17 Comments

  1. Keith
    February 29, 2012 @ 9:36 pm

    Nice overview of the different cardio training methods out there. My 2 personal favorites are HIIT and bodyweight circuits which I’ll typically do after a heavy weight lifting session.

    And BTW, I just saw your results from the Visual Impact Cardio program – AWESOME job Kevin, you look great.

    -Keith

    Reply

    • Kevin
      March 1, 2012 @ 7:23 am

      Thanks Keith, it’s been a fun 2 months!

      Reply

  2. Jeff Ramsey
    March 1, 2012 @ 6:06 am

    I guess what you’re trying to say is that mixing all the workouts would do the trick in order to target all four areas (calories, epoc, hgh, fat burning)?

    I can’t wait to get my hands on Visual Impact Cardio. Any idea when will it be launched?

    Reply

    • Kevin
      March 1, 2012 @ 7:26 am

      Hey Jeff,
      Yeah, it’s definitely got to do with making sure the four main aspects of total calories burned, fat, EPOC & HGH are hit in the most efficient way … you’re going to love VIC!

      Reply

  3. Lyndon
    March 1, 2012 @ 4:57 pm

    Good write up outlining the various methods of fatburning. In my opinion the best cardio is the one that you actually like doing and look forward to doing. Cardio that you hate can eventually become the cardio that you stop doing, and that won’t help anyone much at all.

    Reply

    • Kevin
      March 2, 2012 @ 9:12 am

      Hi Lyndon, that is a GREAT way to look at it! You’re totally right … if you don’t do it, it doesn’t matter how good the routine is. I will say this though, when you are getting amazing results … that is quite motivating all on its own.

      Reply

  4. Jeff Ramsey
    March 4, 2012 @ 12:36 am

    Yeah man, if it’s from Rusty I’m sure I’ll love it. Agreed with Keith by the way regarding your VIC results. Simply smashing!

    Reply

    • Kevin
      March 4, 2012 @ 8:39 am

      Thanks Jeff! Yeah, it’s interesting that Rusty came out with all of his other workouts & blueprints before coming out with Visual Impact Cardio because one of the main things he’s known for is his unique/strategic approaches to cardio. VIC is even a step above the info in his past courses.

      Reply

  5. Anna Dornier
    March 6, 2012 @ 2:42 pm

    Hey Kevin, you did a great job detailing the different types of cardio options for losing weight. I personally have tried the cardio that came with Visual Impact for Women and I must say it is awesome. It does the job of challenging your body and making it not adapt to what you’re trying to do so you can get maximum results.

    ~ Anna D.

    Reply

    • Kevin
      March 6, 2012 @ 3:37 pm

      Thanks Anna! It’s nice having your input.

      I know my wife has Visual Impact for Women and she loves it. I’ve caught myself reading and re-reading the Fat Touching Cardio book that comes with it a few times – good stuff!

      Reply

  6. Troy
    March 7, 2012 @ 4:14 pm

    Kevin,

    What!? No Zumba?

    Okay truth be told I haven’t done it either. But my daughter is a certified Zumba instructor. That counts for something, right? What I like about it is how it makes fitness fun for many who would otherwise not do it.

    I like the analysis you’ve done and have come to the same conclusions that HIIT with a session of steady state cardio is an excellent combo. I don’t have the links, but I recall reading some research on spacing out the HIIT and low-intensity cardio being ideal. Like walk in the morning and HIIT afternoon; but I forget the protocol.

    What do you do for spacing the HIIT and steady-state cardio?

    -Troy

    Reply

    • Kevin
      March 13, 2012 @ 8:39 am

      Zumba does sound like a good plan for those who HATE working out … like you said, brings an element of fun.

      As far as spacing out the HIIT & Steady State Cardio goes, I’ve never really tested that out myself. I can see that there could be some benefits but I’m not sure that they are night/day difference.

      I only get in one chance to workout during the day so I cram it all in … resistance training and then cardio, whatever my cardio workout may be for the day. This seems to do the trick.

      Reply

  7. Jason
    March 15, 2012 @ 12:02 pm

    Have you ever tried the prowler? Pushing that thing around for 15 minutes is more cardio than you would ever want.

    Reply

  8. George Super Boot Camps
    March 18, 2012 @ 2:02 am

    As far as my knowledge from the research takes me, I suspect the differences made by ‘fat burning’, EPOC, and HGH release make little to no difference.

    Your body burns fat as efficiently as it can regardless of your intensity, it’s just that as your intensity increases the percentage donated by fat decreases, but the absolute amount remains maximal, althought there may some difference made by doing HIIT then steady state due to the adrenal response cascade stimulated by the intensity of HIIT (I suspect this only makes a difference for those who are already lean though).

    HGH release is too transient for it to make any difference in the long term, the reason exogenous ‘growth works is due to supra-physiological levels being present all day long, not in some short burst. I would love to be proven wrong about this though.

    I remember a fairly recent article by Lyle McDonald about EPOC (sadly I can’t findit whilst writing this on my iPhone). The main thrust of the research paper was that unless you’re prepared to spend hours doing really high intensity cardio EPOC is practically irrelevant, burning maybe 50 cals extra over 24 hours. That’s not going to make any difference to anyone.

    I do wonder, however, if all these things taken in combination will end up creating a significant effect. It may, but will still dwindle in comparison to the effects of the next point:

    That brings us to total calories, and here is where we should spend our efforts, I believe. The best cardio is the one you do, so if you love doing Zumba, who cares if it burns less calories than an hour of HIIT plus steady state? Enjoyment from exercise is the factor we should all be encouraging, as you’ll carry on doing what you enjoy. I work with all my clients to help them learnt to enjoy exercise. I find that there are two main factors involved in this process:

    1: Experimenting with different styles to find the mode of exercise that suits your body and mind.

    2: Doing brain training to allow your brain to be in a position to love exercise. This is the part most people miss out on, but is pretty crucial in developing a long term exercise program, and can be done by accident (those who learn to love exercise, ‘by chance’) or deliberately.

    Sorry for the long rant, I’ve had a strong coffee this morning:)

    Keep up the good work,
    George SuperBootCamps

    Reply

  9. Keri Bolivar
    August 22, 2012 @ 7:50 pm

    Thank you sooo much for outlining ALL the various cardio names and the pros / cons of each. That was great! I read the entire page word for word – don’t often do that. Thank you 🙂

    Reply

    • Kevin
      October 12, 2012 @ 6:01 pm

      Awesome, you are very welcome!

      Reply

  10. Ramzi aici
    December 17, 2013 @ 11:16 pm

    Good morning, i came through your blog, and it is very interesting , and I wanted to thank you for all the job you are doing. Well, I discovered your site because I was looking for some answers about why am I still at the same weight even if dieting and exercising, indeed, i do elliptical 45min HIIT 3 times a week ( 800 calories per session ) + resistance training 45 min sessions 3 times a week, and still counting calories on daily basis,, my daily average use to be around 1000 calories, but my weight remains same.
    I have found in your article an interesting approach, which is to combine 30min HIIT and 30min steady cardio.
    Just to let you know, I used to be very active athlete martial arts, for ten years, and my weight used to be around 75 kg, I had to stop because of my studies ( medicine ), after what’s reached 132kg, thanks GOD, during these last 5 years I have lost 40 kg, and am now 93kg, but I target 85 kg.
    What can you advise me ?

    Reply

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