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A lot of people don’t appreciate the benefits of cardio
or how low intensity cardio is different from high intensity
cardio. Consequently, they don’t fit it into their training
schedules. Here are the main benefits of cardio:
• Reduced resting heart rate.
• Reduced resting blood pressure.
• Improved muscular endurance.
• Better blood flow right through your body.
• Reduced proportions of body fat.
• Reduced stress levels.
• Additional vigor to carry out your everyday activities
with dynamism.
• Helps you burn calories.
• Cardio makes your heart strong so that it doesn’t
have to work as hard to pump blood.
• Increased lung capacity.
• Reduced risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, high
blood pressure and diabetes.
It’s obvious that a lot of us are not following the
newest health guidelines that recommend an hour of exercise
a day, with 37% of Americans overweight. Cardiovascular exercise
basically means that you’re occupied in a movement that
elevates your heart rate to a level where you’re working,
but can still talk.
There have been recent studies on what type of cardio you
should be doing, high intensity or low intensity. One set
of people did high intensity cardio for a period of time while
others did low intensity cardio. At the conclusion of the
test the group doing the high intensity cardio had burned
more fat than the group that did the low intensity cardio.
The top cardio exercise is basically the one that you will
do day in and day out without fail. Our recommendation is
to try both intensity levels, each for about six weeks and
check your progress with a journal and take weekly photographs
of yourself to see if you’re really losing body fat.
High Intensity Cardio And Fat Loss
Particularly in terms of fat loss, a lot of health and weight
loss specialists believe high intensity cardio is much more
helpful than “regular” low intensity cardiovascular
exercise. Research has revealed that short, high intensity
cardio workouts can supply all of the subsequent health benefits:
• Radically improved metabolism – both for the
duration of AND following workouts.
• Quicker rate of body fat-to-energy conversion.
• Less lean body mass loss.
• Major boost in aerobic capacity.
Regardless of the sport you play, high intensity cardio is
certain to get you into the best shape. Nearly all of the
studies affirm that to efficiently burn body fat you must
decide on a particular form of cardiovascular exercise and
do it for at least 20 minutes at a modest intensity level.
Although this definitely holds true for the majority of novice
fitness buffs, there are more efficient ways to decrease body
fat for elite athletes and general health enthusiasts who
are already in great cardiovascular shape.
Low-intensity exercise is defined as working at a heart rate
of about 60% to 65% of your maximum heart rate (which is equal
to 220 – your age = maximum heart rate, thus if you
are 20 years old, 220 – 20 = 200 is your max HR). High-intensity
exercise is defined as working at about 75-85% or more of
your maximum heart rate. Using the previous example for maximum
heart rate (max HR = 200), working at 60% of your max HR would
be 120 beats per minute and 80% would be 160 beats per minute.
Cardio Equipment And Exercise
There’s a lot of great cardio equipment out there and
you can use a variety of them, ranging from treadmills, to
exercise bikes to stair steppers and more. Always perform
a full range of motion on the exercise equipment. If you’re
using a treadmill, take longer steps and avoid holding on
to the rails. Instead, let your arms move back and forth as
if you’re running.
Spinning is the new craze for health fanatics, a wacky mix
of cardiovascular activity and untamed imagination geared
at stuffing excitement into your daily workout. Just one fleeting
look into the aerobics room during a spinning class will convince
you of its exhilarating appeal. Originating in Los Angeles
in the early 90’s, spinning has since been a growing
beneficiary from the fitness explosion, racing through health
clubs all through the United States.
Here are the top ten cardio exercise that burn the most calories
in 30 minutes:
1. Step aerobics – this type of exercise
mainly targets your legs, hips and glutes, and can burn approx.
400 calories in 30 minutes.
2. Bicycling – stationary or outdoors,
this is a great cardio exercise. Depending on resistance and
speed, bicycling can burn 250 to 500 calories in 30 minutes.
3. Swimming – the breaststroke can
burn approx. 400 calories in 30 minutes.
4. Racquetball – the side-to-side sprinting
makes this an excellent cardio workout.
5. Rock climbing – is not only a cardio
exercise, but it also uses arm and leg strength.
6. Cross-country skiing – is an unbelievable
cardio exercise as it engages both upper and lower body, whether
done on a machine or outdoors in snow.
7. Running – this is an outstanding
cardio exercise because all you need is a pair of quality
running shoes.
8. Rowing – gives your arms an incredible
workout.
9. Elliptical trainer – a great way
to build endurance.
10. Walking – a less strenuous form
of cardio exercise.
Your focus should be to burn one pound of body fat per week.
Select the cardio workout you like best and don’t be
afraid to mix the exercises up.
Related Articles
10 Cardio Tips
High-Intensity Training
The Necessity
for Cardio Exercise
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