What is the best way to maximize cardio exercise for fat burn?

Question

I usually spend about 30 minutes doing cardio exercise per time in the gym which is 3-4 times per week. I use the bike and two types of eliptical trainers. I do weight training on one or two muscle groups each time too.

The issue is, although my diet is rich in whole grains, low fat dairy, fruits, veggies and lean meat, I am not seeing much reduction in body fat. I've been doing this routine for 4 months now.

I'm a 25 year old female.

What can I do to maximize my cardio time at the gym? I have no problem getting my heart rate up and it usually is anywhere from 155-189 bpm when I'm doing cardio.

Answer 1

the fact that you can get your heartrate up that high fast means that you are not physically fit enough.
you have to do cardio 4-6 times a week for 30-50min and make sure you sweat a lot.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

To maximxize fat burning results there a few things you can do. First of all 30 minnutes will NOT do it. You need 45 minutes of aerobic activity to burn 100% fat. It takes your body 20 minutes of constant movement to shift into aerobic (fat burning) mode.
This you need to do at least 3 times a week. For optimal results you should do 1 to 2 hours a day.
You must continually change up your workout. ie: Step aerobics, treadmill, bike, Yoga, running, Pilates..time of day you workout. Don't give your body time to get used to any routine or pattern.
You need to constantly increase your energy level to increase your fitness level. This means you need to work out a little harder each time you workout.
Weight training is great but make sure you use light weights and lots of reps to burn fat as opposed to build musle. You should give each muscle group a day in between workouts to recover and develop. Technicalllly..yes..abs too.
You do want to eat at the same times each day so your body knows food is comming and will continually burn it off.
Good Luck...
P.S. There is really great workout I just came acroos called Booty Ballet. Youu can get it on DVD and do it in your own living room. It was too much fun and I really felt it.
One more thing real quick in referance to heart rate. I have been a fitness trainer/instructor for over 155 years..it's not so much the number but how you feel at the height of your workout. You should be able to talk, but not sing. You should feel like your working but not like you're going to drop on the floor. My heart rate has always been high during a workout..does not mean you are not fit. Those heart rate scales are general and peoples body chemistry is not. Go by what your body tells you, that is a sure bet.

Answer 4

Here's what you do-- Get a big ball, one of those inflated bouncy plastic ones, about the size of a basketball. Put it beneath your back, so that you're lying down on it. It should be just where the curve forms at your back, where your butt ends and your back begins. Then, take a weight (I use a 15-pounder) and put it on your chest. Cross your arms around it to hold it up. Then do the sit up routine. This stresses your abdominal muscles to the maximum, forcing them to shape up. If that doesn't work, jog. Except when you jog, don't move your arms. This is a much harder way to run, and thus burns as many calories as possible. You can even go for a stretch and do both. It would help, trust me.

Answer 5

Try just plain walking for your cardio work-out. Appearently the bio-chemical reaction which allows the body to burn its fat for energy takes place after only 5 minutes of walking. Conversely, it takes approxiametely 20-25 minutes when doing actions such as aerobics and biking, jogging or running.

In your case, you are only getting maybe 5-10 minutes of fat burning per cardio session. If you were simply walking you could conceivable be getting 25 minutes per session.

You should also increase your cardio to 5 days a week for up to an hour per session. That would increase your current weekly fat burning time of approxiametely 30 - 40 minutes to around 275 minutes, or 4.5 hours.

It seems almost to good to be true, yet the body does not have to go thru as many complicated bio-chemical processes to burn fat for walking as more complicated activities like aerobics and running.

I believe too that your heart rate does not have to be so high to activate fat burning for cardio. Perhaps you should aim for @ 100-115, depending on your bodyweight, for burning to occur.

Good luck.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

It sounds like you are on the right track, one thing that has worked for me is to drink more water. When you think you are getting enough, drink some more. When you are not working out, make sure that the water you are drinking is ICE cold. The colder the water, the harder your body has to work to warm it up. Don't drink more than one or two diet sodas a day. Even though they are diet, the still have a lot of sodium, which makes you retain water, making it look like you haven't lost weight. Good luck.

Answer 8

You've probably "plateaued" and need to change your exercise routine. Maybe get on a rowing machine or step climber to have your body work out in other ways. Also, the reduction in body fat may not be in one place you're looking at, it may be all around in small quantities around your body.

I wouldn't go any higher with your bpm because doing so may cause you to burn out. I'd continue what you're doing in your time, but just change it up some.

Good luck!

Answer 9

Add weight training to your workouts. Maybe try adjusting the resistance on the bike and elliptical or try a spinning class instead. You will have to mix up your routine as you go or your body will get acustomed to it and you won't see results. Also, make sure you are eating enough calories and eat about 5 times a day to keep your metabolism up.

Answer 10

30 minutes 3-4 times a week is really a bare minimum for circulatory and cardiovascular health. I wouldn't expect to see much weight loss with that little time put into it.