Some may profess that burning off a great many calories through a slow workout. They say that such workouts burn a great many calories over an extended period of time. The assumption here is that these exercises are the best way to go for losing weight. Honestly, such an approach might not be the best thought process when looking to get lean and in shape. The notion of working out at low intensity for an hour or 90 minutes may seem beneficial because the workout can be sustained for an extended period of time. However, the impact of such a workout on the body will not be what you hope it turns out to be, In fact, these long sustained workouts might actually turn your physique into something extremely undesirable.

An undesirable look you say? How could this possibly be the end result of working out for an extended period of time? If you want a sincere answer to that question, all you need to do is look at someone who performs long distance marathon running vs. someone that does short, high intensity sprints. The sprinter will often have a ripped, muscles appearance. The marathon runner will generally have a non-muscular, lean appearance. In some instances, it is not uncommon for the marathon runner to look downright sickly. Why is this so?

Mainly, when you workout for extremely long cardio sessions, your body starts to burn off a lot of lean muscle for fuel. When we workout, we want to see stored fat and carbohydrates targeted for burning. This happens to a certain degree when you workout in a long cardio session. However, you will also experience a significant burning of the third fuel source the body commonly targets: protein. Protein is, of course, another name for lean muscle mass. So, if you invest a great deal of time in long cardio workouts, you will end up burning up a great deal of your stored muscle. Is that what you want to happen? Doubtfully! Again, this is why it becomes necessary to look towards short, high intensity workout programs instead.

For example, a series of 20 minute interval training exercises or even 10 minute High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts would be a much better plan for those in need of getting in shape. Such workouts will deliver much better results in terms of their ability to directly impact stored fat and recently ingested carbohydrates. They will also aid in BUILDING lean muscle mass as opposed to burning it up. This is why the aforementioned sprinter is known for possessing a lean and ripped physique. Distance walkers, on the other hand, have a tendency to be lean but lack the ripped muscular look that most people desire. And, by the way, that lean, ripped muscle will aid in speeding up your metabolism. When you burn off your muscle mass, you will be inhibiting the body’s ability to expedite its metabolism.

So the take home message is to get the most bang for your buck, exercise harder for a shorter time and you will love the outcome!

Author Bio: Monty owns a boot camp in Wilmington NC specializing in weight loss in Wilmington NC.

Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
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