"Balance Cardio With Strength Training"

I’m sure you’ve learned by now that skiing on the elliptical machine or jogging on the treadmill isn’t producing the dramatic results you’ve been hoping for. As wonderful as cardio is for your heart, it isn’t the most efficient or effective way to sculpt your body. An entire hour of moderately-paced walking only burns about 150 calories. Since there are about 3,500 calories in one pound, you can imagine all the walking you would have to do to burn the equivalent of one pound. The other problem with solely doing cardio is that once you stop exercising, your body’s calorie-burning ability slows dramatically. Strength training, on the other hand, allows you take advantage of your body’s natural ability to maintain an “after-burn,” known as Excess Post- Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). The after-burn is the extra calories your body burns after you complete a workout. Your metabolism will stay elevated for anywhere from 15 minutes to 48 hours, depending on the intensity and duration of your workout. So aim for just 30 minutes of cardio three times a week, and spend more time strength training. Add the iron to your workout and make it a intense strength training workout for at least 30-45 min. You shouldn't have to spend more than a hour strength training at one given time. Just be sure that in that 45 min. you're focused, training with intensity, then 45 min - 60 min. is all you need. If you double up on your workouts to excel your weight-loss then make sure to space your strength training workouts at least 3-4 hours apart. Push yourself hard during your strength training workouts and your metabolism will have a nice long after burn and you'll be burning some extra calories for hours after you're all done. ✿