It is everybody’s dream to lose fat and have the perfect body; but very few are willing to work towards their goals and some even give up in the middle. Honestly, burning fat is not an easy job; however it is not an impossible task. It requires a steadfast devotion, motivation, and the willingness to change your lifestyle. The best way to eliminate excess fat in the body is to perform cardiovascular exercises. Also known as aerobic exercises, they are a set of exercises that increase your heart rate for an extended period of time.
Cardio can include any activity that raises your heartbeats but strictly speaking, they consist of different forms of exercise such as:
- Walking
- Running
- Cycling
- Rowing
Aerobic exercises tend to use fat as the primary source for fuel, with proteins and carbohydrates being used to a lesser extent. In aerobic exercises, the body combines oxygen, carbohydrate, and fats to produce ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) which serves as a source of fuel for cells. Aerobic exercises have to be done on a higher intensity level to burn more calories which translates to fat loss over a longer period of time. This does not mean that lower intensity aerobics don’t work but if you want to burn the greatest quantity of fat in your body in the least amount of time, then performing higher intensity cardio is the better method.
Benefits of Cardio
Engaging in aerobic training provides many benefits; it doesn’t matter whether the cardio being performed is of a lower intensity or a higher intensity. Regardless of the intensity, aerobic exercises provide the following benefits.
- Performing aerobic exercises increases the amount of red blood cells in your body, thereby improving the flow of oxygen throughout the body.
- Increases the metabolic rate of the body which aids in fat loss.
- It reduces tension and stress which decreases the levels of cortisol in the body.
- Improves the lung capacity by strengthening the muscles used during respiration.
- It further strengthens the muscles of the heart. This enhances the efficiency of the heart’s pumping action.
The different forms of aerobic exercises are discussed below.
Walking
One of the most popular forms of cardio, walking was once considered the best way to burn fat and get in shape. However, studies have shown that walking is the least effective if you are trying to go for a beach body look.
Walking is of a lower intensity and is a great aerobic exercise for unfit and obese people who have just entered the world of fitness. It burns a smaller number of calories and the metabolism increases for up to 2 hours at the most. It is helpful in burning fat in persons with injury or obese people who are unable to do other forms of cardio. It burns around 300 to 400 calories an hour.
Running
It falls under the category of higher intensity cardio, burning around 600 calories an hour. It is an efficient way to burn a greater number of calories in a short period of time leading to fat loss and improving the stamina. It stimulates the metabolic rate of the body, allowing it to last for a longer period of time for up to 24 hours.
Another variation that can be implemented is jogging which is great if you want to focus more on burning fat. Running helps burn excess leg fat and works the lower body, particularly the:
- Hamstrings
- Quadriceps
- Calves
- Hip flexors
Cycling
Cycling is an effective method to reduce weight and burn more fat. Being a low impact higher intensity aerobic exercise, cycling is an ideal choice for nearly everyone despite of what their fitness goals are. It can be performed on the road or on a stationary bike, which might be more efficient in burning fat as there will be fewer distractions. It burns around 600 calories in an hour and it also improves the muscle definition in the legs especially the quads.
Rowing
Burning around 840 calories an hour, rowing is the best forms of aerobic exercise. In addition to burning fat, it works the entire body by focusing on all the major muscle groups. It is a higher intensity low impact cardio that can be done on a rowing machine or on a boat as well.
It is often thought that losing weight and burning fat can be achieved through just dieting alone but this is an urban myth. In order to get rid of that flab, it is important to combine some degree of exercise with the right kind of nutrition, supplements, and the only way to speed up the process of losing fat all over the body is through intense sessions of cardio.
Sohail has been searching diets and belly fat solutions for over a decade, and manage a pool of trained authors to write articles, which have helped thousands of readers to this date. He has CPD accredited Certificate in Nutrition for Weight Loss besides his MBA degree. He also owns this website, which he founded in 2013 to share his ideas and knowledge. Not to mention he has tried numerous supplements over the years and has an extensive and thorough knowledge on supplements. Besides spending time on his study, research and literature, Sohail loves swimming, gardening and travelling.
