Cardiovascular Exercise & Weight Loss

Cardiovascular Exercise & Weight Loss

Cardiovascular exercise/ aerobic exercise involves using the same large muscle group (i.e. legs), rhythmically, for a period of 20 minutes or longer while maintaining 60-80% of your maximum heart rate. You should be able to carry on a short conversation while doing aerobic exercise. If you are gasping for air while talking, you are probably working too hard. 

Examples of aerobic exercise include: walking, cycling, jogging/running, rowing, skiing, aerobic classes, rope jumping and swimming. However, some high-impact aerobic exercises may be too intense for beginners and therefore not the best exercise to burn fat. High impact exercises such as rope skipping, jumping jacks and running may not be ideal for those just starting out in their fitness program. There are ways around this, such as using the elliptical or cross trainer in the gym, which burns as many calories as jogging/ running, but isn’t high impact and therefore feels a lot easier for the beginner.

BENEFITS OF CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE

Great nutrition combined with the right cardio program is a killer recipe for fat loss. The benefits of adding cardio to your exercise program are truly limitless.

• Burn calories
• Burns Fat
• Increases Metabolism
• Releases “feel-good hormones” – endorphins
• Improves heart function
• Improves lung function – easier breathing
• Improves endurance
• Improves sleep
• Decreases depression, stress and anxiety
• Reduces risk of osteoporosis
• Improves triglycerides and cholesterol levels

 CARDIO WORKOUT: DURATION

Aerobic means with air or oxygen and during aerobic exercise oxygen is continuously delivered to your muscles. The energy needed for aerobic/ cardiovascular activity is initially derived from your limited glycogen (carbohydrates) supplies. When these stores are depleted you body turns to burning fat. This is why, if fat burning is your goal, you should aim for workout lasting at least 30 minutes, since fat burning usually occurs after at least 30 minutes of training. Train no longer than 60 minutes, beyond this, your body reaches a point of diminishing returns, increasing your risk of injury, over-training and adaptation 

If you want to do more cardio, it is better to add a second session to your day (i.e. morning and evening).

For maximum fat loss you generally need to complete 40 – 60 minutes of continuous exercise, though some people may lose weight doing less cardio. If you have been leading a sedentary lifestyle you may want to start with 20-minute sessions and increase duration as you get more fit.

 CARDIO WORKOUT: FREQUENCY

For maximum results training 5 – 7 days per week is best. Again, everyone is different and it may be the case that you can get away with less. The only way to find out what suits you best is by trial and error. If you do 4 days a week for 30 minutes and experience no weight loss you may increase it to 45 minutes per session 6 days a week. It is important that you give your body a rest and take a day off.

 CARDIO WORKOUT: INTENSITY

There is a myth that in order to burn fat, one must train at low intensity for a long duration. It is true that a greater percentage of the calories burnt during low intensity exercise come from fat compared to a high intensity workout. However, you have to remember that if you are working out at a low intensity your TOTAL amount of calories will be lower compared to a high intensity workout.

This means that if you walked for 30 minutes, you simply would not burn as much fat as if you had jogged for 30 minutes – even if fat burning is more efficient when you were walking. This is because you burnt vastly more calories when jogging that despite the fact that it wasn’t as efficient as walking at burning fat, you still burnt more “fat calories”.

Example,

Cycle/ low intensity/ burn 100 cal of which 75% cal from fat             =   75  fat calories
Cycle/ higher intensity/ burn 250 cal of which 50% cal from fat         =  125 fat calories

For sustained weight loss, you have to burn more calories than you take in. Therefore, trying to focus on burning fat calories won’t help. Calories are calories – the goal is to burn as many as possible. Thus, to burn as many calories from fat as possible you should perform longer duration exercises at a moderate to high intensity. Basically step the intensity up to as high a level you are able to sustain for 30 – 60 minutes; this is your “training zone”. Generally, this tends to be 60% (moderate intensity) – 80% (hard) of your maximum heart rate. 

If you have not exercised for a while, it is a good idea to start with a moderate intensity and increase it, as you get stronger and increasingly more fit.

If you are already doing cardio, DO IT HARDER, increase your intensity. Start with adding 2 – 4 minute intervals at a level or 2 higher than you are currently training. Gradually increase the time of the higher intensity intervals until you can do 30 or more minutes at the new higher level. Then, repeat the cycle.

For Maximum Weight Loss Results, Cardio:

• 5 – 7 days/ week
• 40 – 60 minute continuous workout
• 60 – 80% of your Maximum heart rate

http://www.superskinnyme.com/cardiovascular-exercise.html

28-Day Challenge (Day 18) Banish Fat For Good With An Alternative To Crunches

The Ultimate Weight Training And Cardio Plan For Rock-Hard Abs

  

Yes, you have abs -- they just need to be uncovered. And the most effective way to torch fat above your belt is by building more total body muscle, which in turn will stoke your metabolism.

The compound exercises in this plan -- squats and dead lifts -- not only stimulate strength gains but also train your trunk muscles harder than many traditional core exercises do, according to researchers at Appalachian State University. As a result, you'll build a leaner, stronger midsection, all without doing a single ab exercise. Not ready to give up your crunches? Set a timer for 5 minutes after you've completed all the exercises in this plan, and then finish your workout with your favourite ab moves.

Your 6-Week Plan for a 6-Pack
 

Directions: Lift weights 3 days a week, alternating between the two routines described at left and resting at least a day between sessions. For example, if you do Workout A on Monday and Friday and Workout B on Wednesday of this week, then schedule Workout B for Monday and Friday and Workout A for Wednesday of next week.

Weeks 1 to 3
Start with 5 sets of 5 repetitions of the first exercise -- either the chin up or front squat. Rest 2 minutes between sets. Then do the next three movements in your routine as a circuit, completing just 1 set for each exercise before progressing to the next move. Do 8 to 10 reps of each movement in the circuit, resting 60 seconds between sets. Repeat for a total of 3 rounds.

  

Weeks 4 to 6
In each workout, perform 6 sets of 3 reps for the first exercise, resting 2 to 3 minutes between sets. Then do the next three exercises as a circuit, just as you did during Weeks 1 to 3 -- except you'll be completing 10 to 12 reps of each exercise and resting 60 seconds between moves. Do a total of 4 rounds.

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(Weight Loss Tip Of The Day)

Fat Loss Strategies:

Eat More Frequently:  
Frequent healthy meals prevent hunger by keeping your blood sugar stable. Frequent smaller meals also decrease your stomach size over time, which means you'll feel fuller sooner. Judge what suits you best according to your busy schedule, or ask a Doctor for advice in nutrition.

Tomorrow: Benefits Of Interval Training


http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/muscle-building-ab-exercises

How To Slim Down Your Thighs With 3 Awesome Exercises

In order to slim down thighs, there’s a few things you must first understand and take into consideration. The first thing you need to know is that you can’t spot reduce. Basically what that means is that you can’t pick a certain area and opt to lose weight off only that region.

The only way to lose fat or weight and ultimately slim down thighs is to create a calorie deficit. Creating a calorie deficit is simple – you just have to burn more calories than you ingest. In order to do that, you have to eat properly and exercise – sounds easy right?

While it’s easy in theory, it’s certainly easier said than done. People always seem to miscue the information and sabotage their efforts. For example, in attempts to create a calorie deficit, often times people simply stop eating. As a response to this, we go into what’s known as “starvation mode”.

When in starvation mode, our metabolism (the rate at which we burn calories) slows down in an effort to conserve nutrients. So rather then drastically restricting our caloric intake, we will get better results by eating frequent, yet small portions of nutrient dense foods.

Eating more often – about every 3 hours or so – will keep our metabolic rate elevated throughout the day. Think of it like throwing wood onto a fire. You just have make sure not to misinterpret this information as well. Eating frequently is fine – as long as you’re eating the right foods in the right portions. More on that later.

Since you came looking for exercises to slim down thighs, that’s exactly what I’m going to give you. However, one last point that I feel I need to make is that the best exercises to slim down thighs aren’t necessarily thigh-targeted movements but rather, they are the exercises that ultimately burn the most calories.

Anyway, without further ado, here are 3 great exercises that will help you slim down thighs and burn plenty of calories in the process.

Squats

These can be done with dumbbells, a barbell or no additional resistance at all.
Perform 4 sets
Perform 12-15 repetitions
Rest for 1 minute in between sets

Bench Step Ups

Not only will this exercise help to slim down thighs, but it will also give you a good cardiovascular workout as well since you’re constantly moving.

Perform 3 sets (per leg)
Perform 25-50 step ups for each leg
Rest for 1 minute between sets

Lunges

These can be performed with a barbell, dumbbells or with a smith machine. You can rotate between legs or do one leg at a time. It’s up to you. If you’re using a smith machine, by putting your back leg on a bench while you’re performing the exercise, you can tone your buttocks more effectively. Of course, there’s all sorts of variations you can do for all these movements.

Perform 3-4 sets
Perform 12-15 repetitions
Rest for 1 minute between sets

http://howtoslimdown.org/