Cardio Is The Key to Fast Weight Loss

There are many strategies out there about how to achieve fast weight loss. Any successful plan must include cardio. Why? To answer that, we must first remember the old tried and true idea of calories in, calories out. We must use more calories than we take in. Cardio exercise makes it easier to create that deficit.

When we engage in cardiovascular activity, we increase the demand for fuel for our body. This fuel comes in the form of calories. The harder we work out, the more fuel our body needs and the more calories we burn. Once we burn through the calories we have taken in, our body begins to use stored energy. For anyone with the goal of losing belly fat, this is when that begins to happen.

In edition to an initial increase in calorie bun, the effects of cardio last far beyond the time we are actually doing the exercise. Our metabolism gets a boost that lasts for hours after we leave the gym. If you get in a nice cardio session in the morning, you can better burn the calories you take in for the rest of your day.

Cardio also enhances our fast weight loss plan by giving a great boost in energy that helps us have a better strength training session. Before beginning a strength training workout, do a quick 5 to 10 minute cardio session. This get's the blood flowing to the muscles. Our muscles get warmed up, and that makes them more flexible and we are less likely to have an injury. The boost we get from our cardio session can enhance performance and add endurance to our strength training.

There are different choices when it comes to the type of cardio you want to do. As long as you are doing some form of it, you will be able to achieve your goal of quick weight loss. Studies have been done to analyze what the different types of cardio achieve.

Low intensity, long duration cardio plans, sometimes referred to as LISS (low intensity steady state ), are usually sessions lasting 60 minutes or longer. Some prefer to do this type of cardio because it is believed that during a lower intensity exercise, the body uses more calories derived from fat, than muscle. When your goal is quick weight loss and being able to burn belly fat, this type of cardio would be good to include in your plan.

HIIT, or high intensity interval training, is also great to include in your cardio plan. This type of cardio combines short bursts of very intense activity with periods of slower recuperation. This type of cardio is believed to be very effective in burning fat, which is important for those who need to lose belly fat, but also it is responsible for that long term calorie burn mentioned earlier that lasts for hours after the workout.

Building a good cardio plan that includes both LISS and HIIT, will help you achieve your goal of fast weight loss by helping create the calorie deficit necessary to begin burning off excess fat and by making sure your body obtains those calories from the right areas.

To learn more insider secrets to flat abs and a leaner and sexier body, grab your free report on 9 Super Foods For Abs That Ignite Your Metabolism from http://muscleflexreps.com/lose-weight/. While you are there, check out many other resources that discusses loosing weight and living a healthier lifestyle.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Miranda_Hewitt

Cardio Bunnies

Back in my personal training days, I remember my boss referring to cardio bunnies. I was like, "what the heck is a cardio bunny?" It was a cute title, but I had no idea what one was. Well, a cardio bunny is someone who is at the gym to look cute and in addition, does too much cardio and not enough strength training.

Now, I could care less if someone is trying to look cute at the gym. To each their own. However, I do want to focus on the excessive cardio part. Fortunately, I was taught early on in my fitness life that not incorporating strength training is a bad, bad choice. As a matter of fact, my boss flat out told me, "women who do cardio look great in clothes, but women who use weights look amazing naked." It is possible to be "skinny fat", which means you can be thin but not firm. I personally feel anyone who is exercising should be commended, but if you're going to exercise, you may as well maximize your time to get the most bang for your buck, right?

Don't get me wrong, there are perks to regular, moderate cardio. According to an article by Shannon Clark on bodybuilding.com, my new favorite website, some benefits include: improved heart health, increased metabolism, improved hormonal profile, improved recovery and management of diabetes. Plus, it helps with creating a lean looking body, which all of us could get on board with. Cardio definitely has a place and shouldn't be skipped, but there can be too much of a good thing.

What is the issue with too much cardio? It can put your body in a catabolic state and start eating away at your hard earned muscle. Not good, especially if you aren't currently adding muscle with strength training. This will slow down your metabolism. If you're like me, you need all the help you can get in the metabolism department, which is one reason why strength training is so important. It has anti-gravity effects and creates more lean muscle which literally turns your body in to a fat burning machine. It is the fastest and easiest way to improve your shape, especially if you combine it with a clean eating diet.

How much cardio and weight training you do truly depends on your goals, body type and form of cardio you're doing (HIIT, long distance running, etc.). A good rule of thumb is to typically incorporate weight training 3-4 times per week. Doing more than 60 minutes of cardio is typically pointless for the reasons I mentioned above, unless you're training for an event such as a marathon. I have found bodybuilding.com to be a GREAT resource for workout advice based on my needs. If you need some guidance, I suggest you poke around their website. It isn't just for body builders!

Good luck with whichever workout program you choose! If you currently don't exercise, please be sure to ease in to a program. Stop by any chiropractor's office and they'll tell you that jumping into an intense workout program right out of the gates is NOT a good choice.

Jennifer has 7 years of direct sales experience in the skin care and health & wellness industries. She is a former personal trainer, fitness manager and group fitness instructor. Jennifer is a work-from-home wife and mom with three kids. She can relate with individuals who are simply trying to merge a healthy lifestyle with a SUPER busy life.

Jennifer invites you to visit her blog, http://www.gofitmom.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Boudreau