When you get to the gym what do you see?

You see the big dudes on the machines or the free weights adding to their muscle and juice. Then you see the vast majority of everyone else on those treadmills. But why just cardio doesn’t really work?

There seems to be a common theme, right? “I’m overweight so I need to run my life away to burn those calories!” Right? Wrong. We tend to believe the more we burn right now the better it will be in the long run. “I ate too many donuts today,” or “I eat too much every day!” We then believe that we should burn all that off now and find our results down the road later. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. You see, the calories that you’re trying to get rid of on the treadmill may help you lose a little weight and burn today’s calories, but it won’t actually do anything for you in the long run. Don’t get me wrong, any workout is a good one because you actually worked out but if you’re looking for fast results, the long-time spent on a treadmill isn’t the correct answer for you.

I like to think of long cardio as a waste of time.

It’s boring, long, and painful! I remember doing this same mistake. I ran for hours and did this for many months. Also, I was thinking “why am I not seeing any results? I feel like I’m dying and I’m working so hard!” That’s because burning off what you had today will not burn off what you will have every day. So what do we do?

We focus on strength and power training.

I love introducing this to my new clients, whether you are male or female. Those calories that you want to burn will burn when you create muscle. I don’t mean women need to bulk up or I don’t mean you need to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger at his best shape, but you do need some muscle to excite your body into a faster metabolism, a leaner appeal, and a better result of you overall.

We’ve discovered that if we alternate moderate with high levels of exercise, we can burn more fat than if we just ran our lives away on the treadmill. Interval is high levels intensity, you’re going to your full maximum ability in a short amount of time. This helps burn calories in the long run, even when you’re sitting at work! Your body will lean out with those types of workouts.

Depending on your goal, you will have to change the workout.

But for those looking to tone up and lose weight, grab those weight, add those burpees, and get a plan that doesn’t require the long 2-hour treadmill dread. The best part, these workouts can last for about 45 minutes a day and you will find faster results than you did running for 2 hours, that’s a promise.

-Rachel from Traintheprocess