Blunder 4 -- The "cardio queen" mentality. When I first heard this expression, I knew exactly what it referred to. It's someone who gets on a cardio machine and spends endless amounts of time on it in the hopes of losing body fat. Some people go up to 90 minutes and longer on a cardio machine. The problem with this strategy is it's completely ineffective. It's a poor method to lose body fat and a real time-waster. You can work out for long sessions with moderate intensity or use shorter sessions with higher intensity (based on your fitness level). You can't do both!
The shorter, more-intense session will burn more overall calories and preserve muscle, which will make you look tight and lean when you get to your scale weight goal. In addition, the shorter/intense sessions will have a more profound effect on the calories you continue to burn 24 hours after completing the session. This is referred to as the 24-hour afterburn.
Want to lose fat efficiently through cardio? Pick up your pace a bit and try to get a more intense and efficient 30 to 45 minutes. You don't need to be huffing and puffing for dear life, just increase the intensity a bit and keep it sustained at a higher level within your target heart-rate range.
Labels: cardio, exercise, fitness, metabolism, mistakes, myths, Raphael, workout
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