"Pace cardio" refers to doing cardiovascular exercises, such as running or cycling, at a consistent and moderate pace instead of pushing yourself too hard. It focuses on maintaining a steady speed to improve endurance and overall cardiovascular health.
Full definition
In general, I think slow
steady pace cardio is a waste of time, especially if the goal is lasting fat loss.
Perform relatively short, very high intensity interval based cardio workouts, instead of long,
slow pace cardio workouts.
However, you can reduce this time significantly by substituting your steady
pace cardio for interval training.
Although many people believe that steady
pace cardio training is the best way to lose fat, there are some more effective approaches.
You already know my opinion on boring slow
pace cardio so I won't go into that today... BUT, try this workout for really interesting variety!
Well, first of all, I actually took a course recently that was devoted to scientific research into why steady -
pace cardio exercise is actually not that effective at strengthening the heart.
Are you doing endless hours of steady -
paced cardio day in, day out and not seeing results?
These are dogs that still need walking, but not the
fast paced cardio walking like the younger dogs.
In studies, interval training has been shown to deliver greater fitness and fat burning results than
steady pace cardio.
High intensity interval training sessions (or «H.I.I.T» for short) in the range of 8 - 20 minutes do not stimulate your appetite to the same degree that traditional slow
pace cardio does (in some cases it may even blunt your appetite), and while burning more total calories at the same time.
In this study from Australia... A group of women Lost 3 Times more fat doing ONLY 20 minutes of HIIT 3 days a week than a group of women doing 40 - minute steady
pace cardio workouts like walking at 3mph
There is nothing wrong with steady
paced cardio such as jogging and cross trainers and this type of training will get you fitter.
Steady
pace cardio however, is far less grueling on your body, allowing you to recover quicker.
As I've covered in previous articles, both slower -
paced cardio sessions in the 45 - 60 minute range and high intensity cardio in the 8 - 20 minute range have their own unique benefits, and most trainees will usually be best off performing a mix of both.
The Mayo Clinic states that you need about 2.5 hours of
moderately paced cardio per week and two sessions of strength training of 15 repetitions for all of your major muscle groups.
Unless you like long - distance running or other endurance type activities, interval training or HIIT does a whole lot in a little time compared to 45 - 60 minutes of
same paced cardio.
Also, same -
pace cardio does not have the same metabolism - boosting effect and «afterburn» effect that resistance training workouts or interval training workouts have on your body.
HIIT offers the best results when it comes to efficiency to time ratio, for example compared to the long time required to perform a steady
pace cardio workout, with HIIT you «ll get the same results in only a fraction of that time.
Ever since HIIT revolutionized the weight loss game,
slower paced cardio has steadily lost its foothold in the exercise pantheon.
HIIT style of training can target abdominal fat a lot better than steady -
pace cardio.
-- Both HIIT and Steady
Pace cardio are very popular forms of cardiovascular exercise, and both have a number of pros and cons.
-- Basically, steady
pace cardio, sometimes referred to as steady state cardio, is just as the name implies, a form of cardio which is performed at a steady continual pace of a prolonged period of time.
-- We've taken a look at the benefits of HIIT but now it's time to take a look at the benefits of steady
pace cardio.
Contained within, we'll be looking at HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and Steady
Pace cardio.
What is Steady
Pace Cardio?
This type of training stimulates a vastly higher metabolic response in the body than steady
pace cardio.
At the same time, the highly variable intensity training actually works your muscles in a more resistive fashion, stimulating a higher residual metabolic effect, hence burning more calories in the post-workout period compared with steady
pace cardio.
I feel that steady
pace cardio is a very ineffective way to train and a waste of time in my opinion that could be better spent on variable intensity (interval) training, or more high intensity resistance training (weights, bodyweight training, etc).
The reasons they give for circuit training being a superior form of exercise is because not only are you maintaining a more or less constant high heart rate, but you are also exercising most of the muscles of your body at the same time which will stop you from losing muscle mass and so burn more fat than the traditional 30 minutes of steady
paced cardio.
Not only that, but steady -
pace cardio was also proven in the research studies to be far less effective in the long term at reducing body fat stores.
«Perform 30 - 60 minutes of steady
pace cardio 3 - 5 times / week maintaining your heart rate at a moderate level»
I think people need to get away from this thinking about «fat burning zones» and calories burned during the actual workout, and look at the bigger picture of what you're doing in your workout to stimulate the greatest metabolic response in your body... and the best metabolic and hormonal response is achieved through variable intensity training and strength training, not slow steady -
pace cardio.