When I was young exercise was running. My dad ran and every time someone talked about loosing weight the suggestion was to jog.

Apart from the fact I have knee problems I’ve never been a big fan of running so it was a real relief when I learnt that YOU DON’T HAVE TO RUN! In fact large amounts of cardio can actually hinder fat loss goals.

The reason behind this is hormonal. Exercise releases a stress hormone called cortisol (think Fight or Flight). Cortisol can either work with the body or against the body in terms of fat loss goals. Metabolic Effect describe it as a Jekyll and Hyde hormone.

During long duration cardio cortisol is released and this actually encourages your cells to hold onto fat, especially around your stomach. The last thing we want!

The good news is that high intensity exercise like weights or interval training overcomes this. During high intensity training cortisol is released but HGH (Human Growth Hormone) is also released. This has a positive effect and helps your body to burn fat.

Now hormones are complicated things and this is an oversimplification but the upshot is that traditional forms of exercise can be detrimental to your fat loss goals. Focus on shorter more intense workouts where you can.