Cardio Training for Weight Loss
Losing weight is perhaps the concern of many individuals today. The rate of obesity has doubled in many developed countries and is rising steadily in ‘developing’ countries as well due to increasing dependence on fast foods (aka junk foods or processed meals). One of the most efficient ways to reduce weight is by reducing the number of calories one consumes every day and coupling a workout regimen along with it.
Incorporating a Cardio- training regimen:
It is recommended to allocate at least half an hour of exercise or work-out every day, but it only reduces around a hundred calories, depending on the speed, rate, and intensity of physical activity, choice of gear, slope levels, etc. For efficient weight loss, one has to strictly control their diet intake and calorie workout regimen. This should be planned in such a way that:
– Your body receives a little jolt not a full-blown shock
– Reduce your caloric intake without altering the nutrient consumption
– Slowly and gradually add exercises and workout sessions to your regimen. Avoid introducing drastic changes that may lead to over-exhaustion or injuries.
In addition, it is imperative to keep in mind that every individual is different and the human body responds differently to different stimuli. For example, adopting similar workout sessions and dietary changes may have different effects on different individuals (depending largely on factors like body mass index, the basal energy expenditure of energy, the basal rate of metabolism, genetic variation, concentration, and production of different enzymes in the body, etc.
It is best to start by shifting your physical workout from walking to at least half an hour of jogging, and then running. Then gradually train your body to run for at least 2 hours per day. This is to ensure that at least 500 calories per day.
Frequency of Cardio workout:
It is best to start with a normal routine of half an hour and then work your way up to 2 hours per day. Walking, jogging, cardio, and strengthening exercises can be mixed into one regimen to allow complete body workouts. It is best to repeat this routine for at least 6 days per week, for efficient results.
Difficulty level of workout:
For a workout regimen to bring efficient change in diet, it is best to keep the pace high and rigorous, but this should be compatible with what the body can take, since for those just starting, it is difficult to cope with the excessive workout.
Some believe that slow physical workouts for long hours are better than rigorous short time workout sessions. This, however, is not entirely true, when you work out, your body will consume fats and carbohydrates as primary energy fuel, but if the pace and intensity of the workout are increased then you will burn more fats than carbohydrates, which is the ultimate goal of your cardio training. It is, however, advisable to train your body gradually, as an intense workout for relatively new individuals can lead to muscle cramps, fatigue, and inability to continue the routine for the next consecutive days.
Calorie burning exercises:
In cardio workouts, there are some factors, which can be adjusted to bring into effect the process of efficient calorie expenditure. For this, you will need to keep adjusting your pace, slope level, and time of workout. At maximum human intensity, almost a dozen calories are burned per minute, while at the regular pace you can burn up to 3 calories per minute. It is best to adjust the regimen as per the weight loss needed and the general condition of the body. If you are already used to heavy work out, then adjusting to an intense regimen will not be an issue and if the body is not used to heavy workouts and less diet then it is best, to begin with, with small portion cuts and simple jogging.
Treadmills, climbing slopes, strengthening exercises and crunches are considerable options.
Based on a number of studies (1,2,3) investigators identified that cardio training and strength-building exercises build stamina and if continued for a period of 12 weeks (or 3 months), the health parameters can be improved significantly (such as serum triglycerides, insulin sensitivity, BMR, blood pressure measurements, serum glucose, etc.)
References:
- Ho, S. S., Dhaliwal, S. S., Hills, A. P., & Pal, S. (2012). The effect of 12 weeks of aerobic, resistance or combination exercise training on cardiovascular risk factors in the overweight and obese in a randomized trial. BMC public health, 12(1), 704.
- Ismail, I., Keating, S. E., Baker, M. K., & Johnson, N. A. (2012). A systematic review and meta‐analysis of the effect of aerobic vs. resistance exercise training on visceral fat. Obesity reviews, 13(1), 68-91.
- Ossanloo, P., Zafari, A., & Najar, L. (2012). The Effects of Combined Training (Aerobic Dance, Step Exercise and Resistance Training) on Cardio Vascular Disease Risk Factors in Sedentary Females. Annals of Biological Research, 3(7), 3652-3656.
