Cardio or CardioNO?

Hello my beautiful ppl!!! Today, let's talk cardio. Should you be doing cardio? How much cardio? Can I gain weight and do cardio? Will cardio hinder my progress or set me back in my goals? All great questions & all will be answered in todays post. Am I team cardio or cardio-no??? Keep reading for the juicy deetzzz!! 

Can I gain weight/lean muscle and continue cardio? Let's talk a little bit about the gaining weight and/or lean muscle mass process (a huge trend in the fitness world today, but that's besides the point lol). There are various reasons one may be working to gain weight/put on lean muscle. Some individuals may be looking to gain weight because it's crucial for their health (past of an eating disorder, past of restrictive eating, un-intended weight loss, etc). Some people look into a reverse diet or a lean bulk because they have goals that require them to gain weight first (competitors & powerlifters, to name a few) in order to become successful in their long term goals. Some people want to gain weight to restore their hormones (get back that period), rebuild/repair a broken metabolism, yada, yada. YOU GET THE GIST. My point being, if your goal is to gain weight than yes, cardio will hinder and slow that process, ESPECIALLY if your health is dependent on that weight gain. It won't kill you to cut out cardio for a little bit! If you are doing a lot of cardio when you are beginning your weight gain process (and your health is not in jeopardy) than I would suggest slowly tapering off the cardio until you are doing very little (preferably none). Excess cardio continues to put your body further into a caloric deficit so you either need to cut it out completely or eat more food than the calories you may be burning doing that extra cardio (which is just too much work if you ask me, lmao). During your lean bulk, your goal is often to BUILD up strength in the gym. Doing excess cardio will likely cause you to tire and feel more worn out if done too frequently on top of your already strenuous lifts. Embrace the season you are in. If your goal is to grow, eat all the foods and lift all the weights. If you ever decide to cut (when you actually have to stick to a stricter cardio regimen), you'll be happy you took that time to focus on growth and strength. Another plus of minimal cardio (no cardio) is that you will allow your metabolism to become a firehouse. This meaning that when you do have to start up cardio again, you won't have to do as much (time wise) to see progress in a possible cut/weight loss phase. Focus on the long term goal friend. The sooner you hop on your goals and do them properly (efficiently and effectively) the sooner you will reach them the RIGHT way. 

Why do you want to do cardio? What's your why? What's your reasoning? A very important question you must ask yourself before beginning anything? Are you doing something you genuinely love or enjoy? Is cardio something you feel like you have to do (but maybe something you don't truly enjoy) in order to reach your goals? Evaluate your reasoning. Every single decision you make should come out of love and respect for yourself. Don't do something you hate, plain and simple. If you hate cardio - don't do it (however it's very good for your heart health so a few short sessions would be beneficial long term). Once again, you must take a look at your goals and find ways to achieve them; ways that will make you happy, feel good, and things you will enjoy for a pro-longed period of time. Doing something you absolutely hate won't last long. Yoyo dieting and yoyo exercise is a viscous cycle and will only leave you feeling lost long term. If your intentions regarding cardio are pure - GO FOR IT (once again as long as your health is in a safe and stable place to do so). If you are doing cardio because you hate your body, think that's the only way to make progress, or don't genuinely enjoy it as a whole - take a step back & DO NOT continue. If your intentions aren't pure - you will never find the fulfillment you are looking for. That's the blunt truth. You will never attain happiness from something that doesn't make you feel good (mentally and physically), yannnoo? Make sense? I hope so!!

What types of cardio work best/are most effective? The type of cardio that works best is going to be the type of cardio YOU enjoy the most. The type of cardio that works best for me may not be the one that works best for you!! That's a-okay! We all have different goals, interests, abilities, intentions, etc. Don't lead yourself to believe that it has to be a one-size fits all. It doesn't have to be that way & it shouldn't be that way. The type of exercise you enjoy the most will ALWAYS be the most successful one for YOU. Why?  The exercise you enjoy the most is one that you will stick to long term, therefore one you can become successful with. You aren't going to stick to something long term if you hate it, right? Right! Experiment with different types of cardiovascular exercise until you find one that works best for you. There are SO many out there. HIIT (high intensity interval training) & LISS (low intensity steady state) are the two most frequently discussed forms of cardio. You can choose to do one of these, both of these, whatever you want my friend!! The opportunities are endless. Incorporate yoga, running, walking, biking, stairs, etc., just to name a few. Don't limit yourself to one if you enjoy multiple & if you only enjoy one, do the one you enjoy the most!!! It's as easy as that. You just have to take some time and have the patience to find what works for YOU. From there, it's smooth sailin' my dudes!!

The ultimate question - am I team cardio or cardiNOOOO??? Yah girl loves cardio honestly. I love getting my heart rate up. I love the way it makes me feel. It makes me move my body in different ways. It allows me to challenge myself. My body is in a safe and healthy place to enjoy cardio, so I do! I think it's important to find things that make you happy, cardio happens to be one of those for me. I will often eat more on the days I do cardio because I am an already active individual. Food is fuel and cardio can be strenuous. It also increases the amount of calories my body is burning, therefore it's important to replenish that energy. Whatever you do, do it for YOU. Figure out what's optimal for your body and needs. You may need to eat more than x, y, or z. You may need to do less cardio than he/she because your body responds differently. Don't compare. Focus on you and what you love. We are all SO different and that's important to remember. 

Cardio shouldn't be something you are doing if you hate it, if it is just a source of burning calories (so that you can eat more or eat less), yada, yada. Be smart. Work with your body not against it. If your body needs rest, give it rest. If your body doesn't respond well to cardio, minimize your cardio. If you are not in a stable and safe place to utilize cardio (this could be mentally, not just physically), don't do it. Do not abuse exercise or food. Be thankful you have a body that can move, function, and keeps you healthy daily. Treat your body with respect and it will provide you with the same in return. 

-Mik :)