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Posts Tagged ‘Cardio Workout’

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).

Have you ever tried getting up first thing in the morning and exercising?  Let’s face it; when faced with a comfortable bed versus an exhausting cardio workout to start off our day, more often than not sleep wills out.  I am going to talk about the advantages of doing cardio on an empty stomach in the morning. To summarize, certain research indicates that fasted cardio and sometimes fasted exercises trigger additional elimination of fat.  Others believe that exercise intensity is reduced in a fasted state and therefore fasted workouts aren’t as effective.  Even other people say that exercise on empty stomach actually causes a decrease in muscle mass. The only way to decide who’s right is to inform yourself.  

The basic reason people give for doing morning cardio is that you will eliminate more fat more quickly because your body is working with lowered glycogen or carb levels. You might have heard fitness experts state that you have to workout for 20 minutes prior to burning any fat during a cardio exercise. The reason for this is the same. If you go to work out on a full stomach, on the other hand, glycogen levels will be full, and before your body can begin burning fat, it must burn up those stores.   Of course, this theory doesn’t just apply to morning cardio.  If you do cardio exercises or weight lifting after fasting (going between 3 and 4 hours between meals) you will receive the same fat elimination advantages. In principle, working out in the morning will give you the greatest benefits because your body will have used all its glycogen over night.

Copyright (c) 2010 Bryan Carlton

You are probably like most people wanting to find that perfect cardio workout to burn fat quickly. The nice thing is that you have a few different approaches that you can take. The most common approach is low intensity cardio training.

The reason low intensity cardio is so popular, is because it will take most of the calories from your bodies fat reserves. So why don’t people want to use high intensity cardio, they feel that if they work too hard, that they will burn carbohydrates as energy and not the bodies fat stores.

The truth is, that you will always burn more fat during any type of High Intensity Interval Cardio or HIIT for short. When you burn more calories than you consume, you are creating a calorie deficit. When creating a caloric deficit we need to reduce our calorie count by 3500 calories in order to lose one pounf of fat.

Low intensity cardio, is the most common form of cardio that is pushed by almost every personal trainer, friends, fitness gurus and fitness enthusiasts. The reason low intensity cardio works so well, is that it targets your bodies fat. If the body burns fat for energy, you will lose body fat.

This is the reason that it is so important to choose the right type of cardio equipment , and that it can track your heart rate. This will allow you to monitor your heart rate during your cardio workout and allow you to hit that ideal intensity level.

Cardiovascular workouts offer unparalleled health benefits. Aside from aiding in weight loss (when combined with strength training exercises), cardio exercises strengthens the heart and lung muscles, improves circulation by maximizing the amount of oxygen your body takes in and increases endurance and stamina. Because of these, cardio workouts lower blood pressure and thereby reduce one’s risk of heart disease, heart attack, stroke and type II diabetes. What’s more, taking 10,000 steps a day has been proven to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer.

Still the benefits keep on coming. Cardio exercises activate the body’s immune system to protect the body from the onslaught of various diseases. It increases bone density, preventing osteoporosis especially in women, improves flexibility and increases one’s energy level. Cardio workouts release endorphins, makes the body feel good, reduces stress and relieves tension. It also increases confidence, promotes self-image and enhances self-esteem. It also enables one to sleep more soundly at night.

Cardio workouts that you can do at home may be done for 30-40 minutes each day, three to five times a week. There are always three parts to any cardio workout session: the warm up (which approximately lasts 10 minutes), workout proper (30-40 minutes) and cool down (10 minutes). You must never neglect the first and last parts inasmuch as these are important in preparing the body for the exercise and facilitating the body towards normalcy after an intense workout.

One of the best cardio workouts that can be done at home is dancing. Whether you choose ballroom dancing, hip hop, aerobic dance or jazzercise or belly dancing, this cardio exercise is sure to give you the workout you need without being boring. The beat of the music keeps you moving.

In this article, I’m going to provide you with 2 simple tips how you can lose more weight with your cardio workout sessions.

For those of you who do not know what a cardio workout is – cardio workout is simply exercising on a cardio machine in the gym such as treadmills, rowing machines, upright or recumbent bikes and ellipticals. It is very common to see people who go to the gym regularly getting on these cardio machines.

Those who use these cardio machines regularly may see some weight loss results within 2 – 3 weeks. However, as time goes on, your weight loss results may slow down and eventually come to a crashing halt. Here are 2 tips you can apply immediately to stop that from happening:

Tip #01 – Do whatever you can to distract yourself during cardio workouts

I know cardio workouts can be pretty boring – imagine doing the same old thing over and over again, and you’ll eventually give up doing cardio workouts because the boredom has gotten to you. One thing you can do is to distract yourself during cardio workouts – some people either listen to music, watch television, read books, or even play hand-held games just to distract themselves throughout the whole process – and before you even know it, your 60 minute cardio workout is over!

Tip #02 – Your body will start burning fewer calories over time

Ah, Cardio.  One of the most reviled forms of working out, but one of my favorite.  There’s a lot of confusion and mystery surrounding cardio.  What is “cardio”?  Well, the word cardio refers to your cardiovascular system so really anything that gets your heart rate up and gets you breathing heavier can be considered a cardio workout.

But what makes the “best” cardio? Well, that depends on who you are and your personal goals.  There are many forms of cardio so I’ll explain a few of them here.

One of the most common forms of cardio is starting to get a bad rap, being called “long slow hamster-on-a-wheel” cardio.  This includes things like walking or jogging or sitting on a stationery cycle for countless minutes or hours. I’ll agree, some of that stuff is pretty boring.  But that doesn’t negate it as a valid and good form of cardio for many people.  If other forms of cardio are too difficult for the very overweight, or out of shape, or elderly, this kind of cardio may be the only option until they can improve their fitness levels to sustain more difficult forms of cardio (as listed below).

Another type of cardio is referred to as Interval Training.  This can be done with many kinds of exercise including running, cycling, biking, rowing, swimming or even walking.  This type of cardio includes going faster for a set period of time followed by going slower for a set period of time.  For instance you could sprint for 30 seconds and then walk quickly for 60 seconds.  This is a great way to burn a lot of calories in a very short period of time.  Another way to incorporate Intervals into your cardio might be to include many hills in your endurance run or bike ride.  The hills provide the natural ‘harder’ phase while the flat areas and downhills provide the ‘active rest’ phase.