Cardio supposedly raises the body's metabolic rate. Cardio supposedly puts the body into a calorie deficit.

And all in all, it supposedly burns body fat, which supposedly is the best way to get ?ripped?, ?cut?, ?defined? muscles.

As we've discussed over several articles that I've posted, analyzing each and every one of these factors, you now have a much clearer picture as to whether or not you should include cardio in your muscle mass gain goals.

Regardless of how many so-called scientific studies someone may quote you, regardless of what everyone else seems to be blindly doing, and regardless of what all the magazines and internet sites say???it all comes down to observing what happens in the real world.

Plain and simple.

Sure, cardio does do every one of the things listed above, but as I've demonstrated over and over, the amount of calories cardio burns, or the amount of fat cardio burns, or the degree it raises the metabolic rate, or the amount of calorie deficit it achieves is. so low, so little, that it is not going to make absolutely no difference in how your body looks.

Period.

I've kept stating the same real world examples over and over, and I'm going to do it again to drive the point home:

Compare those that do cardio to those that don't.

Let's look at professional bodybuilders, since no one is more qualified than a pro bodybuilder to demonstrate the most effective way to build the most muscle, while carrying the least amount of fat.

Look at Darrem Charles, Dave Henry, Gerard Dente, Vince Taylor, and for over the first decade of his career, Dexter Jackson (along with a ton of other big name amateurs).

These guys don't do any cardio whatsoever. Never. Not offseason. Not precontest.

They don't even come close to a treadmill, stairstepper, bike, or any other contraption.

Yet these guys, consistently, contest to contest, are always the most ripped, defined, vascular, and muscular bodybuilders on stage.

They are always in much better condition than any of all the other bodybuilders that do perform cardio day in and day out.

Now, please don't come asking me, ?Oh, but what about working the heart, blah, blah, blah??.

Do you honestly believe that your heart isn't getting one intense workout when you do a set of heavy lunges, pulldowns, presses, or any other big movement exercise??

You've obviously never weight trained in an intense manner if you don't think so.

I guarantee you that you are working your heart to a much higher degree when forcing the body to lift heavy weights for high reps than any type of cardio you can think of.

Do you really think that a little treadmill works the heart more than getting in a leg press machine, pile on the weights, and start knocking rep after grueling rep out???

C'mon, don't make me laugh. Listen, we've already established in my past articles that heavy, intense weight lifting does everything that cardio does, and to a much higher degree.

It burns calories, it burns fat, it raises the metabolic rate for days afterwards, it can cause a calorie deficit???.and, most important of all?????it builds muscle mass!

No cardio exercise whatsoever can build muscle mass.

And everyone knows that building muscle mass is the most important factor in being muscular and with low body fat.

Again, please don't screaming about the different studies you've come across, or what some author in the latest magazine says about the benefits of cardio.

All you should care about is what works in real life, in the real world. What actually w-o-r-k-s!

Go tell that to all of those people at the gym who spend hours at a time on a treadmill, like a gerbil, or in an aerobics or spinning class.

Those people, you see them today, and look at them in 12 months, and they'll still look the same!!

Yes, they are working up a real sweat, and may feel excellent afterwards, but I prefer to actually look good without a shirt.

Focus on heavy, intense weight lifting, and correct calorie eating.

That's what will actually make a difference in how you look in the mirror.

As with everything, as we experiment and test, test, test, and test some more, for months on end, we sometimes find better methods that lead to gain muscle weight / fat burn at a quicker and easier rate.

But after many many months of testing and measuring rate of fat burn / muscle mass weight gain, and taking a step back and looking at what is happening in the real world and observing other very successful bodybuilders, I have come to the conclusion that cardio is not necessary whatsoever.

You no longer have to do cardio at all!

Again, focus on the ?Big Two??..heavy, intense weight lifting and proper calorie eating.

I noticed that cardio always severly depleted my energy levels, it made me take longer for my muscles to recover, it would cause me to lose some of my hard-earned muscle mass, and it would chew up a lot of my time.

As soon as I stopped doing cardio, concentrated on proper heavy, intense weight lifting I immediately noticed that my muscles would remain ?full?, I had a lot of energy, and I was able to burn fat a lot faster and easier while maintaining most of my muscle mass gains.

Part of this is because cardio is very catabolic (eats away at muscle mass).

You'll have more time and more energy on your hands. Trust me.

I've never steered you wrong before. So, say ?goodnight? to cardio.

Copyright (c) 2006 Jonathan Perez