Want to increase aerobic exercise?
Hello my loves! I get so many people coming to me asking if they should start running and increasing their step count. YES! This is amazing for our health, but I often feel there are misconceptions about the WHY. I am all about knowing why I am doing something because otherwise I will not feel inclined to put my full effort into it. I also want to share some of the risks of over-exercising that again, people don’t often think about. Many things in the health and wellness space are registered as STRESSORS to our body and if we are not ready for them, we can end up feeling worse than when we started. Things like HIIT training, “detoxes”, keto diets, fasting and GLP-1s can all be powerful tools, but we need to make sure we are maintaining the foundational aspects of our health annnnnd maintaining our muscle mass as much as possible through any fitness or weight loss journey.
Aerobic exercise is anything that gets your heart rate up above resting for long periods of time, so yes strength training can be aerobic when we have short rest times between sets! So can walking, biking, running, yoga and sports.
If you haven’t heard me say it before, your muscle is literally magic, it helps suck up the glucose from our food more than any tissue in the body. With insulin resistance and high blood sugar being a root cause to so many health concerns, we NEED the muscle. Also healthy aging, keeping our metabolism robust and feeling strong and confident can all be benefits of maintaining muscle mass.
So WHY do cardio: Not to build muscle mass. Instead to give us better ability to do hard workouts like lifting. To give us mental benefits like improved confidence, energy and focus throughout the day. Cardio can be a meditative ritual that gives us space to be with our thoughts, be with nature and be in the present moment. High intensity cardio (called HIIT training) may lead to more fat burn and improved insulin sensitivity through different mechanisms than lower intensity cardio (called steady-state).
Note that cardio CAN sometimes blend with strength training. Personally I prefer these types of lifts, short rest time, super-sets, mostly higher reps (10-20) and the occasional 3-4 rep max. The key really is learning what works for your body, tracking trends in how you feel, your body composition and bloodwork. And working smarter, not harder by taking knowing that maintaining muscle should always be a major goal of our habits.
Here are the 5 areas to focus on for anyone out there increasing their aerobic exercise!
Assessing for multi-system burnout (REDS)
Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport or REDS, is a condition which used to be called the female athlete triad. The body starts breaking down its precious muscle mass and other tissues. REDS can contribute to gut issues, irregular menstrual cycles, anxiety, depression, poor sleep and more. I won’t go into all the potential symptoms but rather summarize it as a state of burnout and under-nourishment. This condition can happen in any gender and you definitely do not need to be an “athlete”. Being in a state of low calories and low nutrients for too long leads to multiple systems of our body slowing down and responding.
Minerals
Endurance training is more likely to lead to mineral deficiencies, especially in the long run. As a college endurance athlete playing basketball, I can attest to the fact that my body was likely in a pretty deficient state due to my missing periods and lack of iron intake (your girl just didn’t like beef and eggs as much back then). Iron, calcium, sodium and potassium are essential for muscle function and recovery. Following the style of eating I recommend my clients which includes plenty of animal protein paired with produce and full-fat dairy will ensure you get enough of these. If you prefer more vegetarian style meals I recommend monitoring symptoms of REDS closely as well as bloodwork to ensure you are not developing any stress related deficiencies or imbalances.
Balancing with Strength Work
Adding in strength work is not only important to work different muscle groups but it can also be a more “low intensity” style of movement that still provides the mental health benefits many people are seeking from exercise. By keeping our strength training more “eccentric” and lighter weight, lower reps, we can keep our nervous system calmer and really focus on connecting with our bodies. Not every workout needs to be extremely hard and intense.
Recovery
With more aerboic training we also want to focus on sleep and recovery. We are keeping this blog short and sweet but check out my past blog on the Fitness Hormone (over on my women’s health site). This talks about how we need quality sleep to get enough Growth Hormone secreted which supports fat loss. Sleep of course also helps us repair damaged muscle fibers and is foundational for emotional health and our ability to handle stress.
Adequate Carbs
With increased cardiovascular exercise, your body does need adequate energy. How much of that energy should come from carbohydrates is still highly debated and something I am constantly talking with clients about based on their goals, their medical and dieting history and their bloodwork. I do want to highlight that it is totally possible to have insulin resistance even if you are in a smaller body size, this is the case for a portion of women who present with PCOS symptoms. While carbs are neither good, nor bad, they can potentially influence our chances of reversing (& preventing) insulin resistance. So for this short and sweet blog here are my very general but hopefully still helpful tips on getting adequate carbs to support your training goals:
Include carbs mainly with meals to prevent blood sugar spikes that can lead to inflammation (not good for anyone regardless of how active they are)
Simple carbs in isolation may be appropriate 30-60 minutes before a workout, especially if you feel like you get fatigued or light-headed working out fasted. Think dried fruit, fruit juice, dark chocolate, honey.
Always consider, “how much of a calorie deficit am I in?”, perhaps you need to increase all three of the main macronutrients (carbs, fats, proteins) rather than JUST carbs. (this one requires doing meal tracking check-ins every once in a while)
Choose mainly carbs rich in potassium, one of the most common nutrient deficiencies, including fruits, vegetables (potatoes with skin are a great source), legumes and dairy.
I hope this blog provided value to you! Check out a few more resources on food, fitness and energetic frequency:
Unfiltered Nourishment Podcast
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Learn about Iowa IV’s peptides for weight loss
Schedule your free call to learn about coaching
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