Cardio and Your Metabolism: Will It Help You Lose Weight?

Does cardio significantly raise the body's "metabolic rate"?

First off, the metabolic rate, in very simple terms, is basically the rate / speed and amount of calories that your body will burn, whether doing something or at rest.

So, in other words, someone that has a hard time losing weight more than likely has a very slow metabolic rate.......since their body burns a low amount of calories and very slowly.

Now, why is it so importante to have a high / fast metobolic rate?

The higher your metabolic rate is, the more calories you're body can handle without gaining any fat, or the easier and faster you can lose fat weight.

Oh, yeah, and the higher your metabolic rate the more "normal" foods you will be allowed to eat, like ice cream, fries, etc.

I'm sure you know individuals that one can lose a ton of weight / fat while still eating not only a lot more food / calories, but also more snacks than another individual that has to eat much, much less, and more strict to lose the exact same amount of fat / weight.

That's because the one that has a faster metabolic rate can process easier and more efficiently calories / food than the one with a slower metabolism.

A perfect example of this is Dexter Jackson and Dave Henry, IFBB professional bodybuilders.

These 2 guys have very high metabolic rates, which allows them to eat not only very high amounts of food, but also lots of "forbidden foods", like pizza, wings, fast food, etc.......all without ever getting fat!!!

See what I'm saying??

Now, back to cardio.

Cardio lovers claim that cardio raises your metabolic rate.

It doesn't necessarily come down to if cardio actually does something, but more importantly, how much does it do it?

And, again, yes, cardio does help the metabolic rate.

However, it is very little in comparison to intense weight training.

Cardio will raise your metabolic rate for a couple of hours afterwards, at most, but intense weight training, on the other hand, raises the metabolic rate for up to a couple of days!!!!

Take a look, again, at aerobics instructors or all of the people you see at your local gym pacing away on the treadmill, stairstepper, aerobics / spinning classes.

Man, these people sweat their hearts out.

Yet, they never seem to actually get any more ripped, toned, or defined!!

However, take a look, again, at Darrem Charles or Vince Taylor, or many other fitness female athletes.

They don't do a second of cardio, yet have very high metabolic rates and show up at competitions much more shredded and toned than the bodybuilders that do hours of cardio per day.

Gives you something to think about, doesn't it?

In my next article, I'll discuss the amount of calories that cardio supposedly burns.

Copyright 2006 Jonathan Perez

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