2 very different sides to the cardio debate

Editor's note: Adam Rees is Founder of GRIT GYM, a gym based on results, creating a culture and lifestyle of performance, strength, health and freedom. This is the first of a two-part series on cardio preferences.

There are two different camps in the cardio department and both sides look at the other as if they are hurting the body more than helping it.

Numerous times I've seen heated arguments between these two opposing groups. It's very interesting.

You have the endurance camp, the long steady state cardio people. The extremists of this group and the accepted norm of the general population believe this form of exercise is superior to all others. They believe you should do it every single day or you'll die. (We're all going to die, get over it).

The other side is where the different forms of circuit training and interval types live. They also think they have unlocked the secret to all things exercise-related and any other type of training is not only a waste of time but harmful to your body.

The funniest part is when each side starts throwing science back and forth. Both have plenty to back them up.

Who is right? Well, in my experience, accuracy rarely lives in the polar ends of any spectrum.

There is an interesting thing very few professionals have yet to figure out. I say yet because we're always improving. Actually, both are correct. If I said that in a room full of exercise professionals, I would probably be burned at the stake.

This is a basic overview of how it works. You have your 'aerobic base,' where you are using a lot of oxygen to go for a long period of time. During 'aerobic base' training, aka steady state cardio, you are bringing your heart rate up and keeping it there for an elongated period of time.

Then there are alactics and glycolytics.

Alactics are where you are repeatedly going super hard, rest a little bit, super hard, then rest a little. Heart rate goes up and down during alactic training.

Glycolytics are straight torture. You might go as hard as you possibly can for 20 seconds, then after only a 20-second break (possibly shorter) you repeat that over and over.

Glycolytics are awful, you don't give your body time to rest. So your heart rate stays up pumping as fast and hard as it can to send nutrients to your muscles. At the same time those muscles are working hard with dwindling resources, all the while your brain creates a burning sensation that says 'stop, stop, please stop.' This is called the grind.

'Pain is weakness leaving the body' is an idiotic statement. Pain is a signal that something is wrong and you need to listen. The grind however is different. The grind is where you push. The grind is extremely important.

So why are each of these significant and why are they both correct?

More on that next week.

l Contact Adam Rees at Adam@GritGym.com