7 Signs You Are Doing Too Much Cardio Exercise

Tis the season for folks to be hitting the cardio confessionals...
But too many folks are doing too much cardio exercise and expecting to lose weight with cardio, even though cardio is over-rated for weight loss. In fact, you might suffer from the Dark Side of Cardio if you do too much cardio exercise.
So today while I did my short, burst exercise style workout, I watched all those folks on the cardio machines and I noticed they go through some interesting rituals during their workouts.
This got me thinking, and I came up with "The 7 Signs You Are Doing Too Much Cardio".
#1 - You have to spend 5 minutes before your workout flipping through all the magazines in the gym to find one you haven't read before.
#2 - You know the other cardio addicts on the machines beside you (that you talk to everyday) better than you know your own friends.
#3 - You know exactly how many calories you burn per minute on every machine in the gym. (And you use that information to justify every calorie you eat.)
#4 - You simply hate doing it and dread your workouts more than a trip to the dentist.
#5 - The only thing you are losing is precious time - and not belly fat.
#6 - You go to the gym to watch your favorite television shows while doing cardio.
#7 - You're getting overuse injuries from repetitive motion because you keep doing the same activity over and over again everyday.
Listen, cardio is not the be all and end all of exercise for fat loss.
Most of your fat burning results are going to come from your nutrition when starting a weight loss program. So focus on whole, natural foods, and avoid foods that come from a bag or a box. If it's been modified in any way, you don't need it.
Once you've taken care of your nutrition, look for workouts that you enjoy that allow you to build strength, mobility, and fitness. Just don't do the same cardio workout over and over again everyday.
Beware the 7 signs you are doing too much cardio!

Jump Roping is a Great Form of Cardio Exercise

I don't jump rope anymore. But I should start again. Just like anything else that is good for you. Building a habit is key to long term success. Jumping rope is no different.
What I remembered about jumping rope that it was extremely hard. The first time I started, I couldn't jump rope for more then 30 seconds before I was tired.
Jump roping seems like such an easy exercise. When you were little you saw little girls do it. Maybe you use to do it yourself. But boy is it hard when you get older.
Girls tends to have more stamina then guys. Maybe jump roping proves it. Not saying guys don't jump rope, but when you think about jump roping and kids, you think of it as a girl activity.
Jump roping is really hard core. If anyone comes to mind when I think about jump roping, then it has to be Rocky Balboa. When he was training for his fights, he use to jump rope like crazy.
I never realized how difficult it was. I thought I would be able to jump rope for 30 minutes straight with no problem. I couldn't even last 30 seconds!
Other then the fact that I was always messing up at first, being exhausted was one of the key things I noticed.
I kept at however, because Jump Roping is one of the few activities that you can do in the house, that's similar to jogging and you don't have to buy a machine. I believe I got the exercise jump rope at WalMart for $3.
So I made a commitment to jump rope every morning. For 5 minutes. That might not sound like a lot, but if you are a beginner jump roper, it could seem like an eternity.
It's not the exhaustion, it your legs. You will use legs in your muscle that you never knew you had. It well hurt.
But, after a week of doing this. Jump roping for 5 minutes every morning got much easier. Your legs doesn't hurt as much.
I later pushed myself to 6 minutes.
In the morning jump roping really helps raise your heart rate and get you started for the day. It's a great inexpensive cardio exercise you can do literally 1 min after you wake up. It'll help you get out of bet in the morning and ready to start your day.

Fun Ways to Do Aerobics

Aerobic exercise uses exercise to increase the heart rate for an extended period of time. It has been around for a while and the routines can sometimes become a little boring. To keep aerobics exciting here are some fun ways to do aerobics that will keep you exercising. Try varying your aerobics by adding some of these routines into your workout schedule.
Treadmills - A treadmill is an excellent way to walk or run. The treadmill provides a workout that can be done indoors in any weather and allows you to progress at your own pace. Treadmills are popular and are available at all gyms and fitness clubs. Many are now made for home use so you can fit your routine into your daily schedule. Some include a heart rate monitor to help you reach and maintain your peak performance.
Steps - Steps are useful tools to incorporate into a workout. It makes the workout a little less tedious because you are actually stepping up and down at times, adding some fun to the routine. They are available at most aerobic and fitness centers and are also sold for home use. You can get them in one or two-step sizes to suit your needs. If you have stairs in your house these can also work for this exercise/
Pole - The pole is a relatively new tool for workouts. A pole is used to help make certain moves. It can be added to a regular aerobic workout to make it more interesting and challenging.
Hip-Hop Dance - Hip-Hop is a great way to aerobically move to the music. The rhythm of most hip-hop music is easily adapted to aerobic movements and together the routine can be a phenomenal way to have a fun aerobic exercise.
Water Aerobics - Water aerobics are a fun way to break up the monotony of a regular aerobic routine. Water exercise is much easier on the joints and movements are slower and more regulated, making the exercise more fluid. This is great if you are new to aerobic exercise regime or have physical limitations. It's also a great way to exercise outside in the pool or when you are on vacation. You'll get some sun while you exercise!
Jump Rope - Jumping rope is great aerobic exercise. It can be easily done at home using an inexpensive jump rope. You can create your own routine to music to make it an uplifting experience. This is a good exercise to do as you can set your own pace. Start off gently and work up to your desired speed and time frame.
Bicycling / Spinning - Done outdoors, bicycling is a wonderful way to incorporate the outdoors into an aerobic routine. You can ride as far as you want to, starting slowly and working your way up as your strength and stamina increase. Spinning is done inside and is an entertaining way to combine cycling in a class setting.
Tae Bo / Kickboxing - For something different try a tae bo or kickboxing class. This aerobic activity is a fun alternative to the usual aerobic classes. There are plenty of videos available as well so you can practice your tae bo routine at home as well as at the gym.

A Quick Guide on the Top Ab Workout Routines

If you have been dreaming of a tighter belly, then check out these three of the top ab workout routines to give you good ideas in planning out your belly slimming program.
Top 3 Routine Workout
Have a 5-day ab workout for 6 weeks, followed by a week's break, then resume. The first week must be for the development of your abdominal region. Concentrate on your top abdominal region and obliques each for 2 days and your lower abdominal region for 1 day. Start off your first day with leg lift crunches and repeat them as many as you could with an interval of 2 minutes after each repetition.
Workout your obliques on the second day by doing a series of 3 oblique crunches sets as you lie on your side, plus another 3 sets of the standing oblique raises plus weights. The third day is your rest period. On the fourth day, start working out your lower abs by having reverse crunches and leg lifts each in three sets. Repeat routines from the first and second days and then rest for a day.
Top 2 Routine Workout
This is a 3-day routine per week plan. Days 2 and 4 in the routine mentioned above are omitted so you need to work out your obliques and upper abdominal muscles on the first and fifth days and lower abdominal muscles on the third day. This has the same procedure as well but you will have to combine the oblique exercise and upper abdomen exercise for days one and five.
Top 1 Routine Workout
This has a fuller routine than the previous 2 workouts. You need to do these for 4 days a week in 6 weeks and then have a break for a full week. On the first day, have a 20-minute jog followed by several oblique crunches. Have a break for a minute and perform the twists with weights or a medicine ball while sitting. Do these sets of exercise 3 times and then slow down with a jog for 5 minutes.
On the second day, jog for 45 minutes then do three sets of the reverse crunch or as many as you can with a break in between. Execute another 3 sets of leg lifts with breaks as well. Day 3 is your rest day but you need a light jog for ten minutes. On day four, commence with a jog for 30 minutes and do 3 sets of the standing oblique raises with weights. Perform a series of sets of sit-ups with oblique crunches as you lie on your side. Have a break then do the set again twice.
Finally, take precaution in following these top ab workout routines according to your physical condition.

Cardio Vs Interval Training

One of the very first lessons I have learned during my fat loss journey is that I hated doing cardio. When I say cardio, I'm thinking about spending 40 long minutes (or longer) on the treadmill while going at a steady pace. While there are other forms of cardiovascular or aerobic activity to choose from such as yoga, step class, tae bo, stairmaster, etc., most gyms are equipped with a lot of treadmills because running is one of the most popular cardio exercises available. Running on the treadmill is also one of the most effective ways to burn fat.
By definition, cardio is basically any activity which forces your heart to work harder than it usually does. So, if you're used to sitting on your desk all day then, even brisk walking can make your heart work harder than it normally does. Yes, you can benefit from brisk walking or just plain, old running but, chances are, your progress will be painfully slow.
The New Form of Cardio
At some point in your life, you've probably heard that running at your target heart rate at a steady pace is the best way to burn fat - let's call this traditional cardio (click here for target heart rate definition). While this may be true, it is time consuming. boring, and inefficient. I know because I've been there and I say this about traditional cardio because there is a much faster, more efficient way to challenge your heart.
One of the latest trends in the fitness industry today which delivers great results, is hight intensity interval training (HIIT). Interval what? Ok, if this is a new concept for you, stick with me.
Interval training is a form of cardio (if you can even call it that) wherein a person goes from a period of low intensity to low intensity cardio in a matter of minutes. For example, I did my HIIT at the gym yesterday on the treadmill for 14 minutes with this:

• Warm-up for 1 minute at 3.5 miles per hour (mph)
• Warm-up for another 1 minute at 6 mph
• Run for 1 minute at 8 mph and 1.5% incline
• Run for a minute and a half (90 seconds) at 4 mph and 1.5% incline
• I repeat steps 1-4 for 5-6 times then cool down

This is exactly what I did and believe me I was sweating buckets at the end of my HIIT. One of the things that makes HIIT more effective than traditional cardio is the high intensity. Running or performing cardio at a higher intensity challenges your heart and body to exert more effort which results in more calories burned during your cardio session at a shorter period of time. Basically, I would burn the same amount of calories if I ran at 6 mph for 40 minutes but HIIT cuts that time by about 70%! What's more important after my session is that my body kept working harder to restore my system back to its "normal" state even after I was done running. This results to even more calories burned after I leave the gym even though I'm just sitting down watching t.v. or sleeping.
Note: I have to warn you to be conservative when doing HIIT for the first time. Try starting with a comfortable speed for your high intensity and work your way up as you build your endurance.

Best Aerobic Exercise For Weight Loss

Aerobic exercise is one of the keys to significant and lasting weight loss. If you are knew to exercise, you should start out slow with a low impact cardio machine such as the stationary bike or the rowing machine.
If you are a little more advanced in your exercise and want to jump start your weight loss you should choose aerobic exercises that burn more calories in a shorter amount of time. Taking a high intensity cardio class is a great way to burn a lot of calories (700+ an hour) and to stay motivated. Joining a local gym will be one of the best ways to find classes and machines that will help you to lose weight quickly.
Running on the treadmill or moving on the elliptical machine are both proven ways to burn a lot of calories in a shorter amount of time. The elliptical machine is low impact and will get your heart rate up while helping you to shed pounds.
If you do not have access to a gym membership consider renting or buying exercise DVDs that are similar to group gym classes such as kick boxing or high impact dancing. You could also invest in a great pair of running shoes and take to running on your road or at your local park. You could also run on a track at your local public school or run up and down stairs for the best cardio workout.
To see results you will need to exercise at least four to five times a week doing at least 45 minutes of cardio. If you want quicker results consider adding strength training to your regime. You should start seeing results in about four weeks.
If you want to see results faster than four weeks you will need to alter your diet as well. Simply exercising is half the battle for permanent and fast weight loss. Many diet programs only set you up to fail, that is why as a personal trainer I recommend a program that is easy and fail proof such as The Day Off Diet.