Commonly Held Beliefs About Aerobics Shot Down
There's a lesson I wish I had learned a long time ago. It is that there are other ways to burn calories and lose weight besides aerobics. Because it seems that resistance training may be as important for burning off the fat.
Which might be one reason my fat loss was less than I expected despite hours peddling the stationary bike in my bedroom.
So if you are laboring under the assumption aerobics are best for fat burning too maybe a second look is called for. To find out just where resistance training fits into the big picture here.
Well from what I can tell aerobic exercises have always been associated with fat loss. The reason is not hard to see. Aerobics is relatively easy and not all that uncomfortable to do. I mean come on now. It's not THAT tough compared to some things. Besides the theory is simple enough. Reach your fat burning zone. Stay there for 30-40 minutes duration. And you are done.
And don't forget you can often distract yourself with TV, music or other types of entertainment when doing aerobics.
Alternatively, we'd rather not think of the stress and strain resistance training involves. I mean it involves lifting weights repeatedly for a specific number of times. Ugh! All the math involved gives me a headache. No wonder we prefer to stay in our aerobics comfort zone.
Well maybe we'd be wise to dig further to compare the list of benefits offered by strength training verses those from cardio exercise, as defined, alone.
Here's some fat burning pros and cons cardio offers you.
You burn slightly more calories with your cardiovascular routine than with weights or resistance training.
Your body burns fewer calories after the fact though - that is after your workout is over.
Another impact is a these can cause problems from the serious stress put on your joints and muscles unless you're doing water aerobics.
Alright, so what's the results of resistance training when it comes to fat burning?
While the number of calories burned depends on the number of reps and amount of weight used, truth is you can burn about the same amount of calories you would with a decent aerobic workout.
But don't miss this. You will still burn calories - even as you sleep. That's because your metabolic rate stays elevated as your muscles repair and rebuild. We're talking maybe as much as 30% elevation for a long as 36 hours later.
Any core workout that strengthen your ab muscles means there's less chance of injury because you're improving your overall balance and coordination.
Voila! So with resistance training you build fat burning muscles and also lose fat. What's not to like? Given this now what you should do?
For sure, don't go crazy and stop your cardio workout routine upon reading this since aerobic activities bring with them their own health benefits. Rather, the sensible things to do is, meld low intensity aerobics with measured resistance training to get the best of both worlds. Or additional benefits from cardio like:
They make you heart and lungs stronger so that they are more efficient.
Aerobics help your blood circulate better.
They help you develop better overall endurance, stamina and fitness level.
Help in the muscle repair after a strength training workout.
That makes the success formula obvious. Simply embrace a complete system of cardio, resistance training and better diet to become a fitter, leaner you. Easy, right?
Jalinn M Hardy has authored many articles about fitness and aerobics like this one on the jump rope fitness workout. Anyone that knows the benefits of jumping rope can't help but include that in their work out routine. It's a cheap, easy to do exercise you can do just about anywhere. Plus it's great for your heart.