Running from the treadmill: A healthy lifestyle without cardio?

by J Lee

Could it be that cardio workouts-- Taebo, jogging, the beloved Elliptical machine-- aren't the easy route to fitness that almost every health publication would have you believe?
I'll find out by taking on a diet/workout routine, sans the sweat of cardio, testing the theory that strength training is the only way to a success story.

During a mini-vacation to the beach on a grimly overcast weekend, I was forced to spend all my time at the nearby outlet mall. There wasn't exactly a gun to my head, but after three days, dozens of stores and dressing room after dressing room, I found the motivation to kick start some a serious weight control regimen. I'm 24, but my metabolism isn't what it was this time last year. Extra inches are showing up in all the wrong places. And I fear the worst, the dreaded mom butt.
Coincidentally, in my stash of mindless beach reading, I'd stashed "The Cardio-Free Diet" by Jim Karas. It only looks like a lousy read.
....
Wanting to regain control of my diet and workout routine is not just about looking good. It's about living longer. My grandfather (dad's dad) died when I was 8 years old of complications from a heart attack. I painfully suspect that my grandma's delicious Southern cooking may set him down that deadly path, though he worked back achingly hard his entire life on the family farm.
When I was 15, my grandmother (mom's mom) died of complications from a stroke, though she was always tiny in stature and was married to the traditional Phillippino diet of fish and rice.
My mother struggled with thyroid problems, now somewhat under the control of medication, that could cause her weight to yo-yo from season to season. She and my father work out multiple times a week, a routine that always includes between 30-45 minutes of cardio in the form of aerobic classes or treadmill time. Yet after over 20 years of steady gym membership, neither is truly satisfied with the results. And who can't relate?
Cycling, kick boxing, lap dancing moves, can all put our bodies through the ringer. All that sweat has got to amount to something, right?
We'll let's just say that it doesn't. What if the key to fitness was building stronger muscles that could increase your resting metabolic rate, thereby burning more calories between workouts? What if the key was eating more frequently, rather than less? Maybe you've already heard these tips, possibly even put some into practice, but it's certainly not the majority of health advice out there.
Jim Karas, personal trainer (you've seen his work on Hugh Jackman, aka Wolverine), is a rather lone voice.
After reading "Cardio-Free," I want to listen.
So come June 1, I'll be trying his method of strength training, along with 3-300 calorie meals a day plus 3-100 calorie snacks. Never been much of a snacker, but since 12 almonds constitutes as a snack, I think I can hang.
Other rules won't be so easy to follow, like sticking to the calorie counts while out to eat, or factoring in alcohol. But if you can add even a year to your life, it's worth it right?
I'll be giving Cardio-Free a shot and documenting the results here.
Stay tuned.