1. For fat loss, cardio is poor time investment and generally not the best idea.
Fat loss breaks down to energy intake versus energy expenditure. Eating less or moving more is the secret sauce to success.
Half an hour to an hour of steady state cardio might burn off a meager 200-300 calories while simply not eating those calories would be much easier.
Seriously, one of the best decisions you will ever make could be stepping off that treadmill. Saying no to long cardio sessions. And focusing that hour a day on getting your diet nearly perfect. Think of how many vegetables you could chop, chicken breasts you could marinate, or how many meals you could plan in that time.
Eating at a deficit is much more sustainable in the long term because you can always find the time to not overeat while it’s not always easy to find the time for a cardio session.
2. The fat burning zone is dead and out of context.
When you spend 30-60 minutes chugging away on the elliptical you are actually sending powerful messages to your body to start storing fat instead of burning it.
When you do cardio, your body suppresses a hormone, called T3, to adapt to the stress. It essentially holds onto the fat even tighter because of the added stress from cardio. Our body’s auto react to this stress from cardio because we need fat to function.
If you must do cardio, use some form of interval training like HIIT instead.