Burn Stubborn Body Fat With This Awesome Cardio Workout

Here Are The Two Main Cardio Workouts

There 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.

Low Intensity Cardio Workout Approach

Low intensity cardio is the most popular form of cardio and is pushed by many personal trainers. Low intensity cardio works at targeting body fat and that is why it is recommended by many personal trainers. University studies have proven low intensity cardio uses fat calories instead of burning muscle carbohydrate calories for energy. If the body burns fat for energy, you will lose body fat. It just makes sense.

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.

The High Intensity Cardio Workout

This form of aerobic exercise can be tougher to perform than the lower intensity version. Although not as popular, this is a very effective way at burning tons of calories. The calories burned in high intensity cardio workouts come from both carbs stored in the muscle (glycogen)...as well as stored body fat.

A great way to lose weight quickly is to create a calorie deficit...burning more calories than what you consume each day. It makes sense that you would want to chose high intensity cardio workouts, if this is your goal.

The Imperfections of The 2 Versions of Cardio Workouts

With low intensity cardio, it takes about 10 minutes to get to the point where you are burning body fat. Those first 10 minutes aren't very productive. After the first 10 minutes things are great, but it is a bit of a waste of time getting to that point.

Very few people have the pain tolerance to push hard for more than 10-15 minutes. This is the challenge with high intensity cardio...it is miserable after 15 minutes!

A Great Cardio Workout That Combines Both Levels of Intensity

Why not start out at a high intensity level for the first 10-15 minutes and end with low intensity for 20-30 minutes? If you think of the two approaches...this completely makes sense! You are making the first 10-15 minutes of a low intensity cardio workout productive. Instead of wasting those first 10 minutes, you are burning a ton of calories...after 10 minutes you are burning a ton of body fat!

What you want to do is find a cardio machine like a treadmill or exercise bike. After 2 minute warm up, push yourself really hard for 10-15 minutes. Set it at a level where it is tough to push past 10-15 minutes. You should be breathing hard and sweating at after 10 minutes if done properly. At this point, back down to a slower comfortable pace and keep it at that level for 20-30 more minutes. You will burn a bunch of calories as well as a bunch of fat. I use different variations of this cardio workout year-round to keep at a low body fat level.

Article Source: http://www.lowcarbdietarticles.com

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