Random Cardio Thought

Tuesday night, a co-worker and I conducted a free hour long Question and Answer session at my gym. It was open to any and all members, and we would field questions on any topic (other than math).

Well, maybe not ANY questions. We were joined by trainers Luis and Jen, and had 5 women show up to ask questions. We were really looking for a bigger audience, and a more diverse one, but you get what you get sometimes.

Questions were fairly standard: What do you think about carbs? What are moves I can do in the weight room? How do I get rid of my love handles? Then, another really standard one came up: The Cardio Question. I forget the exact wording, but as soon as the word "cardio" was uttered, we all knew where it was going. We started in on the diatribe about steady state cardio and how it really isn't all its cracked up to be. Suddenly, something hit me.

As soon as I realized it, I said it to all the ladies in attendance. None of the trainers at my gym, save for one, ever does steady state cardio. Up until recently, there was 2. But one of them was training for a marathon, as a challenge for himself. The other one does steady state because he thinks its good for him. Incidentally, he also has the highest percent body fat. Sure, all the trainers do conditioning of some sort. But "classic cardio? 45 minutes on the elliptical? Forget that noise. That shit is for the birds.

The attendees all seemed pretty surprised. The 4 of us went down the line and asserted that we couldn't remember the last time any of us had been on a piece of cardio equipment. Sprints? Prowler pushes? Barbell complexes? Jump rope? Oh, sure! No problem doing that stuff...the stuff that gets results.

We also had a great teaching moment when the ladies asked about weight training and the "big and bulky" myth arose. Jen, our sole female trainer, is a former CrossFit coach and is very strong. I've seen her pull 205 (or more) for sets of 5. She is the exact opposite of big and bulky.

Just some random thoughts for the day. I already had my workout; a killer shoulder hypertrophy workout that was much tougher than I would have expected. Hopefully you go lift something heavy soon!

Just because it's funny!