]

I lost 72 pounds in 18 months but my primary exercise was weight training and its helped me stay lean for 9 months now. I did 2 HIIT workouts a week which allowed me to eat a little more and stay in a deficit and build cardiovascular endurance but this was a supplement to my weight training. This is why I see people always doing cardio always look the same. coincidence?

[Shadowdragon_TV]

Hey, I'm new to your channel. Just want to thank you for all the videos you've been made. I learned a lot from them after binging a couple of them, realized a lot of flaws in my workout process of losing weight but maintaining muscle. There really is a lot of dangerous misinformation.

[Kloboshtok]

I vouch for this info, started 11 Jan 23 at 123.5 kg and now I'm 108.
Enjoying the journey of weight lifting and cardio that is limited to 12.3.30 theory which become even better after 3 months and I can increase to 13.5 and more than 60 mins!
Very easy, less tiring and effective!

[ontehetse]

Great insights. One of the best channels on nutrition, exercise and weight loss. I think a 10 minutes video for some of these 8 mistakes/ “misconceptions” about cardio would be helpful. Keep up the great work

[jamesford]

For years I always started with some cardio before resistance work... Gonna need to change that from tomorrow... Love these videos some of the best out there and great explanation that I can follow.

[abelmindstable]

Thanks man you really came in clutch with this information

[sudathdegroot]

thnx for the great info every video is so mutch good info

[robertoberidojr.]

Thank you for these kinds of videos. Though a lot of people say these kinds of videos are over complicated. But for me it isn't. There are a lot of people like me who don't have the privilege to do too much trial and error by changing things and habbits. I only watched most of your videos and they're so effective. I love these kinds of videos because there are lot of misconceptions in losing weight and by watching these videos enabled me to eliminate the ineffective ones. And I'm very thankful I succeeded only for two months of resistant training I lost weight and gained musckes. By just following your videos made me secure I'm doing things right.