Cardio exercises are exercises that increase the heart rate and help to improve blood circulation, such as running, cycling, swimming, rowing or jumping on a trampoline. Cardio has a lot of benefits, and it will certainly help you burn calories, but if you want to lose weight you need to do more than just cardio. In this blog we explain why.
Training heart and lungs
The word "cardio" comes from the Greek word "kardia", which means "heart". So cardio exercises are exercises that train your heart and lungs to work more efficiently. This can be, for example, walking, cycling or swimming. It helps you burn calories, strengthen the heart and lung system and reduce the risk of certain health problems such as heart disease and diabetes.
It is about the negative energy balance
If you want to lose weight, it's not just about the number of calories you burn during exercise. It's about how many calories you burn in total in a day, and how much you take in. If you burn more calories than you take in, you will lose weight: a so-called negative energy balance. When you do cardio, you burn calories, that's for sure. But anyone who thinks they can lose weight by doing cardio exercises alone will most likely be disappointed. A brisk walk or a long bike ride also makes you hungry. And the number of calories you burn from cardio exercise is easily overestimated. Someone weighing sixty kilos burns about 400 kilocalories with half an hour of running, but one Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks quickly contains 255 kilocalories. Add a brownie to that - because you did your best - then you already have a total of 630 kilocalories. So if you don't also adjust your diet, the chance that you will lose weight is small.
Take advantage of the afterburn of strength training
If you also combine your cardio exercises and an appropriate nutrition plan with strength training, the chance of success is greatest. Energy is needed to maintain muscles. The more muscles, the more energy has to be burned and the higher your metabolism. This happens not only during training, but also afterwards. This afterburn effect causes your body to consume more calories for several hours after it has rested. A kilo of muscle burns about 12 kilocalories, fat mass only 4. Every kilo of muscle that your body gains gives you seventy to one hundred kilocalories per day. A muscular body works harder at rest, in short, a better combustion, also at rest.
Get the right combination
So if you want to lose weight, it's important to have a balanced mix of cardio and strength training, along with a healthy and balanced diet. Complicated? By training with the Milon circle you train your entire body in six 35-minute workouts every month. This way you can be sure that you benefit from the perfect combination of strength and cardio. Thanks to the guidance of your own personal lifestyle coach, you can be sure that you sustainable weight loss, without yo-yoing.
Knowing more?
Curious how you too get more energy by training twice for 35 minutes every ten days, under the guidance of your own personal lifestyle coach? Even if you have physical complaints? Then do the membership test and sign up for a free personal introductory meeting and tour of the club. Want to bet that you are immediately sold?
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