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Archive for the ‘Cardio’ Category

A good cardio workout is one of the corner stones of weight loss.

It’s almost impossible to lose weight without some form of cardio training.

But you need to know how to use cardio to burn fat, because surprisingly enough – just running/walking/swimming is not enough.

First, for those who don’t already know the answer:

“Why do I need cardio to burn fat?”

We need cardio to burn fat because in our daily routine we don’t use enough energy to do so.

Most diets are designed to lower our calorie consumption but that’s not enough.

You still need a way to actually burn fat cells and that’s where the cardiovascular workouts come in.

A proper cardio session should “cost” you around 600 calories,

When you’re on a diet, most of these 600 calories come from fat cells.

So this is why you need cardio to burn fat,

But now there’s another question:

“How to use cardio to burn fat?”

As I said before, simply running on a treadmill won’t do the job.

First there is a matter of heart rate,

If you want to burn fat you should keep your heart rate between 75-85% of your max heart rate.

If your heart rate goes above 85% you will be very hungry when you finish your workout.

In addition to monitoring your heart rate you should eat right.

Eating the right foods before and after a workout is very effective.

For example, if you eat a lot of sugar before your cardio exercise you’ll have a boost of energy at the beginning of your workout but you will feel very tired very quickly.

Ok, now this might not make a whole lot of sense at first. You’re looking to do a good cardio workout plan, but you should be doing strength training?  Aren’t the two pretty much the exact opposite of each other?  How is strength training going to help with your cardio?  And what if you don’t want to build muscle, but just “tone up”? First of all, everybody from skinny dudes to women seem to be afraid that if they start a basic strength training program, that they’re going to turn into a muscle-bound freak overnight.  Ain’t gonna happen, folks.  The guys (and most people conjure up thoughts of pro bodybuilders) that have those kind of physiques have likely spent a lot of years (and many times a lot of drugs) building those muscles.  Don’t think that if you do a few sets of presses and rows that all of a sudden you’re going to turn into the Incredible Hulk. So, you don’t have that to worry about. Next, strength training helps your body by making you stronger.  Cardio training (if done via most “traditional” cardio workout plans – running, elliptical machines, stationary cycling, etc.) will indeed improve your cardiovascular capabilities, meaning you’ll have improved heart and lung function. Which is great. But, what good is a strong heart and strong lungs of literally the rest of the body is weak?  Sure, you’ve got good breathing, but if you get worn out just bringing in the groceries, then what’s the point? I hate to use a way overplayed comparison, but take a look at many marathon runners.  These guys have amazing cardio, right?  Yeah, and they all have the muscular physiques of a 10 year old girl. As the old saying goes, “everything in moderation”.  It don’t do you any good to have that kind of cardio, if you don’t have a strength to go along with it. And lastly, what if you could “kill two birds with one stone”, and develop strength and your cardio at the same time?  Think of this – the last time you were moving, when you picked up something heavy (say a real heavy box, a chair, or whatever) and carried it a good distance, weren’t you breathing really heavy at the end?  You bet you were. Well, a properly designed workout could not only develop strength, but it could also be your cardio workout plan as well. Don’t just worry about your cardio – make sure you’re getting stronger, too.

In a previous article, I discussed the components of a well-designed fitness program. Such a program should include cardio, strength training, flexibility, balance, and agility exercises. In this article, Jim Borden, a personal trainer with Fitness Together, a gym located in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, takes a closer look at the cardio aspect of a fitness program.

Cardiovascular exercise, or cardio for short, is any type of activity that increases the work of the heart and lungs. Examples of cardio activities include walking, running, swimming, rowing, and biking. According to the Physical Activity Guidelines issued by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association (AHA), adults should get at least 30 minutes of moderately intense cardio (similar to a brisk walk), five days a week, or vigorously intense cardio (rapid breathing and an increase in heart rate) 20 minutes a day, three days a week. These represent minimum guidelines for individuals who are simply looking to improve their health.

The benefits of cardio are numerous. Cardio exercise can play a key role in weight loss, reduce stress, improve cholesterol levels, provide more energy, enable you to sleep better, and reduce the health risks associated with heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

There are different ways of losing extra body weight but cardio workout is one method that has gained enough popularity in the past few years. It has emerged as one of the most meaningful ways to lose weight and have a pleasant shape to your body in a record time. However, the key point that you need to understand is cardio exercise done at the right intensity can only be the best way of burning the excess fat really fast. The secret of a good cardio workout is to exercise until you start sweating. Once you start sweating you have to carry on that tempo for at least next 20 minutes, which may further help in maximum fat burning results.

Today there are many people suffering from obesity at different parts of the world following this exercising system and burning their extra fat. In fact, it is one of its own kinds of exercising that is good at burning fat because when the intensity of the cardio exercise gets increased the body in turn uses up a lot of energy to bring body under normal operating conditions. Gradually, the heart begins beating faster than its normal pace and the blood flow get increased further through your body. This entire process increases the metabolic rate, which finally burns more calories and reduces the weight. So if you looking forward to lose your extra body weight, cardio can surely be the best option. But not all cardio work out can result you in weight lose. Here are some of the most suitable cardio exercises or workouts that you can perform routinely:

Take a look at the word “workout”.  The word “workout” is simply a compound word, meaning it’s made up of two smaller words – “work” and “out”.  And that first one – “work” – is a word that nobody likes. It’s also usually associated with any sort of exercise – especially cardio workout plans.  ”Workouts” generally mean that “work” is involved…and we all know that work sucks, right? As ESPN’s Lee Corso might say, “Not so fast my friend!” Cardio workout plans can be a lot of fun.  You just have to make them that way. There are many ways to make your cardio workouts fun.  First, you could do them with friends.  Make little competitions out of it.  This will tend to work better for the guys than it will the women, but anybody with a competitive spirit and a good cardio workout plan can benefit.  See who can get the most work done, or better yet, find ways to work out together.  Work harder to make everybody work harder. For instance, say you are doing a sprinting workout of some sort.  Try to get your sprints done faster than your parter so they can rest less, and it makes the workout harder for them than it is for you.  You could do the same thing in a cool circuit training cardio workout, or anything similar. The basic camaraderie can also make your cardio workout plans a lot of fun.  Don’t underestimate the bond that can be forged when people endure hard work together.  (If this wasn’t such a big deal, new members of the military wouldn’t build such camaraderie while being worked so hard in boot camp…think about it for a minute.) If all that doesn’t work for you, then consider finding activities that you and your friends find fun.  This can either be the cardio workouts themselves, or something you can go do afterward.  Maybe once per week you go, get a hard cardio workout in, clean up, then go out to see the new movie out in the theater.  It makes an “event” out of the whole experience. There are several ways to make your cardio workout plans fun – find one and get to work.  Or is that get to fun?

The Best Cardio for Fat Loss
By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MSAuthor, Turbulence Training

Every day I receive an email or Facebook message asking me for the best cardio program for fat loss. The answer is a bit complex, so I’m going to cover it all in thisone article.Now a lot of people make a big mistake with cardio, thinking thatthey can eat whatever they want and then just “hit the gym extrahard on Monday to burn this off.”

I find it ridiculous…because first, it’s not healthy thinking, andsecond, it is not accurate thinking.

Seriously, let’s look at this for a second.
Take a look at the meal I had recently at my friend Vince DelMonte’s wedding.
It began with the post-ceremony celebratory drink, right through tothe anti-pasta buffet, followed by the main dinner (I had eggplantparmigiana), and then dessert, PLUS the late night sweets spread(the Del Montes know how to host a party!) would EASILY result inover 2400 calories.

And how long would it take you to burn that many calories doing youraverage cardio workout?

You’d need to do cardio for just a little less time than it wouldtake you to run a marathon.
So 3 hours for the fittest TT readers, 4-5 hours for the average TTreader, and more than 6-8 hours for beginner TT readers.

Does that sound like a “regular cardio session” to you?

Heck no!
So FORGET the “I’m going to burn off this big meal with cardio”mentality.
It’s WRONG thinking.

Plus, as I’ve mentioned time and time again, research shows thatregular cardio doesn’t really help with fat loss.

1) One study showed interval training was better than cardio atburning belly fat (and cut the workout time in half).