The cardio deckmade up of treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikesis a go-to for those getting started in their fitness journeys, and its a comfortable modality for the seasoned gym-goer as well. Cardio is a pillar of exercise that has a reputation for improving heart health, contributing to weight maintenance, and for being an essential component of every workout program. And although all of these things are true, there is still a ton of misinformation surrounding cardio. Here are 5 myths about cardio, debunked.Myth: Cardio should always be done first.Fact: There's actually no right or wrong way when it comes to the order in which you perform your workout; it varies from person to person. Many believe that starting off with cardio helps to warm up the body and tap into your energy stores immediately. Others believe that it makes your strength training less productive and more sluggish than if you elected to perform your resistance training first. There is research and professional opinions that support both arguments, but all agree that it depends on the individual and their goals. A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that resistance training is negatively impacted by doing aerobic endurance training (cardio) first. Researchers found that after bouts of cardio on the treadmill, exercisers exhibited less muscular power, performed fewer repetitions, and had higher heart rates and rates of perceived exertion during their resistance training session. Their findings support hitting the weights first, cardio second. However, a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found benefits to doing cardio training prior to resistance training. Researchers found significant improvements in VO2 max (a key performance indicator that measures the maximum amount of oxygen an athlete can use) and running performance. Their findings support performing cardio first for individuals who have a general fitness or endurance-based goals.I am a certified personal trainer, and I always program the order of workouts for clients based on their goals; still, I also encourage them to perform their workout in the order in which they perform best. It's truly about personal preference and performance. Myth: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is the best way to burn fat.Fact: High-intensity interval training is a huge trend in the realm of fitness, but its benefits related to weight maintenance are often misconstrued. Although it is true that your metabolism will be increased in the 36-48 hours following a true HIIT session, and that you will burn more calories in a minute doing HIIT than you will burn exercising at a lower intensity, it is not true that HIIT is the best way to burn fat. During high-intensity interval training, the bulk of the calories burned will come from non-fat sources, like carbs or protein. HIIT uses carbohydrates as the dominant source of fuel as it is an anaerobic activity (a high-intensity activity where the oxygen demand exceeds the oxygen supply). To tap into fat stores, you want to do steady state cardio, which means working at a lower intensity, and trying to maintain about 65% of your maximum heart rate over a period of 30-60 minutes, rather than working as hard as you can for 30 minutes or less. Myth: Cardio is the best way to cancel out a "bad" day of eating.Fact: Yes, cardio is a great way to burn calories but to "cancel out" a day of eating in excess, you're better off to put the extra calories to good use by weightlifting rather than hopping on a cardio machine for an hour. Strength training recruits many muscles and muscle groups; this burns a lot of calories and increases your muscle mass, which in turn will increase your metabolism at rest even after you leave the gym. Research shows you'll experience a revved metabolism upwards of 36 hours after strength training at a high intensity. If you're preparing for a workout after a "less than healthy" day of eating, plan for relatively heavy compound movements like squats, dead-lifts, and push presses in the 8-12 repetition range. It won't hurt to focus on hydration and incorporating a lot of vegetables into your diet on a day after straying from your healthy eating goals, too. See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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