30-Minute Cardio - The CafeMom Studios Workout

Ask the Ripped Dude: How Much Cardio is Too Much?

We all know that to get lean you have to do cardio and have a great consistent nutritional diet. But did you know that too much cardio can be counterproductive? If you're a slave to the treadmill, elliptical, or stair master, you can actually lose muscle. Unless your goal is to look like Christian Bale in The Machinist, it's best to be really smart about your cardio.

If you don't know how much is too much, let me help!

THE GREAT CARDIO MYTH

There is this horrible misperception in our society about fat loss. A lot of people think that if you starve yourself and do two or three hours of cardio each day, the fat is just going to melt off. Actually, performing too much cardio will put your body in a catabolic state and burn hard-earned muscle. The loss of muscle will not only reduce strength, but it will also slow down your metabolism. If your metabolism slows down too much, you'll have a tough time burning fat.

There's no exact answer for how much cardio is too much. But if you're not a distance runner, anything over 60-70 minutes per day is likely counterproductive—especially if you aren't consuming enough protein or calories to support the daily caloric expenditure. In order to build or maintain muscle, you need to eat enough food.

SYMPTOMS OF CARDIO OVERLOAD

Too much cardiovascular training will also lead to injuries and over-training issues like aches and pains. You can also suffer from consistent bouts of fatigue and mood changes. Lots of running can also make your cortisol levels rise, which may suppress your immune system. Often, marathon runners experience colds and respiratory infections after they race because of their higher cortisol levels. If you're experiencing any of these symptoms, it's probably a sign you need to cut back the cardio.

TRAIN SMART

Working out is supposed to be fun; it shouldn't be some long, arduous chore. If you are in the gym for more than an hour per day doing aerobic training, you're probably overtraining. If you're not in the business of marathon running or long-distance biking, this much cardio will take you 10 steps backwards instead of 10 steps forward.

I never do more than 60 minutes of cardio per day, whether I am playing basketball or sprinting. I know that if I do any more than that, it'll probably hurt me more than help me.

It's always good to remember that more is not always better. Be smart about your training. Keep it hard and efficient to burn fat, and most importantly, preserve muscle.

Source: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ask-the-ripped-dude-how-much-cardio-is-too-much.html

Cardiovascular Fitness - Long Walks Are Beneficial

In day-to-day's life, it is very essential that we follow a good diet with some light exercise. Exercise is very much beneficial to possess good health. People in order to gain material success forget their health. If you do not want to live in a land surrounded with medicine and illness, then you need to maintain your own health. Whenever we suggest our kith and kin to follow some good exercise in order to gain good health, they tend to neglect it with long list of excuses. And the very first excuse in the list is' lack of time'. Time factor is the major reason, where people curtail their necessity and run after material benefits.

I have always believed that once you're physically fit, it is very easy to reach your goals. Some light and simple exercises will help you to maintain good health. You may follow the rule of cardiovascular fitness that is very much essential in having good health. People often get confuse when they assume cardio exercise as some heavy exercise which requires heavy efforts. Cardiovascular fitness is one part of cardiovascular exercise. There is no need to get confuse between both the terms.

Cardiovascular fitness is usually termed as the efficiency of your circulatory system and heart with respect to the intake of oxygen and transmitting it to all organs of your body. As we all know that the cardiovascular system and respiratory system of our body comprises of blood vessels, heart, lungs, and blood stream. Cardiovascular system supplies nutrition and oxygen to your tissues. Cardiovascular systems also help in flushing out all waste products from the body.

For our body to maintain normal metabolism, it has to intake oxygen in the blood stream. The oxygen is taken in by lungs and then pump- up by the heart to all organs and tissues. Thus, it is essential for our body to intake sufficient amount of oxygen. Cardiovascular fitness is a simple method to stay fit and provide ample amount of oxygen to all organs of the body.

Certain activities those are included in cardiovascular fitness walking, jogging, aerobics and skipping. Cardiovascular fitness should possess certain properties like; they should last for a time span of twenty minutes. It should be moderate and practiced regularly. Walking is considered as, one of the best cardiovascular fitness. Walking early morning has proved beneficial for the improving the heart functions. It is more admired by people suffering obesity as, it effortlessly reduces the weight. Walking faster improves the blood circulation system of the body, as well as it helps in proper breathing. You can control the level of blood pressure and cholesterol with regular walking exercise.

Cardiovascular fitness is generally very useful in maintaining good health. You can definitely possess good health, but it is necessary to maintain the consistency in health.

Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3887224