Cardio Training And Fat Burning
Performing cardiovascular training is one of the best ways to increase a body's overall wellness and reduce body fat. But walking up and down a flight of stairs on the way to work everyday is not going to do it. There are certain parameters the body has to sustain in order to accomplish specific goals.
Whenever you exercise, whether it be weight training or cardio, you always need to warm-up before the major part of the exercising. A good warm-up consists of a cardio exercise for 10 minutes at a low to moderate level. This will increase blood flow to the tissues, loosen the muscles, slowly increase heart rate (at a safe level), and decrease the chance of injury.
Cardio can be done in a variety of different methods. These include: treadmill exercises, stair stepper, elliptical training, biking, or even weight lifting. For overall improved fitness levels, it is suggested to perform some type of cardio training at least 3-5 times per week. The training needs to be done at a moderate intensity where the heart rate and respiratory rate stay elevated, but does not cause exhaustion or a loss of breath.
The target heart rate should be between 60 - 90% of your maximal heart rate. Your max heart rate can be calculated by: 220 - age. For example, a 30 year old's max heart rate would be 220 - 30 = 190 beats per minute. It is important to know what your max heart rate is before performing a cardiovascular training session. Exercising at a heart rate past your body's max heart rate can overload your heart, and cause major health problems.
Between 60% and 90% of max heart rate is ideal for improving overall fitness. This heart rate and respiratory rate needs to be sustained for at least 20 minutes. The recommended time for improving fitness is between 20 - 60 minutes of sustained exercise.
For a body to burn fat, it must receive enough oxygen to begin the burning process. This can be done by performing aerobic exercises (cardio) at a moderate level for at least 20 minutes. Overall body fat reduction does not mainly depend on how much fat a person burns, but rather how many calories are burned.
More calories need to be burned than are consumed in order for fat reduction to occur. "EPOC" is an acronym used to describe the state at which the body's metabolism is higher after exercising than before it began. This means more calories are being burned after exercise than before. After exercising, the body need to increase the amount of oxygen consumed in order to replenish energy supplies, decrease tissue temp, and return the body to a resting state.
This increase in oxygen leads to a burning of calories even after exercising, and in turn leads to a reduction in total body fat reduction. The higher the intensity of the exercising, the higher the level of "EPOC".