I know as well as anyone how mind numbingly confusing it can be when you are trying to find out the best way to lose body fat. There are so many different ways and recommendations that it can make your head spin. So what is the most effective way for you to lose weight and trim up your body?
Many studies have been completed over recent decades and it can probably be stated beyond doubt from these studies that high load cardio workouts burn a lot of energy but the body takes the energy it needs from the muscles first in the form of glycogen.
The often overlooked benefit of high intensity cardio is that your body continues to demand more and more glycogen from your muscles even after the workout is finished. So, as you consume more food, the energy from it will be sent to the muscles as glycogen and immediately consumed from the increase in metabolism. This means the food you eat will not be stored as body fat.
If you try some really hard cardio you will find that your body feels warm for a long time afterwards. If feels like your muscles are constantly warm and relaxed. This is the sign that your metabolism is still high and you will be burning off calories even while you are relaxed. This is a great benefit that you will not get with low level cardio workouts.
As your fitness improves with the regular high intensity workouts your overall level of fitness will improve. This in turn means you have more energy to use for future cardio workouts which burns even more energy and so on.
In recent years there has been a surge of people singing the praises of interval training which works by combining the best of both cardio worlds. You have periods of low intensity cardio such as walking or gentle swimming followed by peaks of high intensity cardio such as sprinting, fast swimming or hitting the gym equipment such as rowing machines.
Not only will you reap great benefits from using interval training but you will find that you will feel far more energised every day as your body stores more glycogen in the muscles in anticipation of your cardio workout.
Don’t hesitate to try interval training although it may be a little difficult at first if you have never tried high intensity cardio before. So, take it easy and before long you will notice dramatic differences not only in your body but in your mind too with an increase in concentration another benefit reported by many people.
