The Best Cardio Workout Ever!

For a long time, health and fitness fanatics have gone back and
forth on whether a high- or low-intensity cardio workout is the
quickest way to blasting away excess fat. Originally, it was
thought that the best way to burn fat was to perform low-intensity
cardiovascular exercise. The theory behind this is that during high-
intensity exercise, our bodies burn glycogen, and during low-
intensity exercise our bodies burned fat. Glycogen is a type of
carbohydrate made primarily in the liver and the muscles that acts
as our bodies' long-term energy storage. It's typical for marathon
runners to experience a glycogen deficit around mile 20; however,
many marathon runners try to overcome this by carbo-loading the
day before a race.

While low-intensity activity does burn fat, it does not burn as many
calories as a high-intensity cardio workout. High-intensity
workouts such as swimming and sprinting burn many more calories
than walking or other low-intensity activities. Even if sprinting does
burn more glycogen calories, plenty of fat calories are also burned.
Ultimately, weight loss boils down to burning more calories than
you consume. This is the only way you can shed pounds.

So why is a high-intensity cardio workout such a great way to lose
weight? It keeps your metabolism going strong even after your
done working out! This means that your body will keep burning
fat, which is something that low-intensity exercise can't do.

To burn the most fat, add high-intensity intervals to your normal
workout routine. If you jog on a treadmill, try running at full-speed
for 1 minute (you should be huffing and puffing by the end of the
minute) followed by 1 minute of walking to rest. Continue doing 1-
minute intervals for 20 minutes, and this cardio workout will have
you on your way to your goal weight in no time!

A. Evans is a writer and editor for FitandFabLiving. Sign up for free newsletters to receive all the latest health, beauty and fitness tips delivered straight to your inbox!