Guide to fat burning cardio exercise

It looks like many people misunderstand the term cardio and think it is something that will make you slim but without any emphasized muscles. This is wrong thinking because whatever is done, it will shape the body and create strong muscles. The only thing that might be different is the shape of those muscles, since they can be lean or bulked up. This depends on the workout type which is used, cardio or muscle mass building.

Cardio

A good guide to fat burning cardio exercise should start by telling what exactly cardio workout is and why it is called so. The name comes from the benefits that this workout type has for the organism, especially the cardiovascular system. Since heart rate is increased while performing cardio exercises, working under this faster rate will make heart muscle stronger and it will function more properly. This type of exercise will also induce a fat burning process although some caution is needed here. Cardio is usually performed with a relatively low level of strength, which will enable a practitioner to work out for a long time. Furthermore, it is recommended to try to be within certain range, which is the most effective when it comes to fat burning process.

Example

Starting cardio workout requires nothing but spot jogging. This exercise has several variations and all of those should be done if we want to burn more calories and shape the body more effectively. For example, interesting variation includes spot jogging with occasional jumps. While jumping, knees should be raised as high as possible. This affects entire body but focuses legs, back and entire core. There are also little jumps with legs next to each other, which can be done in all directions, back, forward and sideways (ski motion). Spot jogging can and should be combined with arms motions (stretching and extending). Also, punches can be performed, which is especially done in training session of certain martial arts.

Jogging can be done for the entire training session, but it can also be only one part of it. The second phase of the training session which does not include spot jogging can be based on calisthenic exercises. Those are exercises performed without any additional instrument, using only the weight of the body. Those are push-ups and crunches as the most common, most popular, but also quite effective forms. For those who want a bit more, dumbbells are recommended. Weight of the dumbbells should be low enough to be used in a cardio workout, but high enough for some muscle mass building too.