5 Cardio Tips to Help You Maintain Your Physique
.jpg)
It's 2012 and almost 2013. Bring on the New Year! We all want to maintain our physiques to stay lean and trim. (or at least we should) Lord only knows that many of us will end up picking up some undesired extra pounds through Thanksgiving and Christmas. Trying to stay excited and enthusiastic through these holidays and special days isn't easy for most people.
Many end up caught up stuck between the pressures of this joyous time of year and fitness routines and weight loss plans that are not getting us the results we really truly want. So what happens when the same old routines become the same old routines and we find ourselves not feeling motivated to push forward towards obtaining our fitness and weight loss goals? Well my friend, here are 5 good tips to help you maintain your physique.
1. Pick up the Pace! If you want to burn fat you have to pick up the pace.
Regardless what kind of cardiovascular exercise you do, whether it is
jogging, biking, zumba, or a boot camp class, you have to get your heart rate
moving if you want your body's metabolism to kick in hard enough to burn your
stored fat. If you are going walking, then you will definitely want to
pick up the pace and jog some while you do. Before you know it, you will
be in better condition and won't be so winded or out of breath.
2. Change Does the Body Good! You went out and bought a new elliptical to use at home for
your cardio workouts. That's GREAT! I am proud of you. You
have been exercising on it every day for 4 months! You lost 15 lbs at
first but it seems to have slowed down. WHY? Because your body
becomes conditioned to whatever you are doing and it does so VERY quickly.
Change does the body good! Offer
some variety in your workouts. Have several different options that
you can use to keep your body off balance so it doesn't adjust to what you are
doing. It can be jogging, aerobics, mountain climbing, hiking, sprinting,
swimming, cardio kick boxing or whatever else you choose.
3. Keep Your Cardio to 45 Minutes Max! Yes you heard me correct. 30 to 45
minutes is ideal. Yes just 30 to 45 minutes and that's it! Someone
who is predominately walking in their cardio sessions could engage in a 60
minute session at the very most however if your cardio session is productive,
then 30 to 35 minutes or cardio will be PLENTY and 40 to 45 minutes a max for
cardio sessions. Any more than this would surely have a person burning up
muscle and losing muscle instead of actually losing stored body fat. (which
lowers the metabolism).
4. Do Your Major Cardio Separate from Your Weight Training
Workouts! Your
body wants and needs food immediately following a weight training workout so
this is a truly great time to eat (or drink) a good dose of protein and carbs
and whey protein has proven itself BEST at this point. Doing too much cardio after a weight
training workout could cause you to end up burning muscle. If doing your cardio is not an option
then keep it 15 to 20 minutes max after your workout.
5. Remember to Stretch! After a short brief warm up (5 to 10
minutes max) begin stretching your legs, quads, hamstrings and even your groin
muscles. A cold
muscle should never be stretched! Stretching
a cold muscle can cause injury! Stretch AFTER a brief warm up (not before) Always do 5 minutes minimum warm up
and then stretch your legs. (10 minutes max warm up.) Stretching helps to
increase energy levels (resulting in increased circulation) Stretching
also increases flexibility, reduce muscle soreness, and helps to remove lactic
acid. Stretching even helps with painful menstruation with women!
BONUS TIP!!! Find More Good Cardio Tips and many MORE
helpful tips in my new eBook
"28 Days to EXtreme Fat Loss"
Get it Today! To get my hot book CLICK HERE!!!