You MUST Do Cardio! No Exceptions!!!!!!!!

Most of us guys can identify with the overwhelming desire to have big, bulging "show" muscles.  All the fitness magazines out there have tons of photos of guys with ripped arms and huge chest muscles, so it's no wonder we easily become fixated on weight training and anaerobic exercise.  That certainly was the case for me for a long time during my late teens and early twenties.  Now that I am in my mid-30's, I certainly have learned a great deal about what health really is.  These days I realize that in order to be heatlhy, I have to incorporate a healthy dose of cardiovascular work into my training program.  Being a triathlete, getting enough cardio isn't a concern for me anymore, but for many people out there that I run into at the gym on a daily basis, its weight training only for them.  A really interesting statistic that I want to share that illustrates the absolute necessity of cardio work is that for every hour you spend doing cardio training, you extend your life by 2 hours!  That's a heck of a return on your investment I would say!  So I certainly believe whole-heartedly in the need for weight and resistance training and it's among my favorite type of training to engage in, but cardio is a MUST.  It's all about doing both.  I suggested at the very minimum spending an equal amount of time between weight training and cardiovascular exercise.  Break you workout time into 2 equal parts (30 minutes weight training + 30 minutes cardio = 60 minute workout). Make certain that you are maintaining a somewhat-hard to hard level of intensity during your cardio work (70-80% VO2 Max or MHR).  This is where you will get the most out of your efforts.  You'll not only increase cardiovascular fitness and endurance, but you'll also scorch some serious calories!  So get on that treadmill y'all!  If you have issues with your knees or other joint problems, try the stair climber.  Believe it or not, it is incredibly low impact and nothing at all like the weight bearing stress you encounter when climbing actual steps.  If this is still to much for you, I recommend getting in the pool and doing some water aerobics.  Being in the water can make cardiovascular work possible for almost anyone with any mobility limitations.  Most gyms that have a pool offer instructor lead water exercise classes.