Burn Stubborn Body Fat With This Awesome Cardio Workout

By Rusty Moore | November 27, 2007

The Traditional Cardio Workout Programs

There are two main cardio workouts that most aerobic exercise is based around…low intensity and high intensity. The more popular of the two for burning body fat is the low intensity version, since it has been proven that a higher percentage of calories burned come from body fat than high intensity cardio workouts.

An argument for high intensity cardio workouts is that more total calories are burned at a higher intensity level. Although this is a combination of both carbohydrates in the muscles as well as body fat calories. So you have low intensity cardio with a higher percentage of calories burned from body fat and high intensity cardio that burns more total calories overall. Let’s look at each in more detail.

The Low Intensity Cardio That Most Trainers Recommend

When you walk into most gyms, you will see people walking on treadmills at a slow and steady pace…You are witnessing the low intensity cardio workout in action. This form of aerobic exercise became very popular after university studies proved it was the best way to target body fat directly. A very large percentage of calories burned come directly from body fat. No wonder why this form of exercise is so popular!

It is important to choose cardio machines that can track your heart rate. It will let you monitor your heart rate during your cardio workout to allow you to hit the ideal intensity level. After about 10 minutes or so, you should be close to reaching your ideal heart rate. Staying within that target heart rate for at least 30 minutes is what is recommended by most experts.

The Effective, But Less Popular High Intensity Cardio Workout

This is a less utilized form of cardio. High intensity training involves pushing past your pain threshold a bit, so fewer people choose this route. This cardio method can give great results in burning body fat if done properly. The total calories burned in high intensity cardio are greater than low intensity cardio. Some of those calories come from your body fat and some come from glycogen (carbohydrates stores within your muscles).

A great way to lose weight quickly is to create a calorie deficit…burning more calories than what you consume each day. It makes sense that you would want to chose high intensity cardio workouts, if this is your goal.

Comparing the Limitations of Each Version of Cardio

With low intensity cardio, it takes about 10 minutes to get to the point where you are burning body fat. Those first 10 minutes aren’t very productive. After the first 10 minutes things are great, but it is a bit of a waste of time getting to that point.

Very few people have the pain tolerance to push hard for more than 10-15 minutes. This is the challenge with high intensity cardio…it is miserable after 15 minutes!

A Great Cardio Workout That Combines Both Levels of Intensity

When performed in a certain manner, it is possible to benefit from doing both types of cardio in the same workout. You can make the first ten minutes of the low intensity cardio workout productive, by starting your cardio workout off at a high intensity level.

The way to accomplish this is find your favorite cardio machine…an elliptical machine, treadmill, exercise bike, etc. Start your workout by setting the machine at a tough level and maintain that level for 10-15 minutes. The idea is to have a tough time reaching the 10 minute mark. After 10 minutes, back down to an easier pace and maintain that pace for 30 minutes. You are now going to burn tons of calories, create a calorie deficit, as well as burn body fat directly. This is quickly becoming my favorite cardio workout, since it is so effective.

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