Best Cardio choices?!?!?

[jehn]

I have always wondered which are my best choices for cardio. I am in pretty decent shape and have just come back to the gym. I want to cut down about 10 pounds and tighten up and then maintain. I always thought a good sweaty 45 min was best, jogging,(alternating running/jogging), stairmaster and Elliptical and bike. I have recently been told to burn fat I hardly need to break a sweat, even that working harder means I won't burn any fat.
I am willing to do 45-60min 4-5 times a week, after a short warm-up and some weights, I just want to know what cardio to do!!!!!
Thanks in advance for you help.

 

[xander]

this is such a vast subject! theres a world of research out there.

The old school method of burning fat was doing cardio 20-60 minutes in 70% of maximum heart rate. This will work of course, but it will work at different rates on different people, and theres a lot more to it, like going for longer periods, but at lower intensities, or High Intensity Interval Training.

Also weight lifting will burn fat, and the muscle it creates will burn fat. Dont worry -you dont have to turn into a hulk to do weight lifting - you can make it work for you to produce the body shape you want.

 

[trainiac]

There's no one best method. The best method is to do many different things. Run one day, swim the next, bike the next, walk uphill the next, then elliptical - then run again, etc. That's varying the mode of exercise. You also need to vary the time and intensity. In other words, one day go intense but only 20 minutes. The next go for a hour, but moderate pace. Next time try going slow for five minutes, then fast five minutes, then slow again, fast, slow, etc until you've done an hour.

 

[allcdnboy1]

traniac, i'm getting awefully tired of seeing you put ur website at the bottom of each post. If you continue to advertise your site, you will be banned. It is acceptible to put ur site in the signature, but not advertise in your post ...

 

[xander]

The myth of "work easy to burn more fat" is a big misunderstanding. The concept is that the harder you work the more you are moving into an anaerobic zone where you are burning more carbohydrates for fuel. If you take it easy and stay in the aerobic zone you will burn a higher % of fat, but not necessarily more fat.

For example: If you burn 100 calories and 70% of it is from fat you have burned 70 calories of fat. If however you work harder and burn 200 calories but only 50% of it is from fat you have burned twice as many calories total and 100 calories from fat. So you need to understand the concepts when making your cardio decisions.

I recommend high intensity cardio at the beginning of a workout and at the end of a workout for about 10-15 minutes each. That allows you to work really ahrd on the cardio and then allow your cardio system to rcover while you are strength training and then hit your cardio system hard again before cooling down and heading home.

Just my thought on the topic...

Happy sweating,

Coach Dan

Good post!

and as trainiac says - alternate what you do - dont just stick to one exercise as your body will adapt to it and become comfotable with doing it. the more you stay in your comfort zone the less impact it will have on your fitness.