Burn 300 Calories in 30 Minutes

If you're trying to burn calories and lose weight using cardio machines, I have a challenge for you: Put down the magazine, turn off the television, take the towel off your display and stop looking at your watch. Okay, you can keep the iPod or MP3 player, but everything else has to go. Why the drastic 

measures? If you aren't paying attention, you may not be working as hard as you think.

Cardio Workouts to Burn More Calories

There's nothing wrong with zoning out from time to time when you workout, but if you do that all the time, it's easy to slack off on your intensity.

The following workouts will help you pay attention to what you're doing, change the settings on your machine and burn more calories. Modify each workout according to your fitness level and feel free to increase or decrease speed, incline and/or workout time to fit your needs.

For each workout, warm up with 5-10 minutes of light cardio and keep track of your Perceived Exertion or monitor your heart rate. Use this calorie calculator to determine how many calories you're burning. End with a cool down and stretch.

Treadmill

• Start with incline at zero and speed at a pace just out of your comfort zone (walking or jogging). Perceived Exertion (PE)=Level 5.
• 1 Minute: Raise incline two percent every 15 seconds. PE=5-6
• 1 Minute: Reduce the incline one percent every fifteen seconds. PE=6-7
• 3 Minutes: Walk or jog at a steady pace. PE=5
• Repeat entire cycle for 30 or more minutes
• Approximate calories burned: 320 (based on 140-lb person)

Elliptical Trainer

• Using the manual program, enter workout time as 30 minutes and choose a level of resistance that takes you just out of your comfort zone (PE=5)
• 6 Minutes: Increase ramps/resistance so that you're working harder. PE=6
• 2 Minutes: Set ramps at highest level and increase resistance every 30 seconds. PE=7-8
  • If you don't have ramps, set your resistance at the highest level you can manage for 30 seconds
• 2 Minutes: Lower ramps and resistance to comfortable level. PE=5
  • If you don't have ramps, lower your resistance until you're at a comfortable level.
• 6 minutes: Set ramps/resistance to medium and go backwards. PE=5-6
• Repeat entire cycle for remaining time to complete 30 minutes
• Calories Burned: 250-300 (based on 140-lb person)

Bike

• Using the manual program, enter your workout time as 30 minutes and choose a resistance that's just out of your comfort zone
• 5 Minutes: Cycle at a moderate pace. PE=5.
• 2 Minutes: Raise your resistance 2-3 increments every 30 seconds. PE=6-8
• 2 Minutes: Lower your resistance 2-3 increments every 30 seconds. PE=6-8.
• 1 Minute: Set resistance at a high level and cycle as fast as you can. PE=8-9
• Repeat the entire cycle for 30 or more minutes
• Calories Burned: 245 (based on 140 lb person)

http://exercise.about.com/cs/cardioworkouts/a/burn300calories.htm

Exercise Heart Rate Training Zones for Weight Loss

 

 

You can determine how intensely you are exercising by monitoring your heart rate or rating your perceived exertion.

Determine YOUR heart rate training zone with a heart rate calculator.

BEST HEART RATE FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Your “training zone” tends to be at an intensity of 60 – 80% of your maximum heart rate. If you have been inactive for a long time, exercise at an intensity level lower than 75% of your maximum heart rate. Then gradually increase the intensity. This is of course simply a guideline and you must assess how you are feeling during your workout. You know that you are working at the right intensity if you are sweating and breathing harder than normal, but not gasping for breath. You also need to sustain it for 30 – 60 minutes.

As you become more fit, it becomes easier to exercise in your target heart rate (THR) range. However, your heart rate also decreases as you get increasingly athletic. Therefore, you need to periodically re-calculate your target heart rate.

The table below shows the level of fitness and its approximate corresponding maximum heart rate.

Fitness level	% of Maximum heart rate (MHR)
Beginner/ low	50 – 60%
Average	60 – 70%
High	75 – 85%

RATINGS OF PERCEIVED EXERTION (RPE)

Another way to assess the intensity of your work out is by using a scale of 1- 10, called the Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale. The scale does not require measuring heart rate.This can be easier to use for beginners who are not using the gym. If you are using equipment in the gym or have a heart rate monitor when doing outdoor activity, it is simple enough to use target heart rate as your intensity guide.

Level 1	Very, very light
Level 2	Very light
Level 3	Light, very easy
Level 4	Low intensity, warm-up level, easy
Level 5	Low to moderate intensity, still fairly easy
Level 6	Moderate intensity, working and breathing a little hard
Level 7	Moderate to high intensity, breathing harder, more challenging
Level 8	High intensity, very challenging, breathing very hard, difficult to talk
Level 9	Very high intensity, breathing seriously hard
Level 10	Maximum intensity, feels like your heart will burst out of your chest

 "THE BIG GYMNASIUM'S" DAILY FITNESS TIPS

 How to Exercise to Lose Fat

As your fitness level improves, you want to incorporate more intensive workouts as well. Higher intensity workouts incinerate more calories, but a smaller ratio of fat. To maximise fat loss, combine high intensity, moderate intensity and low intensity exercise programs into a complete and balanced workout.

 

http://www.superskinnyme.com/heart-rate-training-zone.html 

Exercise Intensity: How to Monitor Your Workouts

 

Do you monitor your exercise intensity? You should. If your workouts are too hard or too easy you may not be getting the full benefit of your efforts. You might not lose enough weight, build enough muscle, or see the changes you want to see.

A well-designed fitness program includes a combination of low, moderate and high intensity workouts. During each session you should monitor your effort level by checking your heart rate or your rating of perceived exertion.

How to Use Perceived Exertion

The easiest way to know how hard you are working is to evaluate your rating of perceived exertion. To do so, you simply apply a number to the difficulty level of the exercise. It's easiest to use a scale of 1-10, with a rating of ten indicating maximum exertion and a rating of one indicating complete rest.

In some fitness settings, you may hear exercisers refer to the Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion. The Borg scale ranges from 6-20, with six indicating rest and 20 indicating maximum exertion. This scale, developed by Gunnar Borg, offers descriptive labels for the different levels.

Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion

6 No exertion at all

7 Extremely light

8

9 Very light

10

11 Light

12

13 Somewhat hard

14

15 Hard (heavy)

16

17 Very hard

18

19 Extremely hard

20 Maximal exertion

Pros and Cons of Using Perceived Exertion

The great thing about using perceived exertion to measure exercise intensity is that it requires no equipment. It's easy to do, and doesn't require you to stop your activity to gauge how hard you are working.

The drawback is that perceived exertion is not always accurate. In fact, several studies have shown that we have a tendency to underestimate how hard we are working. This happens more often in people who are overweight or obese. 

Other factors such as depression, anxiety, and energy level can have an impact as well.

If you choose to use perceived exertion to measure the intensity level and effectiveness of your workouts, consider adding a heart rate measurement occasionally to check the accuracy of your rating.

http://weightloss.about.com/od/exercis1/a/Exercise-Intensity-How-To-Monitor-Your-Workouts.htm