Healthy Living Tips

A lot of people wonder whether they should do their cardio before or after weights.  The answer isn’t so simple though.  Various factors greatly determine if doing cardio before or after weights makes the most sense for you. Perhaps the number one, biggest influence in this answer is your individual fitness goals. Goals such as getting fit overall, bulking up your muscles and losing those extra pounds helps you decide on how hard you are going to hit the workout routines; your intensity and determination can help decide the order of your routine.

Besides your overall aim in working out, also need think about the following things when figuring out if you will do weight training first or cardio first.

1. Intensity of each component: are you performing a simple aerobics routine of steady state cardio or high intensity interval training (HIIT)?   Do you perform low rep, heavy lifting or high rep training to failure?

2. Duration of each component: is cardio a marathon or short but intense session?

3. Conditioning: how do your muscles feel after cardio vs. weights?   What fatigues you more?

4. Motivation – Do you have a personal preference as to which exercise you want to do first?  Are you more focused earlier in your workout or later?

Doing cardio before weight training was proven to be beneficial in a small study of ten men done by Brigham Young University.   The findings are as follows:

* They concluded that it is better to do weight training after cardio when the two would be performed in the same workout. * Participants burned more calories for a longer period when weight training was done after the cardio portion. * On average, participants found it more difficult to do the cardio after the weight training.

There a couple different approaches in doing cardio to burn body fat. Some people recommend you do “low intensity” cardio for long stretches at a time to burn body fat. The thought process is that you need to train at a moderate intensity to get your heart rate to the target zone to burn body fat. It has been argued that if you get your heart rate too high, you will begin to burn carbohydrates instead of body fat. Some people argue that high intensity cardio will allow you to burn more total calories in your cardio workout. Creating a “calorie deficit”, by burning more calories than what you take in, is another great way to lose body fat. Let’s compare the two different approaches in detail.

The Low Intensity Cardio Workout

This is the cardio workout that is currently being pushed by the mainstream. This cardio workout is often used due to the great results it gets. Low intensity cardio is very effective at targetting body fat for energy instead of just burning calories in the body. If the body burns fat for energy, you will lose body fat. It just makes sense. Most of the cardio equipment these days comes with a heart rate display. This is the best way to make sure that you reach the correct intensity level to burn body fat. In about 10 minutes of low intensity cardio, you will reach your target heart rate. It is suggested to stay within that zone for at least 30 minutes for good results.

The High Intensity Approach

You’ve all heard that you need cardio for fat loss or that you can only lose weight with cardio. But do you really need cardio for fat loss? I’m here to tell you that you could lean out without any cardio whatsoever. You’d be surprised to learn that some of the leanest, most ripped people out there have never done any standard or traditional type of cardio.
I will say that regular cardio isn’t absolutely unnecessary. In fact I think that low-moderate level cardio can be good for really overweight or deconditioned people, although their are better methods out there. You can still lose weight with cardio through the traditional methods out there, it’s just not recommended.
What is “cardio” exactly?
When most people think of cardio, they think of someone trekking away mindlessly on a treadmill, pumping away on a stationary bike, or breezing along on an elliptical machine while watching the TV at the gym of their choice. This is what I define as “standard cardio”. No wonder people seem to just give up on working out after a couple of months! This method is typically very boring and most people won’t lose weight with cardio this way.
Cardio exercise, however, is considered to be any type of exercise that will strengthen the body’s cardiovascular system. There’s a lot of technical stuff to it (such as VO2) max that I won’t get into so I can keep it simple. So if what your doing gets the sweat going, gets your breathing and lungs pumping harder, and gets your heart working harder, it’s a cardio workout. It doesn’t matter if you’re holding a kettlebell or a barbell or a dumbbell and people are calling it a weight training exercise, it’s still exercising your heart.
Now let’s take a look at a few examples. Let’s look at a barbell clean & press for example. In this exercise, you’re moving the barbell from the floor up to your shoulders, then push pressing overhead. And ladies, it doesn’t matter that this is usually seen as a manly exercise, because it doesn’t matter if you do 250 lbs of weight or not; if 45 lbs is challenging to you, then it’s still hugely beneficial.
Now upon first glance, most people will think of the barbell clean & press as only a weight training and strength training exercise. However, I challenge you to do one set with 10-15 reps with a challenging weight. What you’ll find is that your heart rate is probably around 80-90% of your maximum heart rate! It should feel like you just ran a 100 meter spring.
Try the same thing but with one armed snatches or swings with each arm and using either a dumbbell or kettlebell. Tell me after this that your heart isn’t racing, your legs aren’t on fire, and you aren’t huffing or puffing for air. What about 5 minutes of nothing but bodyweight exercises such as squats, lunges and pushups with little rest in between? The same thing, you should notice your heart pounding and sweat forming.
Now try and tell me that you’re not working your heart with this style of training! Traditional thinking says these aren’t cardio workouts. However, these fulfill your cardio exercises too, which saves you time and allows you to really lose weight with cardio!
Not only are you saving valuable time, but you’re working every muscle with these full body exercises if they’re done with the right amount of intensity, which the same can’t be said for those treadmills or ellipticals. This is excellent method of cardio for fat loss that can’t be beat.
If you’re able to read or watch TV while you’re working out, you simply aren’t working yourself hard enough, which means you’re probably not working out hard enough to see any results in the long term. Stop fooling around and get serious if you really want to lose weight with cardio.

Becoming fit and wholesome will be the in factor. In fact, it really by no means goes out of design. That body will be the most useful asset you could have in your lifetime. Therefore it is crucial that you get very good care of it. Give it the proper awareness it needs. In terms of guaranteeing and maintaining the well being, the best choice is to do cardio instruction.

What’s Cardio Education?

Cardio coaching involves any activity that requires using the large muscle groups on the physique inside a regular and uninterrupted manner. It elevates the heart fee in between 60 to 85 % with the fastest heart rate you could get. Some of the standard cardio training actions are walking, jogging, operating, aerobics, cycling, tae bo, swimming and rowing. Cardio training is regarded as an aerobic physical exercise as one is required to move from 1 exercise to yet another.

What Would be the Benefits of Coaching?

one. Gives Energy for the Physique
You are able to expect much more energy and greater endurance right after some time of normal cardio education.

two. Prevents Diseases
One could stop heart illnesses with regular cardio coaching. It’s also useful in stopping other selection of ailments like diabetes, obesity and also large cholesterol. The cardiovascular training strengthens the heart and also the lungs. The reduced to moderated kind of cardio workouts are required for men and women seeking to stop diseases. Examples of these are walking, brisk walking or jogging.

three. Handle Your Weight
With cardio coaching, you are in a position to burn up far more calories. This can aid one who requirements to lose weight. Whilst those that currently accomplished their perfect physique mass, the instruction will allow it to be simpler to control the bodyweight.

Have you ever been able to successful use a weight loss cardio workout to successfully lose body fat?

If you are like most people the answer is yes and no ‘ and usually in the order!

This article is going to go over a few reasons why the average weight loss cardio workout might actually be preventing you from losing weight. Please pay special attention to this article because it can save you lots of time, help you enjoy exercise more, and give you a new outlook on losing with with cardio.

By using “cardio”, I am talking about using cardiovascular exercise on a basic cardio machine such as treadmills, rowing machines, upright or recumbent bikes, ellipticals, or any other common cardio machine you see at the gym or at a department store. This also refers to things such as walking outside or going for a bike ride.

It is very common see someone try to lose weight in the gym by getting on a cardio machine and trying to go for 30-60 minutes at a slow pace. They may try to do this 3, 4, or 5 days per week!

In the beginning 2-3 weeks, you see some results pretty quickly. The weight on the scale goes down and you are feeling great. Soon after however, the weight loss slows down and your progress comes to a crashing halt.

Let’s go over 3 quick reasons why your hit a frustrating plateau with the normal cardio workout, and more importantly, how to avoid it completely.

Reason #1: It Is Boring!

Most exercisers know that there are two vital components to a successful fitness program. Number one, you want to build muscle by participating in weight training. Number two, you must keep your heart healthy with cardiovascular fitness activities, usually called “cardio.” Unfortunately, many people find cardio, specifically running, to be a difficult challenge. The solution to this is, quite simple; pick a new activity! Let us give you a few ideas on some good cardio workouts.

There are a lot more cardio activities than one might imagine. However, many people get trapped by the idea that a good cardio workout must include running. This is simply not true. There are literally hundreds of activities that can get your heart rate up and produce the unbelievable benefits that come with consistent cardio activity.

Just what are these benefits that have fitness experts talking about cardio? Well, first and foremost, a good cardio workout strengthens your heart. This helps reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and even a heart attack. A good cardio workout also burns a large amount of calories, which is great for helping you achieve your weight loss goals. Plus, as you burn fat, the muscles you have, become more visibly defined. This makes cardio a key ingredient for six-pack abs. Finally, a good cardio workout improves your stamina and endurance. This means daily activities get easier, sports become more enjoyable, and strength training can be done for longer, tougher sessions.

Most people think that you need cardio machines (either in the gym or at home) to do your cardio training.  That’s what many companies would like you to believe, but nothing could be further from the truth. Don’t get me wrong, cardio machines can be good tools, and there is a lot of benefit that can be had from using them correctly.  However, they are in no way necessary to improve your cardio, improve heart health, lose fat, or get in better shape. The most important thing you need to remember when embarking on any kind of cardio workout is what you need to do – and that is to get yourself breathing hard.  You can do any kind of activity to do this – cardio machines are not necessary. Your body, as amazing of a mechanism and machine as it is, has no idea what kind of stress that’s being put upon it – it just know that it has to work, and how hard it has to work.  So, when it comes to cardio, it doesn’t matter if you’re using a machine, climbing stairs, chasing your dog, or moving furniture.  If you’re breathing hard, you’re going to improve. (Now, there are other factors to consider.  For instance, something like moving heavy furniture wouldn’t just involve cardio, but also strength as well.  But we’ll just stick to cardio for this discussion.) So as long as you get yourself breathing hard, it doesn’t really matter what you’re doing.  You can play sports, do manual labor, play with your kids, or whatever you want.  All you have to do is get yourself breathing hard. This isn’t to say that you can’t use cardio machines to get yourself breathing hard, but they’re far from necessary, and many other forms of exercise (say the right type of circuit-style weight training) can not only improve your cardio, but also your strength, muscular-endurance, and much more.  And they’re generally cheaper than either having to join a gym or buy an expensive machine. Be creative, get yourself breathing hard – benefits will soon follow.

One important aspect of fat loss that you cannot ignore is cardio training. By cardio training, I don’t just simply mean, hope on a bike or treadmill and crank out hours of low intensity, boring cardio sessions. That’s an absolute waste of time. In this article, I’m going to show you the most effective cardio training method that will turn your body into a fat burning furnace.

Everyone knows that activity burns calories, and this is why so many people spend hours and hours on a cardio machine. While they have the right idea that cardio training helps burn calories, they’re going about it in the wrong way by doing low intensity, long duration cardio sessions.  You probably see many people who spend hours on a cardio machine; however, they still find themselves in similar shape with little to no progress to show for their hard work.

So what are they doing wrong?

There are two main points when it comes to effective cardio training sessions: 1) timing of the cardio session, and 2) intensity and duration of the cardio session. So, let’s talk a bit about these two key points.

Why do cardio first thing in the morning?

The reason is simply, you get the most effective fat burning cardio sessions first thing in the morning. This is the most optimal time to do cardio because during the previous night, your body has gone through a 8 to 10 hour fast, and because of this your glycogen stores are low. By doing cardio first thing in the morning, your already low glycogen stores gets used up quickly, and fat is then mobilized as the source of energy.

High Blood pressure is the measure of force against arteries. Do you have high blood pressure? Do you know what are common symptoms and signs of high blood pressure? This article will give you comprehensive information about common signs and symptoms of high blood pressure.

Usually people ignore high blood pressure. Even those who take medicine, only take anti hypertensive medication for short time. Studies have proved that 90% of high blood pressure patients show non compliance with their medication. If you will not control your blood pressure it may lead to serious problems with your Heart, Kidneys, Brain and Eyes. If you want to save these vital organs , then you will have to control your blood pressure with in limits.

Normal blood pressure is 120/80. If this reading goes above 140/90, then you consider yourself as a hypertensive patient. Between 120 and 140 is a pre hypertensive stage. which can be controlled even by natural measures like exercise, low salt intake, stop smoking, lower cholesterol, eat vegetables etc.

How will you come to know that you have high blood pressure?
High blood pressure typically has no symptoms at all, that is why we can call it as Silent killer. Although there are many coincidental symptoms that are widely believed to be associated with high blood pressure. These include headaches, nosebleeds, dizziness, a flushed face and fatigue. Although people with high blood pressure may have many of these symptoms, they occur just as frequently in those with normal blood pressure. Why these symptoms occur, If a person has high blood pressure that is severe or longstanding and left untreated, symptoms such as headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, restlessness, and blurred vision can occur as a result of damage to the brain, eyes, heart and kidneys. In rare cases, high blood pressure may cause brain swelling, which can lead to drowsiness and coma.

Heart attacks come in all sizes, from minor to major, and the symptoms of a pending heart attack can be deceiving in many cases.  Some symptoms of a pending heart attack may have been showing up for quite awhile and were ignored as something else.

Pending heart attack symptoms mask themselves as indigestion, being overworked and tired all the time, and taking naps several times a day.

During a real heart attack, you may feel feverish, have a nauseous sick feeling, shortness of breath, labored breathing, sweating, tingling in arms, chest pain, heaviness in the chest area like someone is pushing on your chest and various other indications.

Your life may depend on you making the right decision within minutes, is what you are feeling a heart attack… as a quick response time in calling for help… 911… could be the determining factor that saves your life.  Its better to be wrong, than to be right and not get help on the way ASAP!

One of the major causes of a heart attack is the restriction of blood flow to the heart muscle, which causes any number of symptoms.  But the bottom line is, how severe is your heart attack.  That will in many ways determine what symptoms you experience.  The more severy the blockage, the more severe the heart attack symptoms in most cases. The blockage may occure due to a blood clot, or material buildup inside the artery walls that breaks loose.

Many hospitals are not fully equipted to deal with heart attack victims, and will transfer the patient by air to a hospital or medical center with a heart attack specialist who can determine how bad it was, and one who has the skill to repair the damage caused by the heart attack.