Does Cardio Help You Lose Weight?

Cardio has long been touted as the answer to losing weight. You see, cardio exercises are great because they give your heart a good workout without causing it any undue stress. Cardio exercises can be done with little or no equipment at all. And because cardio workouts to burn fat and build muscle, you end up losing weight more quickly. But does cardio help you lose weight?

The key to cardio's weight loss benefits is that the more calories burned, the fewer calories consumed, meaning you will lose weight quicker. That's because the body uses up more calories (and sometimes needs to recharge its energy source) when exercising than it does when sitting around all day doing nothing. So, if you do a vigorous cardio workout for an extended period of time, your body will have an extra source of fuel and use some of that stored energy to burn some of the extra calories you consume.

The more calories you lose through cardio, the easier it is to shed the few pounds you may still have hanging about. So how much does cardio help you lose weight? It depends. For some people, losing five pounds in a week is not a bad goal.

If you want to lose weight quickly, though, then you need to be careful about the type of cardio workouts you do. Too much cardio is just as bad for you as too little. So choose your cardio workouts carefully. Some good exercises to do would include running, walking, stair climbing, biking, swimming, and rowing. These types of cardio workouts will get your heart pumping and help you burn more calories, especially at the beginning when you are getting used to doing them.

After you get used to cardio exercising, you can start upping the amount of intensity. This should continue until you reach a level that you are happy with. Once you have reached this point, you can switch back to your lower intensity routines to keep burning weight. This may take a few weeks. You need to build up your endurance and stamina first. Once you have done this, you can then add in the high intensity routines to make up for the time you have lost during the initial part of your weight loss plan.

In addition to helping you burn calories, it will also increase your HDL or good cholesterol, which will prevent you from heart disease. This is what most doctors recommend as part of an overall healthy lifestyle. Cardio will also make you sleep better, so you will not be tossing and turning in your sleep. This will save you time in the morning when you need to get up and get going! If you have been taking a nap or staying up all night because you were too tired to do anything else, cardio will help you fall asleep again.

There is no point in doing cardio if you are trying to lose weight. You need to find a program that does not put you on a diet, but one that makes you exercise. If you choose the wrong plan, you will wind up eating more and still not losing weight.

In addition to being able to lose weight and to burn fat, cardio can benefit your health. It will increase your stamina and, if you are a woman, it can help you become more attractive. Cardio can increase your strength as well. That means that you can lift more weight and build up muscle mass at the same time. In the end, cardio does wonders for your health and your body.