The Cardio-Free Diet

People might get some positive experience with running.. and that's fine. maybe, it fights depression or whatever. That's fine, too. What ever works for you. However, from a bodybuilder and building 6 pack perspective, cardio is a muscle wasting exercise. You build nice body by building muscles aka strength training. If people do strength training nearly correct, it is also a cardiovascular exercise without ruining joints. You go get yourself a weight (20lb) and start doing 100 squats. If your heart isn't pumping with this strength training exercise, I don't know what will. This book is really cleverly written. I really like the content of the book. And this isn't one of those hyped up diet or exercise book. Nothing in this book suggested something that you shouldn't be doing. If you want to run around to loose weight, that's fine. But it is NOT better overall exercise than strength training exercises. Also, when you build muscle, you are raising resting metabolic rate. This is just win/win. 1. you don't waste muscle 2. you get fit and muscular 3. you can do these exercise almost anywhere. If others who negatively reviewed this book read the book, they would understand where the author is coming from. There are more than one way to loose weight.. but the best way is not to waste the muscle... you need to build the muscle to maintain the muscle to burn more calories. Cardio doesn't achieve this better than strength training exercises. I highly recommend this book. This book lays out its merits, and they are compelling.

I have been using this concept for the past 9 years in my practice with incredible success. There is such a massive amount of research out there to back up this information. After watching the 20/20 special I realised that the "experts" they interviewed must have based their arguments on the title of the book and not the content (based on their arguments I would bet they weren't even aware of the content). The basic idea of this thing is that we can get more benefit from high intensity interval strength training than we can from straight cardio exercise. This has been shown time and again to be true in controlled trials. Of course weight loss can be achieve with only cardio, but the best benefit is achieved with the type of workouts this author describes. Im excited to see this type of thing finally getting out into the mainstream. Kudos to Mr. Karas for stepping out of the cardio comfort zone!

I am a cardio-aholic, at least I used to be. I never could understand how I could continue to increase my miles and not lose an ounce! It's like my body "got used" to the work and didn't burn any more calories. As soon as I added weight training, the weight just dropped off. 15 pounds!! I can't believe I spent all those years adding "just one more mile" when I really should have been adding just one more set. If you're tired of the run-around, give this idea a try. I know it's what finally worked for me.

As a registered dietician and personal trainer, I have to say that I loved the concept of this book. I strongly believe that strength training is the way to go, if executed properly. By reading this book it is evident that cardioprotective heart rates are reached and maintained without the use of the treadmill. 1200 calories is not starvation, and beginning a program at this level, will provide quick and motivating results. I strongly reommend it, and suggest that those reviewing the book actually read it.

What an amazing book! In a few short weeks my body has totally changed. Jim Karas knows his stuff. I train with his trainers and had a hard time letting go of the notion that I needed to do the old fashioned cardio. I work just as hard (more) and my heart is still getting a great work-out. I challenge my muscles and am sculpting a new body to boot. I highly recommend this approach to anyone who wants to maximize their workouts in our busy time crunched schedules. I am convinced we need to be lifting weights if we want to keep our bodies and bones strong as we age.