The Cardio King

Change it up

One of the most important aspects to a cardio workout is changing it. Most people get bored with exercise simply because they pop these DVD’s in and do the same thing everyday. Imagine if you had to read the same book everday, would that be fun. No way, so why would you do the same workout everyday. Most people don’t realize what they are doing. You have to make it fun in order for it to work.

Try to have at least 4-6 different exercises.

Intensify

Make sure the you are reaching your target heartrate. If you don’t you are not getting the most out of it. Why do something just to do it. Your goal is to burn fat and it is real difficult to do that without reaching your target zone.

Take it outside

Don’t just stay in the gym. Change it up and take it on the run. Try doing some intense walking or some bike riding. Play some basketball in the park. Make it fun and interesting, that’s the only way you will keep it up.

I hope these two tips help to intensify your cardio workouts. Make sure that when you finish it, you say man that was a great workout. If you don’t you could have done much better.

The Two Common Cardio Workout Approaches

If your goal is to burn body fat, you have a few different approaches to chose from. The majority of trainers recommend you take the low intensity approach to cardio. The idea behind doing cardio at a low intensity level is that most of the calories burned will come from body fat. Many people believe that if you workout too hard, you are burning carbohydrate energy in the body and not targeting fat. Many people make the point that more total calories are burned if people exercise at a higher intensity level. They reason that if you simply burn more calories than you consume in a day, you will lose body fat. So now we will look in more detail at each school of thought.

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. It is important to choose cardio machines that can track your heart rate. It will let you monitor your heart rate during your cardio workout to allow you to hit the ideal intensity level. After about 10 minutes or so, you should be close to reaching your ideal heart rate. Staying within that target heart rate for at least 30 minutes is what is recommended by most experts.

The High Intensity Cardio Workout

This is a less utilized form of cardio. High intensity training involves pushing past your pain threshold a bit, so fewer people choose this route. This cardio method can give great results in burning body fat if done properly. The total calories burned in high intensity cardio are greater than low intensity cardio. Some of those calories come from your body fat and some come from glycogen (carbohydrates stores within your muscles). When you burn more calories in your cardio workout than what you consume, you create a calorie deficit. If you burn a more calories during the day than what you eat in food, you will lose weight.

The Limitations of the 2 Types of Cardio Workouts

Once you get your heart rate up to the correct level, the low intensity cardio workout will burn body fat. The downside is that it can take up to 10 minutes to get your heart rate to the correct level to burn body fat. The first 10 minutes of this cardio workout are somewhat unproductive. High intensity cardio is hard to maintain for long periods of time since it takes a lot of effort. Working at an intense level for over 10-15 minutes is extremely difficult.

How to Combine The Two Approaches Into One Awesome Cardio Workout

When performed in a certain manner, it is possible to benefit from doing both types of cardio in the same workout. You can make the first ten minutes of the low intensity cardio workout productive, by starting your cardio workout off at a high intensity level. Find a treadmill or exercise bike and set it at a high level. Push yourself really hard for 10-15 minutes. Once you are really working up a sweat, switch to a low intensity and keep it there for 20-30 minutes. This will burn calories and create a calorie deficit as well as burning body fat during the workout. I maintain an 8% body fat percentage year round using this cardio approach.

Don’t let not having weights at home cause you not to workout! I have an at home cardio workout that doesn’t require anything but your body weight. Many people think that they cant get a great workout unless they have some type of weights and that couldn’t be further from the truth. The fact is that body weight exercise routines are simple, fast, and require no money. All you need is 20 minutes per day and some space to workout with.

With this Workout No Weights are Required

For this at home cardio routine you are going to do a circuit of five exercises that for a minute each with no rest in between the sets. So you will do one minute of jump rope followed by burpees and so one. Do one complete rotation of the exercises and rest for one minute then start again. So let’s get started with this workout.

Jump rope:

Start the routine skipping rope a fairly moderate pace for one minute. Make sure that you have a clock or timer in front of you so that you are doing exactly one minute of jumping rope.

Burpees:

After one minute of jumping rope transition into burpees. This is going to be a killer full body workout just from doing these two exercises back to back. Begin in a squat position with your hands on the floor in front of you. Then quickly push your feet back until you are in a push up position and immediately return back to the squat position. From there jump in the air as high as possible from your squatting position and then repeat for one minute.

High Knees:

High knees are similar to just running in place. What you want to do is make sure that your knees are coming up as high as they possibly can for the entire minute. Don’t start letting them go below your waist at anytime doing the entire minute. This will work your core area and you will feel a burn in you abs.

Jumping Jacks:

Many people forget that jumping jacks are a full body workout that requires no weights. The proper way to do a jumping jack is to start with your feet together and arms to the sides. Make sure you tighten your core muscles and stand straight up. Jump moving you feet apart past shoulder width while raising your arms in the air over your head, making sure you stay on the balls of your feet and return to the starting position.

Planks Exercise:

After jump jacks get on the floor or mat and lay down like you are about to do a push up. Place your elbows and forearms underneath your chest while propping yourself up to form a bridge using both your toes and forearms Maintain a flat back and do not allow your hips to sag towards the ground or to go upwards forming a hump. Hold the position for 20 seconds and rest for 10. Repeat twice.

After doing the planks rest for one minute and repeat this at home workout. Not only will you be sweating but you will have burn serious calories, be down in less than 20 minutes and best of all with this workout no weights were required.

Best Cardio For Weight Loss

If you are not already familiar with this, the most effective method of losing weight is to perform regular cardio on top of a calorie deficit diet. This is without doubt the best way to go. But, what is the best cardio for weight loss? In the long run the best type of cardio for weight loss is the type you are going to be able to perform on a regular basis. However, certain types of cardio can help you burn more calories and add more variety to your cardio workouts making them great for weight loss!

The Best Types of Cardio For Weight Loss

When it comes to performing cardio for weight loss you have a number of options. You can perform low intensity cardio, high intensity cardio, HIIT Cardio, circuit training, cycling, swimming or even just walking. Lets take a look at three of the best type of cardio workouts for weight loss:

Running: Traditional running is still one of the best types of cardio for weight loss. Running is convenient, cheap and can be performed pretty much anywhere. You don’t need to pay a fortune for a gym membership if you’re looking to lose weight and perform regular cardio. Grab a good pair of running shoes, throw on some comfortable clothes and go running outside. You can run in a park, field or on the road and pavements.

Running can be tough at first but build up your fitness with small 5-10 minute runs and you will increase the time and distance of your running sessions in no time. Running allows you to pace yourself according to your current fitness levels so run at a pace you feel comfortable with. If your unfit and out of shape start off with slow running for smaller durations. 5-10 minutes of regular running each day will do wonders to your fitness levels if you are a complete beginner.

HIIT Cardio: HIIT is another great type of cardio. HIIT stands for high intensity interval training and as you probably guessed, is performed in intervals. For example, you may warm up with a light jog for 2 minutes, sprint for 10 seconds, walk for a minute, sprint for another 20 seconds and switch back to a light jog. You can repeat the intervals as many times as you like. Feel free to add more sprint and rest intervals into the routine, the above was just a quick example.

As you can tell by the name, HIIT is an intense form of cardio but is great for weight loss. HIIT Cardio is often performed in smaller durations such as 10-15 minutes making it far easier to fit into a busy schedule. Certain studies claim that HIIT is the best form of cardio for weight loss due to the number of calories it burns and the effect it has on ones metabolism.

HIIT cardio can be extremely taxing on the body when performed correctly so think twice before diving straight into it. If your new to cardio and have yet to build up your fitness levels I wouldn’t perform HIIT just yet. Give yourself a couple of months to build your fitness levels up before attempting HIIT.

HIIT Cardio can be used in a variety of ways. It can be performed when running, cycling or even swimming. Most types of cardio give you the opportunity to implement HIIT into them. When performing HIIT in your cardio sessions be sure to schedule recovery days. HIIT will be extremely hard to perform every day so give yourself enough rest days between sessions.

Circuit Training: Circuit training is also great for weight loss. Circuit training consists of back to back exercises that are performed with very little rest in-between. A typical circuit may be set out like this:

10 Bodyweight squats

5 Press ups/Push ups

20 second rest

15 Squat Thrusts (also known as burpees)

150 Knee Ups

10 second rest

20 Star jumps

15 Bodyweight Crunches

Circuit training can be intense and should leave you tired and out of breath at the end. Circuit training differs slightly from other types of cardio by including a number of strength and bodyweight exercises in the routine helping you build a small amount of strength while improving your fitness levels at the same time. Strength and bodyweight exercises can be made harder by adding more resistance or reps to the exercises once you get fitter and stronger.

With tons of quick weight loss schemes that abound the internet (diet pills that can be risky to one’s health, diet fads that never work, and new exercise equipment with exaggerated claims), cardio workout is still your best card in shedding those unwanted pounds. Weight loss takes a bit of time, but with this type of training you can rest assure, that you will see good results, and in just a week’s time you will start to feel better inside.

A cardio workout is often the first step in battling obesity and maintaining a fit body. Although weight resistance training programs or weight lifting can be added later on to your weight loss workout routine, cardio can get you started, if it does not complete your workout plan.

Thirty seven percent of American people are overweight, and if you do not want to belong to (or you want to get out of) those thirty seven percent that have higher risk of obesity-related diseases and not to mention, poor self-esteem, then going through a good workout program, should be on your schedule.

Basically, cardio exercise is any activity that raises your heart rate to a level where you are sweating, but can still talk. It is an effective way of burning calories, thus helping you lose weight. Plus, there is a plethora of cardiovascular activities that you can take up from swimming, aerobics, or as basic as jogging.

Another advantage of this type of workout is that it makes your heart strong and increases your lung capacity. It also reduces your risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, and diabetes. It is important to note that there is no ideal workout. It is recommended to take up a workout that you enjoy. If you enjoy the feel of the wind in your face while running, then do it regularly and it can be counted as a cardiovascular workout. If you like splashing in the pool, then maybe swimming can be right for you.

Whether preparing for an upcoming show, or just trying to keep body fat low, cardiovascular training is an important part of all bodybuilders’ routines. When trying to add mass, cardio should be done at a minimum, but for health reasons it should never be completely deleted. Cardio strengthens the cardiovascular and respiratory system, and gives you a stronger heart and lungs.

It’s often hard to get to the gym four or five times per week to train with weights. It’s even harder to make the trip 5 times a week for cardio, especially if you (wisely) decide to do cardio training in the morning to burn the most body fat, performed on an empty stomach upon waking. For these situations, a home cardio solution is a great idea. But which works best? Let’s examine the options.

Walking or running

This it the easiest option – put on shoes, open the door, and go for it. Cost is free, and it can be done anytime. However, drawbacks do exist. Weather can prevent you from running – it’s very hard to spend 45 minutes in the elements when it’s ten below zero, or a sweltering 90 degrees. Also if you live in a bad neighborhood, utilizing a predictable walking schedule might make you a target.

Exercise bike

This is a favorite of many due to the low-impact nature of the movement, as well as the fact you can very easily watch television while training. Time does pass quickly on a stationary bike. One drawback is the low intensity nature of the machine. It cannot deliver the same kind of full body workout as other machines.

Elliptical

Elliptical machines are very popular in gyms, but less popular for homes due to their size (big), weight (heavy) and cost ($500 and up for a quality machine). They are very effective for full body workouts.

Rowing machine

This very effective piece of equipment suffers from the same fate as the elliptical. It is highly effective for cardiovascular purposes, but also large and expensive. If you have the space and can afford it, a rower is a terrific investment.

Stationary stepper

This small piece of equipment is available for under $50, and it is used by a surprising number of athletes. It’s the size of a shoebox and provides no upper body balance, but it is easily stored and used, and provides full ability to walk or run using very little space.

Interval training (also called HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training) is a very popular cardio workout plan right now. It’s pretty much the polar opposite of LSD – Long Slow Distance.

HIIT is short and ultra intense – like sprinting would be. LSD, on the other hand, is much longer and done much slower – like jogging might be.

Scientific studies have shown that intervals are much more effective than LSD. It gives you many of the same benefits that LSD does, in just a short amount of time. And it gives you many other benefits that LSD doesn’t.

Basically, LSD is just aerobic training, meaning that it’s an activity that the body produces energy to perform with oxygen. Or in other words, you’re not breathing that hard. Interval training, on the other hand, is anaerobic training, meaning it’s an activity that the body produces energy to perform without oxygen. Or in other words, you are breathing hard.

LSD training increases your aerobic capabilities. Makes sense. Intervals, however, increase anaerobic capabilities (which again, makes sense) *and* aerobic capabilities. You’re getting two for the price of one.

HIIT has also shown very beneficial to losing fat, as at the end of a workout, your metabolism stays “jacked up” for a number of hours afterward.

But there is a major problem with HIIT though – it has to be super, super hard. If you’re not putting the proper intensity (which is 100%, balls-to-the-wall, you’re gonna have an arm chopped off if you don’t work hard enough kinda intense) into this cardio workout plan, then you’re going to get less than mediocre results.

This is because volume and intensity are inversely proportional in cardio workout plans. You can go long and slow, or short and hard. But you can’t go long and hard. Nobody ever sprinted a marathon…

But say you do your interval training at a low intensity. Now you’re slow and short – worst of both worlds.

So, how can you make sure that you’re not wasting your time, and still take advantage of the benefits of interval training?

Easy – just pick out intense activities, and perform them at a medium volume. This could include playing various sports, or better yet, heavy circuit-style weight training.

It will be a version of interval training, in that it’ll be shorter bursts of highly intense activity. However, since the cardio activity won’t be at 100% intensity, you just do a little more volume to make up for it.

It depends on your goal. If the goal is fat loss then I suggest you perform your cardio last.

Here’s why. ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) is your body’s energy currency or “pocket change”. The money in your pocket is readily available for you to spend whenever you need it. However, once you run out of money you’ll need to replenish it for some other source. It’s the same with the energy systems in the body. Whenever you move, your body uses ATP first. Depending on the duration and intensify of the exercise will determine the source as to where the body will replenish it’s ATP or “pocket change.” This has a lot to do with the amount of oxygen required to perform the exercise and how much glucose or glycogen is stored in your muscles and liver. If the exercise is short and intense, lasting under 30 seconds, the body will replenish it’s “pocket change” from the ATP-CP system. If the exercise lasts from 30 seconds up to about 2 minutes, the Glycolytic system will kick in. The glycolytic system is the burning of glycogen or stored glucose (sugar) from your muscles. Oxygen is not required for both the ATP-CP or Glycolytic systems to work

Weightlifting is considered an anaerobic exercise (oxygen is not required). A normal weight-lifting set usually lasts less than 60 seconds, which means you’ll predominately rely on the ATP-CP or Glycolytic system to replenish your ATP. Remember, you have only so much readily available ATP or change in your pocket. Cardiovascular exercise such as walking, running, cycling, swimming or rowing will rely on the Aerobic-oxidative system because the duration of these activities is longer, therefore, less intense. These types of exercise are continuous and last longer than two minutes, usually lasting 20-30 minutes or more at a time. This aerobic-oxidative system relies primarily on fat to replenish the ATP used.

When you start a fire you’ll always light the kindling before the log. Your body is smart. Think of glycogen or muscle sugar as “kindling” and fat as a “log.” Weightlifting will burn the kindling first because it’s too intense or brief to burn the log. By lifting weights first which burns the “kindling”(sugar) and then performing cardio last, you will be able to burn more of the “log”(fat), which will result in a greater loss of that unwanted fat. In contrast, studies show that performing cardio exercise first before lifting weights, will result in a reduction of quality of the workout and reduction of strength for the muscles.

So if you want to get rid of your “log” perform your cardio last. If you’re an endurance athlete then perform your cardio on one day and your strength training on another. Hopefully, this will help achieve more quality from your workout.

Cardio is one of those things, nobody is ever sure if they are doing the right cardio or going for the right amount of time. Here are a few tips to set you on the right track for good.

First, let me tell you what is not the right cardio.

Anything that you find boring! If you hate running then don’t go running, find something else to do. If you are really that against doing certain type of exercise, don’t do it. You will just end up hating it and will probably stop your fat loss efforts all together.

If for example you hate running, you may want to just go for one run a week, put on some of your favorite music on head phones and go for a quick dash. Running can be a very effective way to lose weight.

Here ais one of my all time favorites:

Martial arts or boxing

These are massive fat burners. If you look at any pro boxer or martial artist you will see unbelievable definition in their bodies. This is no coincidence, boxing and martial arts are a couple of sports that will find tune your body to unseen heights. Especially if you have a teacher that drives you to perform like a machine, you will get fantastic results. Even if you just string up a boxing bag in your garage, after a short while you will start noticing big changes in your physique if you start using it often!

Do you want to learn more fat burning secrets?

Fitness gadgets are freakin’ everywhere. TV, stores, informercials, the interet…jeez. And most are really expensive. And most also really suck. Instead of spending hundreds (or even thousands!) of dollars, spend a few bucks, get a pair of decent dumbbells, and get your cardio workout with those!

You can get super-intense cardio workouts with dumbbells (DBs) by simply doing a few sets of clean & press, snatches, squats, rows, or the like. Do them with one arm at a time, and you’ll effectively double the work you have to do (especially with full-body exercises like the clean & press and snatch). Or, you can really ramp up the workload by doing complexes – series of multiple exercises done back to back without rest. The best thing about DBs, though, is how cheap they are!

Sure, you could get some real expensive ones, but it’s just not necessary. For just a few bucks, you can have your own DBs, and get an awesome workout virtually anywhere you want. The first place you could look for DBs would be in the classified ads, garage sales, or craigslist. People are always looking to get rid of old fitness equipment, and you’ll likely to be able to find some for next to nothing – maybe even for free.

Next, you can check out sporting goods stores. You should start of with places like Play It Again Sports! that sell used equipment, but if that doesn’t work, you can check out other places, too. Many of the nice places sell either fixed weight DBs or adjustable ones that you can add/subtract weight plates to and from. Go with the latter option.

The fixed DBs are really nice, but are generally a lot more expensive. And if nothing else, you’ll spend a lot more because you’ll have to buy so much weight overall. If you use adjustable DBs, you could buy 20 ten-pound plates, and a few smaller plates (5s, 2.5s, etc.) and have enough weight to build two 100-pound DBs. This is going to be more weight than 95% of the population will ever need. The other drawback to buying fixed weight DBs is that it takes up a lot more room. Stick with adjustable DBs – not only are they cheaper, but they’re a lot easier to store, too.