We've all heard someone tell a story about how they couch-to-5k'd their way thin.

"Just run."

That's what they say.

Easier said than done, right?

Let me share with you just a few of the reasons why I believe cardio is an ineffective way to get thin.

Just to be clear: I DO NOT think cardio is "bad." I just think it's a waste of time. There are more effective ways to exercise.

When "More" Doesn't Work...

When people first start working out, they associate more workout time equating to more weight loss, but that's not exactly true. Focusing solely on intense aerobic exercise creates quite unimpressive results.

Think about it.

Have you ever noticed people at the gym who only stick to the treadmill, elliptical, or even spin class - losing weight? Are their bodies toned? Probably not. The problem is, most people think that strenuous cardio exercise is the key to staying healthy, but that's far from true.

Making Sense of Energy Systems for Maximum Fat Loss

You have three energy systems that you can activate at any time.

Those three energy systems are:

● ATP-PC: This system is immediate and functions without oxygen. It permits up to 12 seconds of maximum effort before it shifts to another energy system. This energy system reacts when doing high power, short duration movements.

● Glycolytic: Once the ATP-PC system has been depleted, this system kicks into gear. The carbohydrates support glucose that either circulates the body or is stored in the muscles and liver. At this stage and with continued intense activity, you have a decrease in power and muscle fatigue (fast glycolysis). There is also slow glycolysis, where less energy is depleted and muscle fatigue is delayed.

● Oxidative: In this last energy system, you enter into low power mode, but can perform for a longer period of time.

Doing a short sprint will use your ATP-PC energy system, which can create energy at approximately 36 calories per minute (yay, burn those calories!). On the other hand, doing a 6 mile run, and making use of your oxidative system, may only create 10 calories per minute. You don't want to spend too much time in either system. What you do want to do, is incorporate a routine that naturally works with them to get the most benefit.

Which one of these energy systems is BEST for weight loss?

Running uses the "oxidative" system. It's basically "low power" mode for your body.

My recommendation is to use one of the two "high power" modes by performing short, intense bursts of exercise.

The reason is that these energy modes:

1. Burn calories faster. AND...

2. They create an "afterburn" effect that lasts after the exercise is over.

The result is that you can add up the calories burned during and after an interval session as short as just 15 minutes and you'll burn just as many calories has a 60+ minute long cardio session.

"Just Run" Takes Forever Compared to Interval Training

Interval training requires a higher level of intensity (easy to achieve if you recruit A LOT of muscles when you exercise), but requires a much shorter workout time to start seeing fat loss results.

This is because high intensity efforts "stay with you" in the form of "Afterburn."

Your body is kind of like a car engine. Once you heat it up, it stays hot for quite some time. And while it's hot, it's burning energy (calories). The hotter you get your "engine" the longer it will stay hot and burn extra calories at rest.

While a run may burn up to 600 calories in an hour and an interval workout of 15-20 minutes may only burn 250-300 calories, your body will stay "hot" for longer -- after your interval workout is over -- burning additional calories for up to 36+ hours.

The result is that a higher intensity workout that takes less time will end up burning just as many calories as a longer run (if not more).

Given my schedule, I know which one I'm going to choose every time!