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2002/08/22, 06:30 PM
Regarding cardio, is it merely the increase in heartrate that causes one to lose weight, or is it more the movement of individual body parts that actually stimulates the body to burn fat? In other words, do I have to walk/jog, swing my arms, twist my torso, etc. to lose weight, or is just getting my heartrate up on, say, a treadmill all that is really required?
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2002/08/22, 06:44 PM
Cardio is HR. If you increase your HR slightly, 60-70% of max i beleive? your body will burn more fat than usual, also more than it would at higher intensity and HR levels.
HIIT works by HR too, but by switching things up all the time the body keeps working after you finish and so while it doesn't burn as much while your working out, it keeps on burning for hours afterwards.
Cardio by definition is "cardiovascular" meaning your respitory system, of which your heart is a major part.
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2002/08/23, 10:14 AM
Um, as I understand it (and trust me on this, I've done physiology), moving around requires energy to be supplied to your muscles in the form of a chemical compound called ATP.
ATP can be generated by the metabolic breakdown of the components of food, or of your body's glycogen stores, fat or muscle (ie any source of fuel). If you move around lots, you need lots of ATP. So your body has to produce more of it, so it burns more "fuel" to make it.
Which source of fuel used will depend on a variety of factors, including the intensity and duration of the exercise, how much you had to eat, and when, and what it was (eg a can of tuna is very hard to rapidly turn into useable energy, whereas a spoonful of sugar can be rapidly used).
You can burn fat by doing anything- in fact over time, you actually burn most fat while you are asleep!
"Cardio" has several effects:
-speeds up your metabolism by requiring your body to utilise fuel sources more efficiently for physical activity.
-Uses up a variety of available fuel sources to provide the energy to do the activity (including body fat)
-Increases levels of fitness and overall health, decreasing your risks of heart attacks, diabetes, cancer etc etc
Any activity will require energy, therefore burning fuel and may therefore help shift the lard.
To lose fat you have to get off your butt and do SOMETHING- people can lose weight just by walking around all day so long as they don't eat more calories than they burn.
But the overall health and fitness benefits of doing aerobic activity (something that gets your heart rate up over 60% of your maximum) are enormous as well. I'd rather be a fit person with a bit of extra bodyfat than a skinny person who dies aged 50 of a heart attack or can't even walk up the stairs without getting out of breath.
Hope this helps, that's my understanding of the situation anyway.
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2002/08/23, 12:34 PM
Hey Kitten I dont know if your explanation helped bretto but it helped me so many thanks. One question will someone please tell me what HIIT is please.
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Never be afraid to try something new. Remember the ark was built by amateurs, The Titanic was built by professionals.
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2002/08/24, 09:15 PM
Hey Gymkitten...so very well said, and couldn't be more right. I was going to answer the question till I saw yours, and decided no need to!!
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2002/08/25, 12:04 PM
HIIT - http://www.freetrainers.com/FT/jsp/Message.jsp?f_ix=0&m_ix=29070
it's "? on HIIT" in general section
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