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Burn Stubborn Body Fat With This Awesome Cardio Workout

July 20, 2009 Filed Under: Cardio 

The Traditional Cardio Workout ProgramsThere are definitely a couple schools of thought when it comes to burning body fat. Personal trainers recommend varying cardio workouts, depending upon their training. A common way of doing cardio is by exercising at a low intensity level.

It is suggested that the majority of calories burned will come from body fat at a lower intensity level. A common belief is that if one exercises too hard, then the calories burned will come from carbohydrates in the muscles and not from body fat.

An argument for high intensity cardio workouts is that more total calories are burned at a higher intensity level. Although this is a combination of both carbohydrates in the muscles as well as body fat calories. So you have low intensity cardio with a higher percentage of calories burned from body fat and high intensity cardio that burns more total calories overall. Let’s look at each in more detail.

The Popular Low Intensity Cardio Workout
This lower intensity cardio workout is what you will see in most gyms. It is a great way to burn body fat, since it targets the fat directly. No wonder why it is so popular! There have been numerous university studies that prove the effectiveness of performing aerobic exercise at a low intensity level. If done properly, it is great for directly targeting body fat.

When you are trying to work at a low intensity, you need to monitor your heart rate. Most gyms these days come equipped with treadmills and exercise bikes that have built in heart rate monitors, so this won’t be a problem. It normally takes about 5-10 minutes to reach the ideal heart rate…then you just want to continue working out at that level for 20-30 more minutes.

High Intensity Cardio
Want to burn the most amount of total calories in the shortest time? Try a high intensity cardio workout. This is definitely the tougher of the two types of aerobic exercises and is probably one of the many reasons it isn’t as popular as the low intensity version. There is a great benefit to burning more total calories.

A foolproof way to lose weight is to burn more calories than what you consume each day. High intensity cardio is best for creating a calorie deficit, by burning a large amount of calories.

Comparing the Limitations of Each Version of Cardio
It takes about 10 minutes to get your heart rate into the fat burning zone, with the low intensity cardio workout. It is great once you reach this point, but those first 10 minutes or so are kind of a waste of time.

The problem with high intensity aerobic exercise is that it is really hard to maintain for a long time. Things really get tough after 10-15 minutes if you push hard.

How to Combine The Two Approaches Into One Awesome Cardio Workout
Since the first 10 minutes of a low intensity cardio workout is unproductive, you are going to start out at a high intensity level. You will burn a ton of total calories for the first 10 minutes now, instead of wasting that time. After 10 minutes, you will back down to low intensity level and now you will burn a ton of body fat. The best of both worlds!

The way to accomplish this is find your favorite cardio machine…an elliptical machine, treadmill, exercise bike, etc. Start your workout by setting the machine at a tough level and maintain that level for 10-15 minutes. The idea is to have a tough time reaching the 10 minute mark. After 10 minutes, back down to an easier pace and maintain that pace for 30 minutes. You are now going to burn tons of calories, create a calorie deficit, as well as burn body fat directly. This is quickly becoming my favorite cardio workout, since it is so effective.

About the Author: Rusty Moore

Related Reading:

Cardio Strength Training: Torch Fat, Build Muscle, and Get Stronger Faster
Raise the Barre: Introducing Cardio Barre--The Revolutionary 8-Week Program for Total Mind/Body Transformation
Morning Cardio Workouts
The Cardio-Free Diet

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Comments

3 Responses to “Burn Stubborn Body Fat With This Awesome Cardio Workout”

  1. David on December 4th, 2007 10:13 pm

    I vote on keeping the heart rate in the aerobic zone, 65-80% of max heart rate (220 – age).

  2. Body Sculpting For Men » Burn Fat - Burn Fat on December 6th, 2007 10:34 pm

    [...] Burn Stubborn Body Fat With This Awesome Cardio Workout : Fitness …Building a Healthy Body For Lasting Life Quality, One Step At A Time. [...]

  3. The Pilates Ball on February 19th, 2008 12:48 pm

    Using the Pilates Ball as part of your Pilates workout gives you a more efficient and effective workout while maximizing your workout results.

    The exercise ball is a great tool to help you strengthen your core and that is why physical therapists have been using them for years as part of their rehabilitation programs. Fitness experts also make use of exercise balls to strengthen their abdomen- and back- muscles and increase their stability.

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