September 15, 2025 • 32 mins
Join the Adaptive Cardio Workshop tomorrow (Tuesday, September 16) at 12 PM Eastern for only $27 (replay included). Get Philip's complete system for losing fat while personalizing your "minimum effective" cardio, plus the replay, 8 workout programs, and a custom 6-month nutrition plan. Register at live.witsandweights.com
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If you've been doing hours of cardio every week expecting fat loss results, but you're either not seeing changes, feeling exhausted, or watching your strength training suffer, this episode will transform your approach.
What if there was a smarter, more efficient way to incorporate movement that actually supports fat loss, preserves muscle, and enhances longevity?
That's exactly what the Adaptive Cardio Pyramid delivers – a 3-layer framework that prioritizes what truly works while eliminating what doesn't. It tells you exactly how much movement you need for fat loss, muscle growth, and longevity without wasting time.
Main Takeaways:
- Why "cardio only" underperform by 20-50% and the 3 big cardio myths
- The Adaptive Cardio Pyramid to "layer" your cardio in a sustainable (and enjoyable) way
- The 4 common implementation mistakes that cause people to burn out
- Practical tips to start building your pyramid from the bottom up
Episode Resources:
- The Adaptive Cardio Workshop - Tuesday, September 16, 12 PM Eastern. Grab your spot at live.witsandweights.com
- Related Episode: 7 Benefits of Sprinting to Lose Fat (And Why It Beats Cardio, Especially for Lifters!) | Ep 293
Timestamps:
0:00 - The 3 biggest cardio myths
10:10 - The Adaptive Cardio Pyramid framework
22:23 - The science behind each layer
25:32 - Common mistakes when "doing cardio"
27:22 - Tips to implement the pyramid for fat loss and recovery
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🎓 Lose fat + build muscle in Physique University, now just $27/mo (use code FREEPLAN for a custom nutrition plan when you join)
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Philip Pape (00:00):
If you've been doing hours of cardio every week
, expecting it to help with yourfat loss, and you're either not
seeing the changes you want,you're always feeling exhausted,
or you're watching yourstrength training suffer, this
episode will change how youapproach cardio.
Many people treat cardio aspunishment for how much they've
eaten.
Or they chase meaninglesscalorie burn through cardio, or
(00:21):
they avoid it completely,thinking it destroys their
muscle gains, and all threeapproaches honestly waste time
and energy.
I'm going to show you theAdaptive Cardio Pyramid, a
three-layer framework that tellsyou exactly how much movement
you need for fat loss, musclegrowth and longevity, without
wasting time.
Welcome to Wits and Weights,the show that helps you build a
(00:54):
strong, healthy physique usingevidence, engineering and
efficiency.
I'm your host, certifiednutrition coach, philip Pape,
and we're going to talk aboutcardio today because you're
either spending lots of time oncardio an hour a day, maybe on a
treadmill or some sort ofmachine.
Maybe you're sweating throughHIIT interval classes, peloton
F45, crossfit style boot camps.
Maybe you're tracking all thecalories you burn using your
(01:16):
wearable, but after weeks ormonths or maybe you've been
doing this for years it doesn'tseem to be affecting the scale
or, more importantly, your fatloss and body composition, maybe
it's causing your liftingperformance to decline, and
maybe you're always exhaustedand it's stressing you out.
Anyone or all of these thingscould be happening when it comes
(01:37):
to cardio.
And you're not alone, becausethis is what happens when we
treat cardio as kind of thissledgehammer for losing weight,
for metabolism, for fat loss,instead of the precision tool
that it's meant to be.
Now, cardio can definitelyaccelerate your results and the
results we are looking for onthe show, which is an improved
(01:58):
physique and performance,function, strength, leannessess.
It could also extremelyundermine those results and
those goals, and so thedifference between them comes
down to having a strategy ratherthan just showing up and
treating cardio as kind of anafterthought.
Right, if we're going to have astrategy for our lifting and
our strength development, whywouldn't we do the same for all
(02:21):
the other forms of movement wehave in our lives now?
Now, before we get into thisframework that I've put together
for you it is a three-layerframework that I think will be
very time efficient and veryadaptive to your needs I want to
let you know about somethinghappening.
Tomorrow, tuesday, september16th, I am hosting a live
workshop called the AdaptiveCardio Workshop, where I'm going
(02:42):
to show you exactly how tobuild your own personalized
cardio plan using the pyramidwe're discussing today.
We're going to set up yourstarting metrics.
We're going to identify whatyou're capable of, what your
schedule allows, and help youmap out how to fit cardio into
your life in an enjoyable waythat gets you the results, and
this is in theory.
I'm a big fan of workshopsbeing step-by-step, actual work
(03:06):
that you get done and come outof it with a plan that is
tailored to your goals, yourschedule, your recovery capacity
, what protocols, what thetiming is, how to layer it with
your strength training to getthe maximum result.
You'll also, in that workshop,get a download called the
adaptive cardio guide, onlyexclusive to people who show up
for the workshop, and our eightstraight training templates as
(03:28):
well, so you can fit that inalong with your lifting in an
efficient way.
Workshop attendees also get amonth of access to Physique
University included in the priceof $27, and a custom six-month
nutrition and trainingtransformation plan that I put
for you together for you Again,all included in the $27 for
(03:48):
everything.
This is tomorrow, tuesday,september 16th, at 12 Eastern.
It also includes the replay, soif you cannot attend live,
you're still going to get all ofthat stuff and including the
replay.
You can register atlivewitsandweightscom and if
you're already in PhysiqueUniversity, you get this
included.
So, again, another bonus topeople who are in there is that
these workshops are free.
(04:09):
You can register atlivewitsandweightscom for
tomorrow's Adaptive CardioWorkshop.
If you're hearing this episodeafter it's done, the link will
still work.
You can still get the replayand all the bonuses I just
talked about.
All right, let's build anunderstanding of why most cardio
approaches don't work so well,and then what actually works and
(04:30):
how we can put this together.
So let me start by destroyingsome myths.
We love busting myths.
These are things that are justwasting your time.
They are wasting your energy.
Okay, myth number one thatcardio is the key to fat loss.
It's just not.
You know, if you go into the gymin January, new Year's
resolutions, what do you see?
You see people spending alltheir time on cardio machines.
(04:53):
In fact, most big box gymsthat's what I see.
I see tons and tons of cardiomachines.
You know a lot of people usingthose very few people using the
free weights or even themachines, and people are
convinced they're going to loseweight, they're going to lose
fat, they're going to get theresult they want improve their
physique doing cardio and theresearch just does not show this
to be the case.
Let alone experience ananecdote from working with
(05:16):
hundreds of clients.
Studies are consistently showingthat cardio-only interventions
okay, where you just do cardiounderperform by 20 to 50%
compared to predictions.
And the big reason why isbecause your body compensates
Metabolic adaptation occurs andendurance adaptation occurs and
(05:40):
you get hungrier.
You actually move lessthroughout the day, so you're
neat.
Your non-exercise activitythermogenesis actually
compensates and comes down.
So all of these things yourmetabolism, your hunger, your
compensation through movement itdoesn't create the calorie
(06:01):
deficit you're looking for,whereas nutrition absolutely
does this.
Now, cardio can 100% supportyour fat loss, but it is not the
driver of fat loss, and this iswhere the nuance is important
and treating it like the mainthing is what's going to make
you extremely frustrated andyou're going to burn out.
And this is often the crux ofso many people who find this
podcast.
And then they're like oh, I see, the missing piece is actually
(06:23):
lifting weights.
No wonder it's not working forme and no wonder I move more and
more and seem to eat less andless and I don't get the result,
and that is why Cardio is notthe key to fat loss, but it can
definitely support it.
We're going to talk about thatin a bit.
Myth number two is that cardiokills gains.
So this is kind of the otherside of it, where you have
(06:45):
people who say I don't have todo any cardio.
You know, and I've even usedthis messaging to a degree where
I say you know you can get theresult you want, you can build
muscle, lose fat and not have todo any cardio.
And that's kind of a little bitof a puff word in the sense
that cardio can refer tomultiple things.
It can also refer to walking.
(07:05):
So if you're going to includewalking in there, then
absolutely you want to do cardio.
But I'm talking about moreintense, metronomic, stressful
cardio.
People avoid any cardio becausethey think it interferes with
strength gains, are missing outon lots of forms of cardio that
can work.
That's where I want to separatethe two.
And this all comes fromresearch on what's known as the
(07:26):
interference effect, the ideathat cardio blunts the muscle
building response, theadaptation that you get from
lifting weights.
Right, but the key word isexcessive.
The interference effect onlyshows up when you're doing high
volumes, very, very high volumesof intense cardio that compete
(07:46):
with your recovery resources.
Now, a lot of you are doingwhat would be considered
excessive, so I don't mean todownplay it either, but some
people think an hour a week ofrunning or something is going to
just kill all your gains, andit's not.
I'm not a huge fan of running.
I'm just saying as an example,it's not going to kill your
gains.
If you're an endurance athlete,if you're a runner, you could
(08:07):
still train concurrently andhave a hybrid approach to
lifting and training that stillworks.
We've talked to some people onthe show.
Minimal, intelligentlyprogrammed cardio is going to
actually enhance your recovery.
It's going to enhance yourperformance in several different
ways related to health markers,related to your lifting
(08:28):
recovery, related to yourathleticism.
We're gonna talk about it, but,again, it's not gonna just kill
gains, right.
There was a meta-analysis in2012 by Wilson and colleagues
and it found that low-dosecardio, for example, can improve
blood flow, nutrient deliveryand recovery between lifting
sessions.
It is the dose that makes thepoison, as with many things.
(08:49):
Myth number three is that morecardio more cardio equals better
health.
This is an important one and tounderstand why it's a myth.
We see people doing lots ofcardio, thinking that that is
the thing that's gonna optimizetheir health, their blood
markers, their resting heartrate, et cetera, their VO2 max.
Whatever they're thinking,they're trying to improve
cardiovascular health, quoteunquote.
(09:09):
But the research consistentlyshows that it's the volume of
your movement, not the intensity, that predicts longevity, and
so, if you think about what thatmeans, you can have lots of
volume.
That's very low intensity,whereas people are hammering
home this message on socialmedia that you need to do
interval training, evensprinting I love sprinting and
(09:30):
we're gonna talk about that butit's not necessary to have
really, really greatcardiovascular health, like far
superior than the average andmore than sufficient to have a
great health span.
Studies tracking hundreds ofthousands of people show that
around eight to 10,000 steps perday is linked to the lowest
all-cause mortality.
I think you can go as low as,say, 7,500, but 8,000 to 10,000
(09:52):
is a good round number or range.
And then adding high-intensitywork on top of that provides
only marginal benefits and thatyou need to have that foundation
of the steps.
Now, steps can be metabolicequivalent.
It doesn't have to be justwalking Again one of the nuances
we can talk about but it'sgeneral movement, low-intensity
(10:15):
movement.
So if cardio does not drive fatloss, if it doesn't interfere
with muscle gains unless it'soverdone, and if it doesn't
require extreme intensity to getthe health benefits, then what
is the right approach?
And that's where the adaptivecardio pyramid comes in.
All right, so I want you tothink of cardio as a hierarchy,
just like a nutrition pyramid.
(10:36):
Or, if anybody's familiar withthe muscle and strength pyramids
by Eric Helms, same idea.
It's the most important thingsat the bottom and until you do
those, you don't worry about thethings higher up in the pyramid
.
You start with the foundationthat supports your health and
metabolism and then you addlayers only as needed for your
specific goals.
So let's start with the baselayer, what I call minimum
(10:56):
effective movement.
And, by the way, in theworkshop tomorrow, we're going
to give you a diagram, we'regoing to give you specifics for
each of these, we're going tohelp you map it out.
We're going to give you a weekby week plan for the next eight
weeks.
All of that.
But I just want you tounderstand the concepts today.
So the foundation, minimumeffective movement is walking
and low level movement.
So that includes walking, ofcourse.
(11:17):
Just normal walking alsoincludes brisk walking, rucking,
which is where you add someweight.
It could be a backpack, arucking sack or even a weighted
vest, which are all the rageright now.
I understand it could beinclined treadmill work, walking
on hills, basically anythingthat keeps you moving at a
conversational pace.
And we're not even gonna talkabout heart rate zones or
(11:38):
anything today.
That is, in my opinion,unnecessary when it comes to
having a totally optimal minimumeffective dose cardio plan for
yourself.
Right?
We want to keep it simple.
So your target for the minimumeffective movement is going to
be measured in steps, becausethat's one of the easiest
proxies to measure with awearable, with your phone, with
time, there's lots of ways to doit.
You don't have to have apedometer, although most people
(12:00):
have them today.
7,000 to 10,000 steps per dayare equivalent, is really the
target, and this works becauseit raises your non-exercise
activity thermogenesis, yourNEAT.
Neat is the energy that you burnfrom all the movements.
That isn't formal exercise, andI want you to be clear here
that formal exercise representsless than 5% of your calorie
burn.
It's insignificant, whereasNEAT can represent anywhere from
(12:24):
25% to 60%.
I mean it can represent a hugeamount depending on how much you
move that lever.
I guess the British say lever,I say lever, so this also
includes fidgeting, standing,walking to your car, taking the
stairs, going for walks.
Neat has the biggest impact onyour long-term energy
expenditure and fat loss, right?
(12:44):
In other words, you're able toincrease your metabolism and eat
more food or lose more fat,lose more, you know, be in a
bigger deficit because you'removing more in the low stress
way.
Low level movement.
And low level movement isincredibly stackable.
You can walk while taking phonecalls, listening to podcasts,
running errands, being on, youknow, zoom calls.
(13:05):
It supports digestion when youdo it after meals, improves your
glucose control right, yourblood sugar.
It enhances your sleep qualitywhen you do it in the evening,
and the research is crystalclear.
A 2019 study following over16,000 people found that
mortality risk dropssignificantly at 8,000 steps and
(13:25):
plateaus around 10,000 to12,000.
So you don't need marathonrunners.
In fact, running is extremelystressful.
I don't even know why I use thatas an example.
To get longevity benefits, youjust need to be getting off your
butt and walking right.
And there's lots of corollariesto this, having to do with
looking at your day, howsedentary you are, how much you
walk today.
Actually getting to 8,000 ifyou're currently at three, could
(13:50):
seem like a big request, a bigchallenge, and so I am a big fan
of that 0.1% a day improvement.
If you're getting 3,000 steps aday now, get 3,500 steps a day
next week, inch your way upthere, and eventually you'll get
there successfully in asustainable way.
So that's the base layer, and Ihave a lot of other examples
(14:13):
that we're going to talk aboutin the workshop tomorrow.
The middle layer is what I calladaptive enjoyment.
This is for sustainability andadding extra movement that you
wouldn't add if it weren't, forit being something you like, if
that makes sense.
So once you have that movementfoundation and look if you're
still getting 3,000 steps a day,you shouldn't even be thinking
about this stuff other than youknow you do it already anyway.
(14:34):
This is the cardio that youenjoy.
This could be hiking, cycling,dancing, pickleball, swimming,
martial arts right, bjj whateverkeeps you coming back, being
athletic, moving your body.
It helps with other areas thatyour strength then complements,
and when you're doing this, it'susually one or two sessions a
week, maybe 20 to 40 minutes.
We're not talking about a lotof time, right?
(14:56):
Maybe you're in some sort ofleague.
Maybe it's bowling, whatever.
Did I say pickleball?
Yeah, that's popular today.
So the key word here when I sayadaptive enjoyment is the word
adaptive.
Your enjoyment and lifecircumstances are going to
change, so your cardio shouldadapt with it.
So maybe it's tennis in thesummer, maybe it's indoor
assault biking in the winter, orPeloton or something like that.
(15:18):
Maybe it's hiking on theweekends and then yoga when
you're really busy and you couldjust need to throw it in.
And this layer is reallyimportant.
It serves multiple purposesthat are intentional.
First, enjoyable activitieshave very high adherence rates.
You're going to do it.
So, even if you've establishedyour step count foundation and
(15:39):
one week you just happen to getso busy, you just don't get a
lot of steps in.
But you're like I got to go tothat basketball game Friday.
I mean I'm looking forward tothat.
Think about it.
You're going to do it.
It's going to reduce yourstress, it's fun, it's social.
In many cases, a 2018 study byReljic and colleagues found that
adherence to HIIT protocolsdrop significantly over time
(16:00):
compared to moderate activitiesthat people actually enjoy.
So, again, you don't want topunish yourself with cardio.
I think the base layer wetalked about.
Most people would agree that,like low grade walking and
things like that is prettysustainable.
It doesn't feel like punishment.
But once we start getting intothe more intense versions of
cardio, like even mediumintensity cardio, some people
feel like it's an obligation,that they hate, that they don't
(16:22):
want to do, that it's exercise.
We don't want to get your headinto that space.
So again I'm setting up theargument here that you never
have to do high intensitytraining ever if you don't want
to and still get fantasticresults.
And then the second thing is,besides, having high adherence
is fun.
Cardio provides variety.
(16:42):
It provides psychologicalbenefits beyond just supporting
the health and metabolism piece.
All the social activities thatare out there team sports, group
fitness classes I'm okay withthose if they are reasonable in
terms of time and intensity andthey don't stress you out.
They add those communityelements that can improve mental
health, that can improve yourstress management.
(17:04):
Some people just love to gointo the environment of the gym
to have other people around them.
So that's the middle layer.
And then only then, once you'vegot the step count, once you've
got some fun activities, nowyou can say, okay, let me add in
some deliberate cardio sessions.
Now you might be surprised andsay, wow, philip really like
puts this to the end.
Yeah, I do.
(17:25):
Because, going back to theargument that you do not even
quote unquote need cardio otherthan walking to get great
results, including fat loss, lowresting heart rate, low blood
pressure, good blood sugarcontrol, all the things you
really don't.
You really don't.
But if you're into optimizing,if you're into performance, if
you want to push the needle alittle bit more, if you want to
(17:47):
improve your VO2 max or, yes,even get a little extra boost
with some calorie burn during afat loss phase or not, then this
is where the top of the pyramidis important.
It's called precision,precision cardio, and this is
where performance matters, wheresprint intervals, some
structured, high intensityinterval training Again, I'm not
a huge fan of HIIT, so it'sgotta be very intentionally
(18:11):
recoverable, let's say.
Or more longer steady statesessions, which I'm okay with,
medium and low-intensity steadystate.
That's a little bit moreintense than the walking.
So for this I would say no morethan two sessions a week.
One or two sessions a week,start with one.
I would say no more than twosessions a week.
You know, one or two sessions aweek, start with one.
Maybe add into againsustainability only if your
schedule in your recovery allow,right, don't force it in
(18:35):
because that defeats the purpose.
So this layer is going toimprove specific aspects of
cardiovascular conditioning.
So this is the the principle ofspecificity.
Just like we train to buildmuscle and lift weights, if you
sprint you can improve your VO2max, your anaerobic power, your
aerobic capacity, your workcapacity.
I will say a lot of that getsimproved just by lifting and
(18:58):
walking.
Probably 90% of what you need.
But if you want to get thatother 5% to 10%, that's where
this comes in.
5 to 10%, that's where thiscomes in.
Sprinting is particularlypowerful for lifters because it
is anabolic, it recruits yourfast twitch fibers, it helps you
preserve your muscle massbecause it's very little work to
a lot of restroom recovery andit triggers favorable hormonal
(19:18):
responses.
That's very complimentary tolifting adaptations and you feel
like a superhero when yousprint.
It doesn't.
It's not running.
Let me, this is the argumentI'm going to make.
Sprinting does not feel likerunning.
I am not a big fan of running.
I'm not going to say I hate it.
Well, you know, I try not touse the word hate, but I kind of
almost do.
I think most people.
But sprinting feels totallydifferent from running, in my
(19:40):
opinion, whether it's flatground or on a machine, because
you just it's just like all outpower for a very brief moment of
time.
It is much more closer, in myopinion, to something like doing
a deadlift, one RM.
You know it's this all outeffort just for a brief period
of time.
So the critical thing I thinkwith the precision layer is that
it's like the sprinkles on thetop of the pyramid.
(20:01):
It is that small of a triangleor a piece of the pyramid.
It is not required for fat loss.
It it's just not.
It's not required for yourmetabolism.
All that meaningful stuffhappens in the first two layers,
but this last one can add alittle extra oomph to the
(20:21):
equation.
And so many people are flippingthis pyramid upside down.
They really are there.
They skip the walking.
You know they might liftweights but then they skip
walking.
They they don't do anythingenjoyable because they're like,
focused on getting all theregimented fitness lifestyle
stuff in their schedule.
They jump straight to sufferingthrough HIIT classes and then
(20:42):
they wonder why they burn out orthey don't get the results.
So I think this framework givesyou this big picture.
Implementing it is where peopleget stuck right.
How much walking is enough foryour situation?
When do I do it?
How do I do it sustainably?
How do you time cardio aroundyour lifting sessions?
What if you hate traditionalcardio but you want the
precision layer because you'vedone all the rest and you want
(21:03):
to get your performance goalsright?
And these are the questionswe're going to answer tomorrow
in the Adaptive Cardio Workshop.
I'm going to show you how toassess your current baseline,
how to build your plan from thebottom up.
You're going to get eighttraining templates from Physique
University that take all theguesswork out of programming
your lifting, if that's what youare interested in.
And you're going to get thedownloadable adaptive cardio
(21:24):
guide that has all the protocolsand troubleshooting strategies.
Workshop attendees get asix-month nutrition plan from me
and a full month of access toPhysique University.
All of that for $27.
I mean, you can't, I'm notmaking this up.
All of that is included, nostrings attached, just $27.
So it's tomorrow, tuesday,september 16th, 12 Eastern
(21:49):
register atlivewitsandweightscom.
Make sure you get a spot beforewe run out and you will get the
replay if you can't make a livebut you have to register to get
the replay.
Again, that'slivewitsandweightscom for the
Adaptive Cardio Workshoptomorrow.
All right, so I want to give youthe scientific backing for why
this research, or I should saywhy this pyramid structure,
works so well, and that will setus up to talk about all of the
common mistakes.
(22:10):
So that's what we're going tocover after this.
So, real quick on the science,and then we're going to get into
the mistakes that people makeand what you should do instead,
and then some final I'll saytips on building this up.
Even if you can't make theworkshop tomorrow, okay, I don't
want to leave you hanging.
So, going back to the base layer, we know that walking and low
level movement work throughmultiple mechanisms.
They increase your daily energyexpenditure, but do not trigger
(22:31):
hunger, the same hunger thathigh intensity causes.
I think there was a review in2021 by Helms, and colleagues
found that moderate cardio hasminimal impact on appetite
hormones compared to intensetraining.
Second, walking improvesinsulin sensitivity and glucose
control, especially 15-minutewalks after meals, and they tend
to have better outcomes than asingle longer walk that are not
(22:54):
after meals, let's say, althoughyou should walk whenever you're
able to walk.
Third, there's the muscleprotein synthesis angle.
Recent research shows thatprolonged sitting reduces your
body's ability to build muscle,and we're gonna talk about that
at tomorrow's workshop in detail, about how you can break that
up and improve your muscleprotein synthesis through
movement.
But the moral of the story isdon't sit around for hours at a
(23:14):
time.
So that's the base layer.
That's just some of the basicscience.
The middle layer, the enjoymentlayer, the research here is
actually pretty surprising andsobering to a lot of people.
But we're going to start with asobering fact Most people quit
their exercise programs withinsix months period.
But if it's enjoyable, theadherence rates are
(23:34):
significantly longer.
Right, and this isn't just uphere in the mind.
This isn't just psychology.
There are physiologicalbenefits to doing activities you
enjoy as well.
They lower your stress, yourcortisol levels more effectively
than forcing the exercise.
It improves your mood, yourelease endorphins, it creates
positive associations withmovement rather than punishment
(23:55):
mindsets.
And then at the precision layer, the science really depends on
your goals.
So if it's VO2 max, intervaltraining can be very efficient.
But we again are talking abouta specific way to do that Very
few sessions, very short sprints, lots of recovery, and it
doesn't take that long and youcan get your conditioning really
quickly.
When I was in CrossFit, Iremember if I had taken off time
(24:17):
for a while and then came backto it, the conditioning came
back very, very quickly justwithin a few weeks.
For accelerating your fat loss,sprints can be helpful as well,
and that's why I think it's notthe solution to fat loss.
But if you're already doing allthe other things, which are,
I'll say, the biggest return oninvestment, sprinting is a nice
thing to add in.
They create what's calledexcess post-exercise oxygen
(24:39):
consumption, or EPOC, where youburn additional calories for
hours after the session becauseit's just so intense, but in a
short, recoverable way, that youget this added benefit to it.
They also improve insulinsensitivity and help you
preserve muscle mass.
Right, there's no real riskthere.
So that's kind of the basicscience.
I don't want to get too toonerdy on this.
I know you guys love that, butI don't want the episode to be
too long.
(25:00):
So that leads us to try andunderstand okay, what mistake
are people making that?
The science gives us therationale for these, right, and
the first big mistake isskipping that foundation, like,
hopefully you've been convincedthat you need that in there.
You know, I see people doinglike the boot camp classes, but
then they get 3 000 steps a day.
(25:20):
So they're like building thatpyramid upside down and it's
just going to create newproblems.
It's going to stress you outmore, cause you to adapt and not
do the thing you want, which,at is very basic.
It's not going to even burn thecalories you want to burn.
Mistake number two is Confusinghard effort with effectiveness.
Now, that might soundsacrilegious, because when it
comes to lifting weights,training hard is important.
(25:41):
When it comes to cardio,there's more nuance, because I
know lots of clients who came tome doing spin classes, for
example.
Those are very popular, right90-minute spin classes and they
like feeling wiped when theywould go to their lifting
sessions.
They weren't getting the result, their metabolisms were lower
and I said let's just eliminatethat for a while, see what
(26:04):
happens and all of a sudden theyhave a much, much less stress,
the metabolism increased andthey're able to hit more reps in
the gym, more weight in the gymand able to progress, and then
they can layer in cardio in theright way.
Mistake number three is notlistening to your recovery
signals Very important.
Your body's gonna tell you whencardio is helping you and when
it's hurting you, if yourstrength is plateauing, if your
(26:26):
sleep feels disrupted, if you'realways fatigued, you're
probably doing too much oryou're doing the wrong type, and
so this pyramid concept, thisadaptive cardio, should enhance
your other goals and not competewith them.
Again, we're not talking aboutendurance athletes that might
require some extremes that youhave to make trade-offs for.
We're talking about people whoare prioritizing body
(26:47):
composition, fat loss, musclebuilding.
And then the last mistake ismore mental than anything, and
that is the all or nothingthinking that you have to choose
between cardio and lifting,like like I'm a lifter or I'm an
endurance person, and that'snot really the case.
I think what I'm trying todemonstrate today is that you
can get the benefits of bothwithout the downsides of either
extreme.
(27:07):
So I'm going to give you justsome tips, just to close out the
episode, that are going to helpyou move the needle forward.
I want you to pick one tiptoday from what I tell you and
move it forward Now.
If you want to come up withyour plan, join us at the
workshop tomorrow,livewitsandweightscom.
But you want to start bytracking your steps.
Very simple.
If you're not already doingthat it's like tracking your
(27:27):
food.
You might be shocked by howlittle you actually move.
And then you're going togradually increase by 500 to a
thousand steps a week.
I mean 500, 500 to a thousanddaily steps each week until you
get to the target you want.
And you want to use movementstacking, you know.
Or movement snacking andstacking, I should say so.
Stacking is walking while youdo other things, snacking is
(27:50):
taking breaks, right.
And then there's all the otherways to get more movement
outside the scope of today'sepisode.
And of course, you can add alittle bit of challenge to your
walks, if you want, withsomething like a weighted vest
or rucksack.
Then the enjoyment layer.
This would be just genuinelyfun, like if you dread it.
I want you to pick somethingelse.
Don't let your spouse or friendor whatever force you into a
sport you don't look forward to.
(28:10):
The goal is the long-termsustainability.
The goal is the long-termsustainability.
So for this, if you're notdoing anything right now, enjoy
doing the research and lookingaround your neighborhood and the
town where you live, wherever,to see what's going on.
Talk to friends Maybe youalready know of things at the
local gym or whatever andschedule it in like a very
important appointment, but atthe time you feel like you can
(28:31):
do it reasonably without stress,that you're going to be
consistent and you you're gonnaenjoy it.
And it could be just free form,like a bike ride or going for a
hike, right, it doesn't have tobe a scheduled activity.
And then, finally, we'll get tothe top layer.
The tip I have for you here,again, only once you've mastered
the first two layers is tocheck out my sprinting episode,
which is episode 293, sevenbenefits of sprinting to Lose
(28:55):
Fat.
And that episode will give youa good starting protocol to work
from.
And, speaking of that, we diddo an entire workshop on that
sprinting protocol in PhysiqueUniversity.
So if you want to jointomorrow's workshop, even if
it's afterward, to get thereplay, you could also get
access to all of those replays,including the one on sprinting.
And the total time commitmentfor sprinting once or twice a
(29:18):
week is about five minutes eachsession.
That's it.
So the adaptive cardio pyramidis a framework.
I love frameworks, I lovesystems.
It's a way to think aboutmovement strategically instead
of emotionally or randomly.
You're not punishing yourself,you're not making up calories,
you're not trying to out-train abad diet.
You're going to use the minimumeffective dose of movement to
support your physique goals,your health and your performance
(29:39):
.
Again, most people are lookingat this backwards.
They start with the hardest,most time-consuming options, the
most high-intense.
They think that the mostintensity is going to burn the
most calories in the shortestamount of time.
Therefore, it's sustainable andit's not.
It is not Walking.
Think about it.
Is it easy to walk or is iteasier to constantly do HIIT
sessions?
You know the answer.
Is it easier to go do somethingyou enjoy play with your kids
(30:03):
or do a sport or is it easier toforce yourself to go for an
hour-long bike ride?
Right, you kind of understandthe trade-offs here.
And yet it's not just thatthere are more or less benefits
to each.
It's that you're going to doone and the other one you're not
.
You're gonna stop doing it, andthat alone is worth the price
of admission here and I want youto remember this that low-level
(30:24):
activity improves yourmetabolic health tremendously,
but does not trigger the stressresponse.
Enjoyable movement enhancesyour adherence and your
psychological well-being, againwithout triggering the stress
response, and precision cardiogives you specific adaptations
when you properly dose it onceyou've done the other two.
So the beauty of this system isin the name.
(30:46):
It's adaptable.
If you have a busy week at work,you focus on the base layer.
Of course, below that baselayer, in my opinion, is your
strength training, but that'soutside the scope we're saying.
On top of that is the cardiopyramid, right?
So, movement snacks, walkingmeetings, going for simple walks
after a meal, even if it's 10minutes long you can't do 20, do
10.
You can't do 10, do 5.
You can't do 5,.
(31:06):
Take a break every now and thenand do one minute.
Your cardio should serve yourgoals.
That's what we're all abouthere.
That's the efficiency, that'sthe engineering approach.
So if you want to take this fromconcept to implementation, I
want you to join me tomorrow forTuesday's Adaptive Cardio
Workshop, where we are going towork together and build your
personalized plan using thisexact framework.
And, yes, if you can't make it,you get the replay and you get
(31:27):
the guide anyway, so you canwalk through after the fact and
put it together as well.
You're going to learn how toassess your current movement
baseline, set realistic targetsfor each of the layers.
We're going to talk abouttroubleshooting common problems,
and I'm going to share theprotocols that I like to use, as
well as a whole bunch ofexamples.
I've got some bonuses for you,including a plan for a busy
(31:48):
person who has a desk job.
What does your day look like tomake this all work?
So that's live tomorrow,tuesday, september 16th, at 12
pm Eastern.
It's just $27 for all of that,including the replay, whether or
not you can attend liveLivewitsandweightscom.
Looking forward to seeing youthere and thank you so much
again for listening to Wits andWeights.
(32:08):
Until next time, keep usingyour wits lifting those weights
and remember that your cardioshould serve your body
composition goals, not dominateyour life.
I'll talk to you next time hereon the Wits and Weights podcast
.
If you've been doing hours of cardio every week
, expecting it to help with yourfat loss, and you're either not
seeing the changes you want,you're always feeling exhausted,
or you're watching yourstrength training suffer, this
episode will change how youapproach cardio.
Many people treat cardio aspunishment for how much they've
eaten.
Or they chase meaninglesscalorie burn through cardio, or
(00:21):
they avoid it completely,thinking it destroys their
muscle gains, and all threeapproaches honestly waste time
and energy.
I'm going to show you theAdaptive Cardio Pyramid, a
three-layer framework that tellsyou exactly how much movement
you need for fat loss, musclegrowth and longevity, without
wasting time.
Welcome to Wits and Weights,the show that helps you build a
(00:54):
strong, healthy physique usingevidence, engineering and
efficiency.
I'm your host, certifiednutrition coach, philip Pape,
and we're going to talk aboutcardio today because you're
either spending lots of time oncardio an hour a day, maybe on a
treadmill or some sort ofmachine.
Maybe you're sweating throughHIIT interval classes, peloton
F45, crossfit style boot camps.
Maybe you're tracking all thecalories you burn using your
(01:16):
wearable, but after weeks ormonths or maybe you've been
doing this for years it doesn'tseem to be affecting the scale
or, more importantly, your fatloss and body composition, maybe
it's causing your liftingperformance to decline, and
maybe you're always exhaustedand it's stressing you out.
Anyone or all of these thingscould be happening when it comes
(01:37):
to cardio.
And you're not alone, becausethis is what happens when we
treat cardio as kind of thissledgehammer for losing weight,
for metabolism, for fat loss,instead of the precision tool
that it's meant to be.
Now, cardio can definitelyaccelerate your results and the
results we are looking for onthe show, which is an improved
(01:58):
physique and performance,function, strength, leannessess.
It could also extremelyundermine those results and
those goals, and so thedifference between them comes
down to having a strategy ratherthan just showing up and
treating cardio as kind of anafterthought.
Right, if we're going to have astrategy for our lifting and
our strength development, whywouldn't we do the same for all
(02:21):
the other forms of movement wehave in our lives now?
Now, before we get into thisframework that I've put together
for you it is a three-layerframework that I think will be
very time efficient and veryadaptive to your needs I want to
let you know about somethinghappening.
Tomorrow, tuesday, september16th, I am hosting a live
workshop called the AdaptiveCardio Workshop, where I'm going
(02:42):
to show you exactly how tobuild your own personalized
cardio plan using the pyramidwe're discussing today.
We're going to set up yourstarting metrics.
We're going to identify whatyou're capable of, what your
schedule allows, and help youmap out how to fit cardio into
your life in an enjoyable waythat gets you the results, and
this is in theory.
I'm a big fan of workshopsbeing step-by-step, actual work
(03:06):
that you get done and come outof it with a plan that is
tailored to your goals, yourschedule, your recovery capacity
, what protocols, what thetiming is, how to layer it with
your strength training to getthe maximum result.
You'll also, in that workshop,get a download called the
adaptive cardio guide, onlyexclusive to people who show up
for the workshop, and our eightstraight training templates as
(03:28):
well, so you can fit that inalong with your lifting in an
efficient way.
Workshop attendees also get amonth of access to Physique
University included in the priceof $27, and a custom six-month
nutrition and trainingtransformation plan that I put
for you together for you Again,all included in the $27 for
(03:48):
everything.
This is tomorrow, tuesday,september 16th, at 12 Eastern.
It also includes the replay, soif you cannot attend live,
you're still going to get all ofthat stuff and including the
replay.
You can register atlivewitsandweightscom and if
you're already in PhysiqueUniversity, you get this
included.
So, again, another bonus topeople who are in there is that
these workshops are free.
(04:09):
You can register atlivewitsandweightscom for
tomorrow's Adaptive CardioWorkshop.
If you're hearing this episodeafter it's done, the link will
still work.
You can still get the replayand all the bonuses I just
talked about.
All right, let's build anunderstanding of why most cardio
approaches don't work so well,and then what actually works and
(04:30):
how we can put this together.
So let me start by destroyingsome myths.
We love busting myths.
These are things that are justwasting your time.
They are wasting your energy.
Okay, myth number one thatcardio is the key to fat loss.
It's just not.
You know, if you go into the gymin January, new Year's
resolutions, what do you see?
You see people spending alltheir time on cardio machines.
(04:53):
In fact, most big box gymsthat's what I see.
I see tons and tons of cardiomachines.
You know a lot of people usingthose very few people using the
free weights or even themachines, and people are
convinced they're going to loseweight, they're going to lose
fat, they're going to get theresult they want improve their
physique doing cardio and theresearch just does not show this
to be the case.
Let alone experience ananecdote from working with
(05:16):
hundreds of clients.
Studies are consistently showingthat cardio-only interventions
okay, where you just do cardiounderperform by 20 to 50%
compared to predictions.
And the big reason why isbecause your body compensates
Metabolic adaptation occurs andendurance adaptation occurs and
(05:40):
you get hungrier.
You actually move lessthroughout the day, so you're
neat.
Your non-exercise activitythermogenesis actually
compensates and comes down.
So all of these things yourmetabolism, your hunger, your
compensation through movement itdoesn't create the calorie
(06:01):
deficit you're looking for,whereas nutrition absolutely
does this.
Now, cardio can 100% supportyour fat loss, but it is not the
driver of fat loss, and this iswhere the nuance is important
and treating it like the mainthing is what's going to make
you extremely frustrated andyou're going to burn out.
And this is often the crux ofso many people who find this
podcast.
And then they're like oh, I see, the missing piece is actually
(06:23):
lifting weights.
No wonder it's not working forme and no wonder I move more and
more and seem to eat less andless and I don't get the result,
and that is why Cardio is notthe key to fat loss, but it can
definitely support it.
We're going to talk about thatin a bit.
Myth number two is that cardiokills gains.
So this is kind of the otherside of it, where you have
(06:45):
people who say I don't have todo any cardio.
You know, and I've even usedthis messaging to a degree where
I say you know you can get theresult you want, you can build
muscle, lose fat and not have todo any cardio.
And that's kind of a little bitof a puff word in the sense
that cardio can refer tomultiple things.
It can also refer to walking.
(07:05):
So if you're going to includewalking in there, then
absolutely you want to do cardio.
But I'm talking about moreintense, metronomic, stressful
cardio.
People avoid any cardio becausethey think it interferes with
strength gains, are missing outon lots of forms of cardio that
can work.
That's where I want to separatethe two.
And this all comes fromresearch on what's known as the
(07:26):
interference effect, the ideathat cardio blunts the muscle
building response, theadaptation that you get from
lifting weights.
Right, but the key word isexcessive.
The interference effect onlyshows up when you're doing high
volumes, very, very high volumesof intense cardio that compete
(07:46):
with your recovery resources.
Now, a lot of you are doingwhat would be considered
excessive, so I don't mean todownplay it either, but some
people think an hour a week ofrunning or something is going to
just kill all your gains, andit's not.
I'm not a huge fan of running.
I'm just saying as an example,it's not going to kill your
gains.
If you're an endurance athlete,if you're a runner, you could
(08:07):
still train concurrently andhave a hybrid approach to
lifting and training that stillworks.
We've talked to some people onthe show.
Minimal, intelligentlyprogrammed cardio is going to
actually enhance your recovery.
It's going to enhance yourperformance in several different
ways related to health markers,related to your lifting
(08:28):
recovery, related to yourathleticism.
We're gonna talk about it, but,again, it's not gonna just kill
gains, right.
There was a meta-analysis in2012 by Wilson and colleagues
and it found that low-dosecardio, for example, can improve
blood flow, nutrient deliveryand recovery between lifting
sessions.
It is the dose that makes thepoison, as with many things.
(08:49):
Myth number three is that morecardio more cardio equals better
health.
This is an important one and tounderstand why it's a myth.
We see people doing lots ofcardio, thinking that that is
the thing that's gonna optimizetheir health, their blood
markers, their resting heartrate, et cetera, their VO2 max.
Whatever they're thinking,they're trying to improve
cardiovascular health, quoteunquote.
(09:09):
But the research consistentlyshows that it's the volume of
your movement, not the intensity, that predicts longevity, and
so, if you think about what thatmeans, you can have lots of
volume.
That's very low intensity,whereas people are hammering
home this message on socialmedia that you need to do
interval training, evensprinting I love sprinting and
(09:30):
we're gonna talk about that butit's not necessary to have
really, really greatcardiovascular health, like far
superior than the average andmore than sufficient to have a
great health span.
Studies tracking hundreds ofthousands of people show that
around eight to 10,000 steps perday is linked to the lowest
all-cause mortality.
I think you can go as low as,say, 7,500, but 8,000 to 10,000
(09:52):
is a good round number or range.
And then adding high-intensitywork on top of that provides
only marginal benefits and thatyou need to have that foundation
of the steps.
Now, steps can be metabolicequivalent.
It doesn't have to be justwalking Again one of the nuances
we can talk about but it'sgeneral movement, low-intensity
(10:15):
movement.
So if cardio does not drive fatloss, if it doesn't interfere
with muscle gains unless it'soverdone, and if it doesn't
require extreme intensity to getthe health benefits, then what
is the right approach?
And that's where the adaptivecardio pyramid comes in.
All right, so I want you tothink of cardio as a hierarchy,
just like a nutrition pyramid.
(10:36):
Or, if anybody's familiar withthe muscle and strength pyramids
by Eric Helms, same idea.
It's the most important thingsat the bottom and until you do
those, you don't worry about thethings higher up in the pyramid
.
You start with the foundationthat supports your health and
metabolism and then you addlayers only as needed for your
specific goals.
So let's start with the baselayer, what I call minimum
(10:56):
effective movement.
And, by the way, in theworkshop tomorrow, we're going
to give you a diagram, we'regoing to give you specifics for
each of these, we're going tohelp you map it out.
We're going to give you a weekby week plan for the next eight
weeks.
All of that.
But I just want you tounderstand the concepts today.
So the foundation, minimumeffective movement is walking
and low level movement.
So that includes walking, ofcourse.
(11:17):
Just normal walking alsoincludes brisk walking, rucking,
which is where you add someweight.
It could be a backpack, arucking sack or even a weighted
vest, which are all the rageright now.
I understand it could beinclined treadmill work, walking
on hills, basically anythingthat keeps you moving at a
conversational pace.
And we're not even gonna talkabout heart rate zones or
(11:38):
anything today.
That is, in my opinion,unnecessary when it comes to
having a totally optimal minimumeffective dose cardio plan for
yourself.
Right?
We want to keep it simple.
So your target for the minimumeffective movement is going to
be measured in steps, becausethat's one of the easiest
proxies to measure with awearable, with your phone, with
time, there's lots of ways to doit.
You don't have to have apedometer, although most people
(12:00):
have them today.
7,000 to 10,000 steps per dayare equivalent, is really the
target, and this works becauseit raises your non-exercise
activity thermogenesis, yourNEAT.
Neat is the energy that you burnfrom all the movements.
That isn't formal exercise, andI want you to be clear here
that formal exercise representsless than 5% of your calorie
burn.
It's insignificant, whereasNEAT can represent anywhere from
(12:24):
25% to 60%.
I mean it can represent a hugeamount depending on how much you
move that lever.
I guess the British say lever,I say lever, so this also
includes fidgeting, standing,walking to your car, taking the
stairs, going for walks.
Neat has the biggest impact onyour long-term energy
expenditure and fat loss, right?
(12:44):
In other words, you're able toincrease your metabolism and eat
more food or lose more fat,lose more, you know, be in a
bigger deficit because you'removing more in the low stress
way.
Low level movement.
And low level movement isincredibly stackable.
You can walk while taking phonecalls, listening to podcasts,
running errands, being on, youknow, zoom calls.
(13:05):
It supports digestion when youdo it after meals, improves your
glucose control right, yourblood sugar.
It enhances your sleep qualitywhen you do it in the evening,
and the research is crystalclear.
A 2019 study following over16,000 people found that
mortality risk dropssignificantly at 8,000 steps and
(13:25):
plateaus around 10,000 to12,000.
So you don't need marathonrunners.
In fact, running is extremelystressful.
I don't even know why I use thatas an example.
To get longevity benefits, youjust need to be getting off your
butt and walking right.
And there's lots of corollariesto this, having to do with
looking at your day, howsedentary you are, how much you
walk today.
Actually getting to 8,000 ifyou're currently at three, could
(13:50):
seem like a big request, a bigchallenge, and so I am a big fan
of that 0.1% a day improvement.
If you're getting 3,000 steps aday now, get 3,500 steps a day
next week, inch your way upthere, and eventually you'll get
there successfully in asustainable way.
So that's the base layer, and Ihave a lot of other examples
(14:13):
that we're going to talk aboutin the workshop tomorrow.
The middle layer is what I calladaptive enjoyment.
This is for sustainability andadding extra movement that you
wouldn't add if it weren't, forit being something you like, if
that makes sense.
So once you have that movementfoundation and look if you're
still getting 3,000 steps a day,you shouldn't even be thinking
about this stuff other than youknow you do it already anyway.
(14:34):
This is the cardio that youenjoy.
This could be hiking, cycling,dancing, pickleball, swimming,
martial arts right, bjj whateverkeeps you coming back, being
athletic, moving your body.
It helps with other areas thatyour strength then complements,
and when you're doing this, it'susually one or two sessions a
week, maybe 20 to 40 minutes.
We're not talking about a lotof time, right?
(14:56):
Maybe you're in some sort ofleague.
Maybe it's bowling, whatever.
Did I say pickleball?
Yeah, that's popular today.
So the key word here when I sayadaptive enjoyment is the word
adaptive.
Your enjoyment and lifecircumstances are going to
change, so your cardio shouldadapt with it.
So maybe it's tennis in thesummer, maybe it's indoor
assault biking in the winter, orPeloton or something like that.
(15:18):
Maybe it's hiking on theweekends and then yoga when
you're really busy and you couldjust need to throw it in.
And this layer is reallyimportant.
It serves multiple purposesthat are intentional.
First, enjoyable activitieshave very high adherence rates.
You're going to do it.
So, even if you've establishedyour step count foundation and
(15:39):
one week you just happen to getso busy, you just don't get a
lot of steps in.
But you're like I got to go tothat basketball game Friday.
I mean I'm looking forward tothat.
Think about it.
You're going to do it.
It's going to reduce yourstress, it's fun, it's social.
In many cases, a 2018 study byReljic and colleagues found that
adherence to HIIT protocolsdrop significantly over time
(16:00):
compared to moderate activitiesthat people actually enjoy.
So, again, you don't want topunish yourself with cardio.
I think the base layer wetalked about.
Most people would agree that,like low grade walking and
things like that is prettysustainable.
It doesn't feel like punishment.
But once we start getting intothe more intense versions of
cardio, like even mediumintensity cardio, some people
feel like it's an obligation,that they hate, that they don't
(16:22):
want to do, that it's exercise.
We don't want to get your headinto that space.
So again I'm setting up theargument here that you never
have to do high intensitytraining ever if you don't want
to and still get fantasticresults.
And then the second thing is,besides, having high adherence
is fun.
Cardio provides variety.
(16:42):
It provides psychologicalbenefits beyond just supporting
the health and metabolism piece.
All the social activities thatare out there team sports, group
fitness classes I'm okay withthose if they are reasonable in
terms of time and intensity andthey don't stress you out.
They add those communityelements that can improve mental
health, that can improve yourstress management.
(17:04):
Some people just love to gointo the environment of the gym
to have other people around them.
So that's the middle layer.
And then only then, once you'vegot the step count, once you've
got some fun activities, nowyou can say, okay, let me add in
some deliberate cardio sessions.
Now you might be surprised andsay, wow, philip really like
puts this to the end.
Yeah, I do.
(17:25):
Because, going back to theargument that you do not even
quote unquote need cardio otherthan walking to get great
results, including fat loss, lowresting heart rate, low blood
pressure, good blood sugarcontrol, all the things you
really don't.
You really don't.
But if you're into optimizing,if you're into performance, if
you want to push the needle alittle bit more, if you want to
(17:47):
improve your VO2 max or, yes,even get a little extra boost
with some calorie burn during afat loss phase or not, then this
is where the top of the pyramidis important.
It's called precision,precision cardio, and this is
where performance matters, wheresprint intervals, some
structured, high intensityinterval training Again, I'm not
a huge fan of HIIT, so it'sgotta be very intentionally
(18:11):
recoverable, let's say.
Or more longer steady statesessions, which I'm okay with,
medium and low-intensity steadystate.
That's a little bit moreintense than the walking.
So for this I would say no morethan two sessions a week.
One or two sessions a week,start with one.
I would say no more than twosessions a week.
You know, one or two sessions aweek, start with one.
Maybe add into againsustainability only if your
schedule in your recovery allow,right, don't force it in
(18:35):
because that defeats the purpose.
So this layer is going toimprove specific aspects of
cardiovascular conditioning.
So this is the the principle ofspecificity.
Just like we train to buildmuscle and lift weights, if you
sprint you can improve your VO2max, your anaerobic power, your
aerobic capacity, your workcapacity.
I will say a lot of that getsimproved just by lifting and
(18:58):
walking.
Probably 90% of what you need.
But if you want to get thatother 5% to 10%, that's where
this comes in.
5 to 10%, that's where thiscomes in.
Sprinting is particularlypowerful for lifters because it
is anabolic, it recruits yourfast twitch fibers, it helps you
preserve your muscle massbecause it's very little work to
a lot of restroom recovery andit triggers favorable hormonal
(19:18):
responses.
That's very complimentary tolifting adaptations and you feel
like a superhero when yousprint.
It doesn't.
It's not running.
Let me, this is the argumentI'm going to make.
Sprinting does not feel likerunning.
I am not a big fan of running.
I'm not going to say I hate it.
Well, you know, I try not touse the word hate, but I kind of
almost do.
I think most people.
But sprinting feels totallydifferent from running, in my
(19:40):
opinion, whether it's flatground or on a machine, because
you just it's just like all outpower for a very brief moment of
time.
It is much more closer, in myopinion, to something like doing
a deadlift, one RM.
You know it's this all outeffort just for a brief period
of time.
So the critical thing I thinkwith the precision layer is that
it's like the sprinkles on thetop of the pyramid.
(20:01):
It is that small of a triangleor a piece of the pyramid.
It is not required for fat loss.
It it's just not.
It's not required for yourmetabolism.
All that meaningful stuffhappens in the first two layers,
but this last one can add alittle extra oomph to the
(20:21):
equation.
And so many people are flippingthis pyramid upside down.
They really are there.
They skip the walking.
You know they might liftweights but then they skip
walking.
They they don't do anythingenjoyable because they're like,
focused on getting all theregimented fitness lifestyle
stuff in their schedule.
They jump straight to sufferingthrough HIIT classes and then
(20:42):
they wonder why they burn out orthey don't get the results.
So I think this framework givesyou this big picture.
Implementing it is where peopleget stuck right.
How much walking is enough foryour situation?
When do I do it?
How do I do it sustainably?
How do you time cardio aroundyour lifting sessions?
What if you hate traditionalcardio but you want the
precision layer because you'vedone all the rest and you want
(21:03):
to get your performance goalsright?
And these are the questionswe're going to answer tomorrow
in the Adaptive Cardio Workshop.
I'm going to show you how toassess your current baseline,
how to build your plan from thebottom up.
You're going to get eighttraining templates from Physique
University that take all theguesswork out of programming
your lifting, if that's what youare interested in.
And you're going to get thedownloadable adaptive cardio
(21:24):
guide that has all the protocolsand troubleshooting strategies.
Workshop attendees get asix-month nutrition plan from me
and a full month of access toPhysique University.
All of that for $27.
I mean, you can't, I'm notmaking this up.
All of that is included, nostrings attached, just $27.
So it's tomorrow, tuesday,september 16th, 12 Eastern
(21:49):
register atlivewitsandweightscom.
Make sure you get a spot beforewe run out and you will get the
replay if you can't make a livebut you have to register to get
the replay.
Again, that'slivewitsandweightscom for the
Adaptive Cardio Workshoptomorrow.
All right, so I want to give youthe scientific backing for why
this research, or I should saywhy this pyramid structure,
works so well, and that will setus up to talk about all of the
common mistakes.
(22:10):
So that's what we're going tocover after this.
So, real quick on the science,and then we're going to get into
the mistakes that people makeand what you should do instead,
and then some final I'll saytips on building this up.
Even if you can't make theworkshop tomorrow, okay, I don't
want to leave you hanging.
So, going back to the base layer, we know that walking and low
level movement work throughmultiple mechanisms.
They increase your daily energyexpenditure, but do not trigger
(22:31):
hunger, the same hunger thathigh intensity causes.
I think there was a review in2021 by Helms, and colleagues
found that moderate cardio hasminimal impact on appetite
hormones compared to intensetraining.
Second, walking improvesinsulin sensitivity and glucose
control, especially 15-minutewalks after meals, and they tend
to have better outcomes than asingle longer walk that are not
(22:54):
after meals, let's say, althoughyou should walk whenever you're
able to walk.
Third, there's the muscleprotein synthesis angle.
Recent research shows thatprolonged sitting reduces your
body's ability to build muscle,and we're gonna talk about that
at tomorrow's workshop in detail, about how you can break that
up and improve your muscleprotein synthesis through
movement.
But the moral of the story isdon't sit around for hours at a
(23:14):
time.
So that's the base layer.
That's just some of the basicscience.
The middle layer, the enjoymentlayer, the research here is
actually pretty surprising andsobering to a lot of people.
But we're going to start with asobering fact Most people quit
their exercise programs withinsix months period.
But if it's enjoyable, theadherence rates are
(23:34):
significantly longer.
Right, and this isn't just uphere in the mind.
This isn't just psychology.
There are physiologicalbenefits to doing activities you
enjoy as well.
They lower your stress, yourcortisol levels more effectively
than forcing the exercise.
It improves your mood, yourelease endorphins, it creates
positive associations withmovement rather than punishment
(23:55):
mindsets.
And then at the precision layer, the science really depends on
your goals.
So if it's VO2 max, intervaltraining can be very efficient.
But we again are talking abouta specific way to do that Very
few sessions, very short sprints, lots of recovery, and it
doesn't take that long and youcan get your conditioning really
quickly.
When I was in CrossFit, Iremember if I had taken off time
(24:17):
for a while and then came backto it, the conditioning came
back very, very quickly justwithin a few weeks.
For accelerating your fat loss,sprints can be helpful as well,
and that's why I think it's notthe solution to fat loss.
But if you're already doing allthe other things, which are,
I'll say, the biggest return oninvestment, sprinting is a nice
thing to add in.
They create what's calledexcess post-exercise oxygen
(24:39):
consumption, or EPOC, where youburn additional calories for
hours after the session becauseit's just so intense, but in a
short, recoverable way, that youget this added benefit to it.
They also improve insulinsensitivity and help you
preserve muscle mass.
Right, there's no real riskthere.
So that's kind of the basicscience.
I don't want to get too toonerdy on this.
I know you guys love that, butI don't want the episode to be
too long.
(25:00):
So that leads us to try andunderstand okay, what mistake
are people making that?
The science gives us therationale for these, right, and
the first big mistake isskipping that foundation, like,
hopefully you've been convincedthat you need that in there.
You know, I see people doinglike the boot camp classes, but
then they get 3 000 steps a day.
(25:20):
So they're like building thatpyramid upside down and it's
just going to create newproblems.
It's going to stress you outmore, cause you to adapt and not
do the thing you want, which,at is very basic.
It's not going to even burn thecalories you want to burn.
Mistake number two is Confusinghard effort with effectiveness.
Now, that might soundsacrilegious, because when it
comes to lifting weights,training hard is important.
(25:41):
When it comes to cardio,there's more nuance, because I
know lots of clients who came tome doing spin classes, for
example.
Those are very popular, right90-minute spin classes and they
like feeling wiped when theywould go to their lifting
sessions.
They weren't getting the result, their metabolisms were lower
and I said let's just eliminatethat for a while, see what
(26:04):
happens and all of a sudden theyhave a much, much less stress,
the metabolism increased andthey're able to hit more reps in
the gym, more weight in the gymand able to progress, and then
they can layer in cardio in theright way.
Mistake number three is notlistening to your recovery
signals Very important.
Your body's gonna tell you whencardio is helping you and when
it's hurting you, if yourstrength is plateauing, if your
(26:26):
sleep feels disrupted, if you'realways fatigued, you're
probably doing too much oryou're doing the wrong type, and
so this pyramid concept, thisadaptive cardio, should enhance
your other goals and not competewith them.
Again, we're not talking aboutendurance athletes that might
require some extremes that youhave to make trade-offs for.
We're talking about people whoare prioritizing body
(26:47):
composition, fat loss, musclebuilding.
And then the last mistake ismore mental than anything, and
that is the all or nothingthinking that you have to choose
between cardio and lifting,like like I'm a lifter or I'm an
endurance person, and that'snot really the case.
I think what I'm trying todemonstrate today is that you
can get the benefits of bothwithout the downsides of either
extreme.
(27:07):
So I'm going to give you justsome tips, just to close out the
episode, that are going to helpyou move the needle forward.
I want you to pick one tiptoday from what I tell you and
move it forward Now.
If you want to come up withyour plan, join us at the
workshop tomorrow,livewitsandweightscom.
But you want to start bytracking your steps.
Very simple.
If you're not already doingthat it's like tracking your
(27:27):
food.
You might be shocked by howlittle you actually move.
And then you're going togradually increase by 500 to a
thousand steps a week.
I mean 500, 500 to a thousanddaily steps each week until you
get to the target you want.
And you want to use movementstacking, you know.
Or movement snacking andstacking, I should say so.
Stacking is walking while youdo other things, snacking is
(27:50):
taking breaks, right.
And then there's all the otherways to get more movement
outside the scope of today'sepisode.
And of course, you can add alittle bit of challenge to your
walks, if you want, withsomething like a weighted vest
or rucksack.
Then the enjoyment layer.
This would be just genuinelyfun, like if you dread it.
I want you to pick somethingelse.
Don't let your spouse or friendor whatever force you into a
sport you don't look forward to.
(28:10):
The goal is the long-termsustainability.
The goal is the long-termsustainability.
So for this, if you're notdoing anything right now, enjoy
doing the research and lookingaround your neighborhood and the
town where you live, wherever,to see what's going on.
Talk to friends Maybe youalready know of things at the
local gym or whatever andschedule it in like a very
important appointment, but atthe time you feel like you can
(28:31):
do it reasonably without stress,that you're going to be
consistent and you you're gonnaenjoy it.
And it could be just free form,like a bike ride or going for a
hike, right, it doesn't have tobe a scheduled activity.
And then, finally, we'll get tothe top layer.
The tip I have for you here,again, only once you've mastered
the first two layers is tocheck out my sprinting episode,
which is episode 293, sevenbenefits of sprinting to Lose
(28:55):
Fat.
And that episode will give youa good starting protocol to work
from.
And, speaking of that, we diddo an entire workshop on that
sprinting protocol in PhysiqueUniversity.
So if you want to jointomorrow's workshop, even if
it's afterward, to get thereplay, you could also get
access to all of those replays,including the one on sprinting.
And the total time commitmentfor sprinting once or twice a
(29:18):
week is about five minutes eachsession.
That's it.
So the adaptive cardio pyramidis a framework.
I love frameworks, I lovesystems.
It's a way to think aboutmovement strategically instead
of emotionally or randomly.
You're not punishing yourself,you're not making up calories,
you're not trying to out-train abad diet.
You're going to use the minimumeffective dose of movement to
support your physique goals,your health and your performance
(29:39):
.
Again, most people are lookingat this backwards.
They start with the hardest,most time-consuming options, the
most high-intense.
They think that the mostintensity is going to burn the
most calories in the shortestamount of time.
Therefore, it's sustainable andit's not.
It is not Walking.
Think about it.
Is it easy to walk or is iteasier to constantly do HIIT
sessions?
You know the answer.
Is it easier to go do somethingyou enjoy play with your kids
(30:03):
or do a sport or is it easier toforce yourself to go for an
hour-long bike ride?
Right, you kind of understandthe trade-offs here.
And yet it's not just thatthere are more or less benefits
to each.
It's that you're going to doone and the other one you're not
.
You're gonna stop doing it, andthat alone is worth the price
of admission here and I want youto remember this that low-level
(30:24):
activity improves yourmetabolic health tremendously,
but does not trigger the stressresponse.
Enjoyable movement enhancesyour adherence and your
psychological well-being, againwithout triggering the stress
response, and precision cardiogives you specific adaptations
when you properly dose it onceyou've done the other two.
So the beauty of this system isin the name.
(30:46):
It's adaptable.
If you have a busy week at work,you focus on the base layer.
Of course, below that baselayer, in my opinion, is your
strength training, but that'soutside the scope we're saying.
On top of that is the cardiopyramid, right?
So, movement snacks, walkingmeetings, going for simple walks
after a meal, even if it's 10minutes long you can't do 20, do
10.
You can't do 10, do 5.
You can't do 5,.
(31:06):
Take a break every now and thenand do one minute.
Your cardio should serve yourgoals.
That's what we're all abouthere.
That's the efficiency, that'sthe engineering approach.
So if you want to take this fromconcept to implementation, I
want you to join me tomorrow forTuesday's Adaptive Cardio
Workshop, where we are going towork together and build your
personalized plan using thisexact framework.
And, yes, if you can't make it,you get the replay and you get
(31:27):
the guide anyway, so you canwalk through after the fact and
put it together as well.
You're going to learn how toassess your current movement
baseline, set realistic targetsfor each of the layers.
We're going to talk abouttroubleshooting common problems,
and I'm going to share theprotocols that I like to use, as
well as a whole bunch ofexamples.
I've got some bonuses for you,including a plan for a busy
(31:48):
person who has a desk job.
What does your day look like tomake this all work?
So that's live tomorrow,tuesday, september 16th, at 12
pm Eastern.
It's just $27 for all of that,including the replay, whether or
not you can attend liveLivewitsandweightscom.
Looking forward to seeing youthere and thank you so much
again for listening to Wits andWeights.
(32:08):
Until next time, keep usingyour wits lifting those weights
and remember that your cardioshould serve your body
composition goals, not dominateyour life.
I'll talk to you next time hereon the Wits and Weights podcast
.
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