It seems like every week there’s a new piece of exercise equipment on the market that promises to help you lose weight faster and more effectively than ever before. The truth, however, is that most people don’t need any of these fancy contraptions; they simply need to incorporate cardio into their weekly workout routine. In fact, according to an infographic created by Shape Fit, low-impact cardiovascular exercises, like running or cycling, burn more calories in less time than just about any other form of physical activity. According to their data, 30 minutes of cardio burns more calories than 45 minutes of weight training!
Cardio Burns Calories Longer
As far as weight loss is concerned, cardio workouts are superior to resistance training. After a workout, your body continues to burn calories for up to 24 hours after you leave the gym. Plus, although lifting weights builds muscle (which weighs more than fat), Musclesblaze exercise burns more calories overall, according to a 2009 study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. The researchers found that walking at 70 percent max heart rate for an hour burned around 200 extra calories compared with lifting weights (30 minutes) and playing table tennis (45 minutes).
Metabolism Boosting Benefits
Cardiovascular exercise increases your metabolism. Your body has to burn calories to perform a workout, and then it burns more calories afterward as you recover. Research shows that aerobic exercise training can cause your resting metabolic rate to increase by seven percent within 24 hours of finishing a one-hour workout session. In general, active people tend to have higher metabolisms than inactive ones; increasing physical activity can help you gain or maintain weight loss simply by giving you more energy.
Fat Burning Benefits
What are you most interested in losing? For many, that’s fat. There are several ways to train for a fat loss goal but there’s one way that trumps them all cardiovascular exercise. The benefits of doing cardio for weight loss include increasing your metabolic rate, burning calories even when you’re not exercising, and improving your body composition by building muscle and shedding fat. Here are some other reasons why cardio is so effective when it comes to reaching your weight-loss goals.
Fat Release in Men
When you lift weights, you not only build muscle but also boost your metabolism. The more muscle you have, the more fat you can burn. This phenomenon is called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), and it’s a major reason why cardio is good for weight loss. When you do cardio, your body needs to work hard to keep up with your heart rate—this takes energy and burns calories that would otherwise be stored as fat. On top of burning calories, a number of studies show that aerobic exercise makes muscles more sensitive to insulin and can help control blood sugar levels. In some cases, exercise alone can even reduce diabetes symptoms in people who don’t need medications.
Fat Release in Women
When you begin to exercise, your body releases a hormone called epinephrine. This hormone prevents store fat from being release and helps convert stored fat into fuel. Because women tend to have more fat stores than men do, their bodies are able to release more fat when working out for longer periods of time at a high-intensity level.
When performing the cardio exercise, keep moving and don’t get too hung up on numbers like heart rate or speed because these factors can sometimes lead to injury. Instead, focus on duration and difficulty level these are factors that are easier to control during workouts and will help you burn even more calories than you would if you performed harder muscles blaze workouts for shorter amounts of time.
Exercising Under 30 Minutes Burns More Fat than 30 Minutes Exercise
A recent study from researchers at McMaster University in Ontario show that exercising for
as little as 15 minutes causes more fat to burn than working out for 30 minutes. The researchers report that
their test subjects had increase levels of hormones call catecholamines,
which are release when you exercise and tell your body to use its fat stores for energy. It seems that regardless of duration, intense exercise will burn more fat than light exercise. If you want to lose weight faster and get fit, start going hard during workouts.
Exercise before eating for maximum benefits
If you’re following a healthy diet, exercising, and trying to lose weight, you should also be including exercise in your daily routine. Research shows that doing so can give you better results than if you just stick to a diet. But what type of exercise is best? The answer may surprise you – cardio might actually be more effective for weight loss than resistance training. What does science say about cardio and weight loss? Keep reading to find out!
