Low Intensity Cardio vs. High Intensity Cardio
Ever wonder which is better for burning fat ? low or high intensity cardio? Many people have wondered and scientists have been studying this question for years. Simply put, both have their benefits when it comes to weight loss.
How your body reacts to different forms of exercise has been studied by many scientists. It was first discovered that high impact cardio burns glycogen (carbohydrates stored in your liver and muscles for energy). In contrast low impact cardio is believed to burn more fat then glycogen stores in your body.
This is not necessarily true as we have many obese people that are working out regularly by doing low intensity cardio like walking in the hopes that they are burning fat calories. It doesn?t quite work that easily.
It is true that the human body burns more fat during low intensity cardio like swimming and walking; and that high intensity cardio burns a lot of calories. But you also are burning some fat calories as well during the higher intensity work outs.
When you make high intensity exercise a regular part of your day, your body becomes more efficient at processing excess carbohydrates. It first refills the glycogen stores, sort of like refueling the tank for when you need it later, rather than just turning into fat because you are not actively burning it at the moment.
What some people who refrain from doing high intensity cardio don?t realize is that high intensity cardio has a lingering effect also. So not only does it burn the energy stores and fat stores at the time of the workout but it continues to burn through them even hours after your workout. Many exercise specialists recommend eating complex carbs right after exercise to replenish your stores.
You will not get the same lingering effect with low intensity cardio, even though it does burn the fat during your workout. It is the high intensity that really revs up your metabolism to burn calories.
Anyone can work their way into a combination of high and low intensity cardio workout routine. Try interval training that interjects spurts of high intensity exercise in with the low intensity ones. This is an awesome way to boost the fat burning going on within your body. Try intervals of walking/jogging/sprinting. But be careful to do this slowly and work your way up, to avoid injury or burnout.
One of the greatest benefits of exercise, especially cardio exercise is that it increases your energy. The more cardio you do, the more your body responds to it in a positive way; giving you energy to do more throughout your day. As mentioned above, you body becomes like a well oiled energy burning machine with consistency.
If you are new to exercise, take it easy and slowly work your way up to the high intensity work outs. You can easily over exert yourself if your body is not used to it. Go ahead and give it a shot, you will have tons more energy and will get your body in better shape too.