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The Best Times for Cardio Work
Article care of midwestsupplements.com
I'm sure some of you are going to try to partake in a fat burning program. Cardio exercises will undoubtedly be a part of that program. When is the best time to do them?
Alot of confusion surrounds when to do cardio work. It stems from the general recommendations from several "authorities on exercise" that you perform some light cardio work prior to exercising with weights. This light stationary biking or cardio work is simply to warm the body up. It's not intended to burn fat.
The optimal time to do cardio work for fat burning purposes is right after rising in the morning. You have fasted all night and are waking up on an empty stomach. Your bodies primary source for fuel will be body fat.
If you can't get your cardio work done in the morning, then the next best optimal time is immediately following your weight training session. You will be on an empty stomach by then and you will have depleted your muscle glycogen levels so the primary source for fuel will be body fat.
The following are some things to keep in mind when doing cardio exercises.
1. During the first fifteen to twenty minutes your body burns almost an equal amount of glycogen and body fat for fuel. However, once you break that time threshold, the source of fuel switches more toward the fat side. Therefore, cardio sessions of 30-45 minutes will produce better fat burning effects than short bouts throughout the day.
2. You need to keep your heart rate at 65-75% of your maximum heart rate while doing cardio work. To find your maximum heart rate take 220-(your age). If you are 40, then 220-40=180. To find 70% of that maximum heart rate, take .7x180=126. This means that to work at 70% of your maximum heart rate you will need to have your heart beating 126 times in one minute or roughly 21 times in ten seconds. Check your heart rate while performing your cardio and make sure you are in the target fat burning range. Your results will be much more productive.
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