Dear America,

No, scratch that.

Dear Earth,

Please stop doing cardio before weights (unless you decide to perform a 5-10 minute warm-up). You need the glycogen (glucose) stores in your muscle tissue to be able to perform the weight training properly and in the most effective manner. If you go use up all of your energy stores doing cardio (exercise that doesn't provide virtually any ongoing benefits for calorie burning), then you're cutting yourself off at the knees in terms of having a successful weight-training workout.

The main goal for your average gym attendee in regards to cardio is to "burn fat." This is never more evident at times other than New Year's Resolution time. Ah, New Year's Resolution time, the insanity of which is another whole blog in and of itself. But I digress.

The main goal for your average gym attendee in regards to cardio is to "burn fat," which is really only made effective by spending the first 15-20 minutes BURNING OFF SUGAR (glycogen) STORES from your body and THEN your body can really get down and dirty with the fat-burning portion of the exercise. Yes, the same energy stores that you need to preform the aforementioned weight training. Yes, the same weight training that will continue to burn calories all day long by adding several pounds of good lean muscle as opposed to cardio that for all intents and purposes stops burning calories as soon as you step off of the treadmill.

Endless, mindless gym cardio (elliptical, treadmill, exercise bike) will NOT change your body. I can take you into the gym in which I've worked for almost 4 years now and on any given day point out to you all of those that have come in EVERY DAY or at least the majority of days in ANY GIVEN WEEK, and their bodies have NOT CHANGED ONE BIT.

ZERO. NADA. NIL. ZILCH.

I can draw a line down the floor in our gym between the free-weights and the cardio / weight machines sections and you can tell in every way those who are in better shape from those who aren't.

If you're training for something in particular (triathlon, road race, marathon / half-marathon, etc.) then obviously you need a safe, effective program that will help you graduate upwards in terms of your endurance, shaving minutes / seconds off of your personal best time, and so on. But most going to a gym don't need this type of specialize niche training in the same way that most going to a gym don't need to "body build" through their weight-training program. They need functional fitness which is not accomplished through programs or routines that don't include compound / total-body / core-centric training. This is also another blog entirely.

I beg of you. For the sake of everyone in every gym everywhere. Find a personal trainer that you're comfortable with that you can at least spend a few sessions with in learning some basic free-weight training exercises. Invest in yourself. Even if you do those exercises for 6 months before you meet with a trainer again for an update and to learn some new exericises, that is still better than just showing up at the gym, hopping on a cardio machine and following a program that may or may not even be best suited for you.

You'll feel better about yourself and you'll be a part of the solution in not perpetuating the "cardio will change your body" myth.

Some is still better than none. Some cardio is better than sitting on the couch. Getting a bit of cardio in on your non-weight training days is just fine. Getting some in as a stress relief is just fine. Getting some in just to unwind at the end of the day is just fine. So please stay active. But much like our finances, we also want to invest our time wisely.

Have a strong day.

Bravo out.