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One of the questions that has been asked by many people is does cardio help you lose weight? This piece is aimed at answering that question and shed more light on the relationship between cardio and weight loss. The term “cardio” is a short form of the word, “cardiovascular”. Cardiovascular is used to describe the system that circulates blood throughout our bodies. It encompasses the heart and blood vessels. When you hear a person saying they do cardio to lose weight, it means they engage in stamina workouts, which strengthen this circulatory system.
Such workouts are done for a prolonged time and the aim is to ensure that the heartbeat goes faster. As the heart beats faster, it pumps larger volumes of blood into the system. The pumped blood then supplies body cells with the required oxygen and nutrients. Although these exercises are important to the body, it is crucial to know how much cardio a day is needed to avoid overdoing them and hurting our bodies.
Activities that cause the heart to hit 50-75% of the highest heart rate will be considered to be cardio. There are many activities that can be done as cardio for weight loss. These could be bike riding, dancing, playing tennis, swimming or even skateboarding. For a person to lose weight, the body must burn more calories than what was taken in. For this to take place, we need to get involved in activities that help us burn those extra calories. However, we need to know just how much cardio to lose weight is required.
Understanding cardio to lose weight
So far it is clear that for you to lose weight your body must be able to burn a lot more calories compared to what you consume. How does cardio help you to lose weight? When you do cardio you increase your breathing and heart rate. Your heart pumps more blood, which leads to sweating. For any fats to be broken down, your body requires oxygen. When you do cardio, you provide more oxygen, which is then used to break down fat. This leads to weight loss. When it comes to cardio, what you give is what you get. In other words, if you want to lose more calories, you will have to invest more time and intensive exercise. To increase the amount of calories you burn, increase the speed and intensity of your activities. Remember, weight loss is determined by your ability to burn more calories than you consumed.
How much cardio to lose weight?
It is not easy to precisely say the amount of cardio needed for weight loss. The best way to lose weight with the help of cardio is by ensuring that you lose more calories during the activities than you ate. There are no shortcuts when it comes to weight loss. One important thing for you to do is change your lifestyle. You do not expect to continue eating junk and expect to meet your goal of a slimmer you. It is important to boost your exercise routine with healthy eating habits. Cardio exercises will cause your heart to beat faster- a very important component in burning calories. Nonetheless, other resistance training activities will boost your weight loss if used together with cardio related workouts.
It is important to highlight that resistance training will not only increase your chances of losing weight but target your muscles too. Such trainings tend to boost muscle mass. That means as you continue with the routines, you may notice that you are not losing weight, but you have a toned body and decreased body fat. It is therefore important to check for these features before you give up thinking that the exercise is futile.
To increase your rate of losing weight, increase your speed and intensity. The amount of time required will differ with individuals. It will also depend on how active they have been in the recent past. A person who has never exercised does not need to set very high and unreasonable targets for themselves. They should seek the counsel of their doctor or start with cardio that lasts for a few minutes. However, for people who have been active, their sessions may last between 40 and 60 minutes.
How much cardio a day?
It is thought that over-exercising may lead to overeating as the body tries to reimburse the lost calories. In that case, you need to do enough activities and not overdo your workouts. Spending one hour at most doing cardio will be very rewarding. Research shows that spending at least 250 minutes in a week doing mild cardio training can result in remarkable results. When you calculate those figures, it is 50 minutes in a day. If you do that for five days every week for one month, the results will be visible. We already know the negative effects of too much cardio. But how do you know you are engaging in “too much” cardio? Too much cardio will vary from one person to another and will depend on several issues. These include,
· Intensity of the activities
The more intense the activities, the more stress the body experiences. People who are new to cardio should go slow and listen to their bodies. Start with a few minutes and keep increasing as you get more used.
· How fit are you?
Fit people in this case are the ones who have been doing cardio for a while. If you are not fit, avoid going full throttle. It may do you more evil than good. Remember, too much of anything is dangerous.
· How old are you?
It is true that we have old people who are more fit than young ones. It all depends on how much you have been involved in exercises. However, we cannot overlook the fact that as we age, our bodies tend to go slow on some things. It is good to honor your body and listen to it when doing cardio, especially if you are not very young.
· How healthy are you?
If you have any health issues it will be ideal to see your doctor before engaging in any cardio.
Does cardio help you lose weight?
Weight loss is one of the trending topics on the social media today. Mainly due to the health benefits associated with it. Additionally, people want to cut down on the extra fat and enjoy wearing their desired outfits. Due to the hype about the topic in the media, many sites have come up with solutions to weight gain. Issues to do with diet and other related products have been floated in the market. Some have worked and others have failed.
The best way to lose weight is by exercising. The easiest and most basic type of exercise is cardio. You may not need to do intense exercises. Actually, running two miles on a treadmill will lead to burning of roughly 200 calories. We have various cardio exercises. However, depending on your need, some will work better than others. For instance, if you wish to lose weight and body fat, engaging in low intensity activities will give you better results.
For instance, brisk walking will be of greater help than running or sprinting. How does it happen? For any metabolism of fats to take place, your body requires oxygen. If you do less intense exercises, there will be enough oxygen to metabolize fats into energy. When you engage in very aggressive and intense routines, the available amount of oxygen is reduced and this curtails the process of metabolism.
Cardio tips for weight loss
Cardio involves moving your body and it works perfectly in boosting your fitness abilities and creating endurance. It is rated as one of the most basic workouts. However, the benefits are immense. The following are cardio tips for weight loss.
· Exercise on an empty stomach
When we sleep, our glycogen reserves are drained. For that reason, your body will have no choice but use fats to provide energy if you exercise before breakfast. If you want to lose weight quickly, you may need to consider waking up earlier than usual and do your cardio on an empty tummy.
· Run on sand
Running on the sand is harder than many people think. It requires more effort and concentration. It is good for the joints and muscles. However, ensure that your feet are dressed well to protect them from broken glass or other sharp objects.
· Start out strong
If you want to lose more calories faster, start your cardio with intensity and keep reducing the speed towards the end. However, this principle does not apply for people who are just beginning to exercise.
Conclusion:
Cardiovascular activities help in burning calories, boosting our hearts and lungs. It is also a great way of helping us cut down those extra pounds. It is not easy to say the amount of cardio required for weight loss. The amount of cardio will vary from one person to another. Factors such as the amount of food you eat, your health, fitness, age, and fitness levels will also come into play. It is important for beginners to go slow and keep increasing their tempo as they move on. It is advisable not to overdo cardio. Although workouts are good, our bodies view them as stressors. Chemically, our bodies react negatively to any form of bad stress. That is the way it will react to excess cardio. In addition, avoid under doing cardio because you will not get the expected results. For you to reap the benefits of cardio you must strike a balance.
