Is Cardio Keeping You Fat?

What kind of cardio are you doing? If you're doing long, slow, low intensity cardio, then you're going to burn calories WHILE you're exercising.

Is this most effective fat burning cardio you can do? Want to know what type of cardio all my Eastbourne Personal Training clients are doing? For the time and energy you invest, is there a more effective way? Is it possible to burn calories even AFTER your exercise session is over? (As well as burning calories DURING exercise?)

Of course! If you're ever heard of interval training then this is your solution. With interval training you can cut your workout time literally in half and you'll burn more calories during your workout. As well, some studies have proven that you'll continue to burn calories for up to 48-72 hours AFTER your workout with an elevated metabolic rate. This means that you could train on Monday morning and still be burning calories Tuesday night!

Sound too good to be true? What's the catch?

The kicker is that for the short time invested in interval training, you really need to push yourself and get a sweat on. It's not called 'high intensity' for nothing. There's a variety of ways you can incorporate interval training into your workout:

RunningSwimmingRowingStair runningJumping jacks

And there are a number of ways you can set your work to rest sets up. For example: -Do 20 seconds of HIGH INTENSITY work, and follow it with 10 seconds of rest. -Do 30 sec of work with a 20 sec rest. - Do 40 sec of work with a 20 sec rest. -Do 15 sec of work with a 15 sec rest. -Be creative, there's no ONE way to do it. The key is to get the heart rate elevated and then let it slow down and repeat for up to 20 minutes.

Take a look at sprinters...

Sprinters have events that are between 10-40 seconds in length, so their training reflects preparation for these events. They do short bursts of intense activity followed by short rests. Then they repeat this over and over again.

In other words...interval training.

Do you see much body fat on a sprinter? They are some of the leanest athletes around with 4-6% of body fat.

Now, let's look at marathon runners...

A marathon is a long event and these athletes train for hours at a much lower pace. Is this the 'look' you're after? Often marathon runners have some muscle, but it may not be what you had in mind...

In these pictures, what physique looks the most healthy?

Go figure, what physique is using interval training? What kind of cardio is the most time efficient method of burning fat? How will you use your cardio time?

All my Personal Training clients in Eastbourne use interval training to get the most out of their workouts. Take a look at the results they are getting in the Success Stories section of the blog. Josh Warrell is a personal trainer who conducts a program called Personal Training Eastbourne that is available to East Sussex locals. Josh also runs a great blog Fitness Expert Josh

Original article