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Many people really don’t dance that much these days. This is probably especially true after getting married and having a family, just due to the sheer lack of free time.

Because of this many people feel very clumsy when they dance. So why do dance aerobics?

One of the simplest advantages is that many people find it fun. The music adds interest to an activity that might otherwise bore you. And moving to a rhythm encourages you to keep up with the group, to keep trying. It also just feels good.

As with any other aerobic exercise, dance aerobics is good for your metabolism. It gets your heart rate up and works your muscles. Some steps help with your balance.

As with any workout, your clothes should be comfortable and your shoes suited to the activity. It’s always important to correctly support your feet during physical activity. In addition to being comfortable, your clothes should help to wick away sweat.

There are different levels of classes you can take at your local gym. Talk to the trainers and figure out which one is best for you. You don’t want to take a class that will push you so hard that quitting makes more sense than continuing to try. A good trainer will be able to help you figure out which class you would like to take. And if the class doesn’t suit your style, consider trying a different one. Just don’t give up on the workout as a whole.

The other challenge is getting over your self consciousness. When you don’t know the steps, it’s easy to feel embarrassed and clumsy. It can help, however, to remember that everyone else started out not knowing the steps, and that most of your classmates are solely interested in their own workout.

Take your time in figuring out what works best for you. Some people need to listen to the instructor to figure out what to do. Others do fine just watching the steps. But especially as you’re learning, don’t demand of yourself the intensity your instructor may perform. They know you will be working out at your level, and you can work up to the full intensity over time.

A good dance aerobics class may be one of the most “fun” things you do at a gym if it’s a good match for you. Enjoying your workout is one of the best ways to get yourself to keep going back.

Stephanie Foster blogs at http://www.timeforexercise.com/exercise/ about keeping fit as a family. Get more family exercise tips at http://www.timeforexercise.com/exercise/category/family-exercise/

We all know that if you want to lose weight or tone up you need to exercise. Well, aerobics requires a trip to the local YMCA or gym and can be quite inconvenient not to mention some people do not want to be on display at a crowded gym. running is great, but it has two major downfalls.

One, obviously, is that you probably will not do it in the rain or any extremely adverse weather. The other is that running does cause impact injuries from the constant jarring. An elliptical trainer is the answer. It is the quintessential perfect workout machine and offers the ideal way burn mega calories safely and lose weight fast.

The elliptical trainer was designed to follow the natural leg movement and range of motion while also including your upper body. It is a very low impact machine that will utilize more muscles through a wider range of motion (which makes it far superior to even a treadmill as most do not offer any upper body workout). Exercising on an elliptical machine is aerobic and similar to cross country skiing, but different in that it is akin to cross country skiing up a steep and continuous incline (like a stair climber).

The elliptical machines give a much more intense and more rounded workout that places more emphasis and burn on the hip and thigh areas. It also uses the wider range of motion and resistance which only an elliptical trainer can do in its leg movements further intensifying the workout which the cross country machines can not do.

Generally it is stated by most exercise experts that with these machines the more you weigh the more the calories you will burn. It all depends on your weight, the difficulty setting chosen and proper use and motion.

With an elliptical trainer many people have the tendency to use it wrongly and not get the optimum results. Just go to any gym with elliptical machines and watch the people using them. Many tend to bounce way too much and use their body weight to ride down each side. This is incorrect.

The goal is to try and hold your hips as stationary as possible instead of letting them bounce all over the place. By holding the hips in place you take in a much greater range of motion and greatly intensify the workout and it now becomes a mega calorie burning machine and an ultimate method for fast weight loss.

Proper motion on an elliptical trainer is akin to isometric exercises. Try and hold your motion so that your legs and arms do all the work and movement and that your hips stay parallel without bobbing up and down. If you bob up and down, its like riding a bike where the only exercise you get is on the down stroke and if you stand up and use your body weight it becomes almost effortless. The same is true for the elliptical training machine.

Now try this on the elliptical trainer and let your legs and arms go through their fuller range of motion while your core stays stationary. This will be hard to do at first, but you will burn 10 times the calories of someone not doing this and greatly increase your metabolism over time. You can also make it even harder by using the arm attachments like an isometric exercise by pushing and pulling on them at the same time. This goes to show that going fast does not necessarily mean you are getting the most from your workout.

Going slow while using the kinesthetics of the elliptical trainer while also using isometrics to further pump your muscles will give the optimum results and help you lose weight faster than ever. If you do not believe me on this, just try it and you will be a believer! If its too hard, do not be afraid to lessen the tension or difficulty level and work your way up.

The best part of working out on an elliptical trainer, besides the great caloric burn and intense workouts (when used correctly) is that it is very low and almost non existent impact. You can also roll the machine in front of a TV and watch the news, a movie, or even reality TV. This will help take your mind off the workout (just do not forget to hold your hips level throughout the workout and use isometrics with your arms to up the resistance and workout intensity like never before).

When used properly, the elliptical trainer is difficult to beat for its wide range of motion, mega caloric burn, weight loss properties, low to moderate cost (a good home unit can be had for under $500) and convenience.

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The hardest part of getting into good shape and staying there is motivation. Our inspiration to stay in shape changes with the seasons. We have holidays to consider, cold winter days, and all of those gadgets of convenience which keep us from maintaining a daily routine or exercise. However, we really should be wise about the way inactivity affects our bodies and our health.

Diabetes, heart disease, and strokes are just a few of the medical conditions which can arise from idleness. But there is good news! Recent research has shown without any doubt that these affects can be stopped or reversed simply by switching from a sedentary lifestyle to a more active one. Exercise on its own, without making any particular change in your diet can reduce the risks of the diseases previously mentioned so by doing whatever you can to increase your motivation has to be of benefit to you. You could try listening to music whilst taking a run, or find some form of exercise which you like and enjoy doing and set aside a particular time of day to do these activities. This will help you to keep motivated. By creating a pattern for your exercise your body will soon become used to it.

Your mind has the ability to create ideas which lead to positive actions and such actions can help you to lead a strong, happy and healthy life. Just talking positive to yourself can work wonders for your motivation levels and even looking at recent improvements for example, a slimmer waist line, will keep you going. Self encouragement has to be the ultimate motivation and you will have no-one to thank except yourself.

If you want to change your body shape, fitness motivation is essential and this will require you to create a fitness motivation plan. For men, goal setting and presenting challenges works best and a change of scenery and some fresh air may be the key to get you motivated. Remind yourself of the rewards you will reap if you continue especially at times when you feel like giving up. Not only will you be more confident and possess self esteem but you will also rid yourself of anxiety, stress and depression.

Sometimes just the idea of a better sexual performance is enough to keep the motivation in place. Set yourself realistic goals because if they are too difficult you will soon feel defeated and be tempted to give in. When you achieve an appropriate goal you will get such a boost and feeling of satisfaction, this in itself creates even more motivation.

Vary your exercise routine, make it fun to do and if you want to ensure you keep up the exercising ask someone to go along with you. This is a sure way of you sticking to the routine you have set.

If you do not know much about fitness in general you could always consider hiring a personal trainer, a professional who knows what he or she is doing. Your trainer will customize a routine just for you and concentrate on the areas which need working on in order to maximize the results you achieve. Of course, before laying out the money to employ a personal trainer, you need to be committed to really going for it. Check out some fitness blogs on the internet - there are new ones added more or less daily and most make for good reading.

Remember to make your exercise regime as interesting as possible. Set achievable goals, adds things to make your training more enjoyable such as challenges or ask someone to go along with you. These are all ways of staying motivated. Get moving, keep fit and remain motivated. What are you waiting for?

Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of My-Personal-Growth.com, a site that provides information and articles for self improvement and personal growth and development. http://www.my-personal-growth.com/

An important component of keeping your body in top physical condition is your body fluid level. Without your body being in top physical condition, your workout will not be as effective and you will be more prone to injury.

As you exercise, your internal body temperature rises, leading to the body releasing internal fluid to the outside via millions of sweat glands and heightened respiration. As the high temperature sweat evaporates off your skin, heat is taken with it, allowing your body to cool down again.

That internal temperature regulation system is vital to remaining healthy, but losing too much of that fluid can also be problematic. Strenuous activity that is conducted during workouts can lead to a person losing 3 quarts or more of fluid per hour. As you lose more fluid, the performance of your body decreases.

Your cardiovascular system can also suffer from excessive fluid loss, as dizziness, muscle cramps, and even heat stroke can result.

Professional experts recommend that you regularly replace water and electrolytes (which includes sodium, potassium, and other minerals,) by drinking a sports drink (like Gatorade, Powerade, etc.) before, during, and after a workout. How much sports drink you should consume will depend on your body weight and type, your tendency to sweat, the external temperature you are working out in, and other variables, but here are some general guidelines to follow.

You should drink around 18oz (0.53 liter) a few hours before beginning your workout, then another 10oz (0.3 liter) around 15 minutes before starting your warm-up routine. For every hour you work out, you should drink at least 30oz (0.89 liter) more every hour you work out. Finally, after cooling down for a few minutes after your workout, you should drink another 20oz (0.59 liter.)

You should avoid caffeine-containing drinks while re-hydrating, as they will actually cause you to lose liquid due to the fact that they have a diuretic effect on the body. You should also avoid drinking alcohol for at least a few hours after a strenuous workout as well; not only does alcohol contain a high number of calories, it can also disrupt the smooth rate of cool-down as your body temperature changes.

You should avoid sports drinks that have high amounts of sugar, as you’ll be putting back a lot of calories you’ve burned off in your workout. Too much sugar can also unbalance cardiovascular regulation after a vigorous workout. This means you should limit your intake of soft drinks and concentrated fruit juices. You should also limit your intake of diet soft drinks, as they have a high level of carbon dioxide, which is not ideal for the best recovery from your workout.

You should look for drinks that replace magnesium (around 100mg per liter,) sodium, and potassium. Sodium and potassium are both essential elements for proper functioning of the heart and for regulating cellular electrical activity.

Isotonic drinks make excellent replacement fluids because they have been designed to closely match the body’s natural concentrations of needed vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, which allows the body to absorb them much more easily, and as a result, quicker into your bloodstream, allowing you to recover from your workouts faster.

By proper rehydration, you can ensure peak performance throughout your workouts, avoid medical problems, and maintain your overall health.

Get all the help you need to lose with with the information at http://healthyweightlossguide.com

Whether you are running, cycling, paddling, performing aerobics routines or using cardio machines, the traditional method for monitoring exercise intensity is to measure heart rate. For the purpose of general fitness improvement, this allows you to determine whether you are working within your aerobic training zone - the intensity that most effectively improves the cardiovascular system without becoming uncomfortable and causing premature fatigue.

However, few people are good at checking heart-rates: they either cannot find their pulse quickly enough to get an accurate reading, or they make any of a number of pulse-taking errors. Also, in order to take a pulse, exercisers generally have to slow down or stop which disrupts their workout.

The other option is to use a heart-rate monitor, but such equipment can be expensive and uncomfortable.

Fortunately, there is an easier, less expensive way to monitor exercise intensity - by simply listening to your breathing.

LOWER AEROBIC ZONE RANGE
You can determine the lower level of your aerobic training zone (that level of intensity is often called the aerobic threshold) by listening to your breathing - when it becomes audible, you have entered the aerobic training zone.

UPPER AEROBIC ZONE RANGE
When are you working too hard? When you are breathing so hard you can no longer carry on a conversation without gasping. This shows that you have passed out of your aerobic training zone and crossed the lactate threshold. You are now in the anaerobic training zone - a level of intensity that results in the buildup, in your bloodstream, of lactic acid and other fatigue-producing by-products of energy metabolism.

BREATHING STUDY
Robert Goode, a respiratory physiologist at the University of Toronto, has confirmed the effectiveness of using breathing to estimate exercise intensity. He performed a study in which 30 subjects pedaled stationary bicycles while heart rates and respiration levels were monitored.

Their heart rates were checked when they were first able to hear themselves breathing. He found that this point corresponded to the lower range of intensity for improving cardiovascular fitness (the aerobic threshold). Even better, this threshold changed depending on the age of the subject - a phenomenon that we know occurs as people age. For example, the aerobic threshold corresponded to about 110 beats per minute for a 65 year-old, and 150 beats per minute for a 20-year old.

Other studies have shown that the lactate threshold corresponds to the level of exercise intensity that causes you to gasp when breathing. The lactate threshold is upper range of the aerobic threshold.

CONCLUSION
If you want to exercise aerobically, work hard enough so you can hear your breathing, but not so hard that you cannot speak without gasping.

REFERENCES
1. Joe Taylor (Editor), Heavy breathing. Active Living, May 1997.
2. Phyllis Gorney Cooper (RN, MN), Editor, for the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, Aerobics: Theory and Practice, HDL Publishing, 1987.
3. Dick Moss, Editor, Physical Education Update, 2008.

Dick Moss (dm@peupdate.com) is the publisher of PE Update - a website that keeps physical educators and coaches up-to-date on over 40 sports, fitness and coaching topics. The website also provides a free newsletter, blog and sample articles. Check it out at: http://www.peUpdate.com

The top 5 fat burning exercises burn so many calories and melt away fat because they increase oxygen demands and get your heart rate way up by working several muscles at once. They should be done at a vigorous pace and with little to no rest in between exercises.

Remember to always consult your doctor before starting an exercise program.

1. Squat Presses: Target = Butt, Thighs, Shoulders, Triceps and Cardio
Hold dumbbells level with ears in the press position. Squat down until thighs are parallel to the floor. Stand back up and then press dumbbells over your head. Lower them back down and repeat 20 to 30 times for three to five sets.

2. Walking Lung Lateral Raise Curls: Target = Butt, Thighs, Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps and Cardio
With dumbbells at your sides, Lunge forward with your left leg then bring your right foot forward up to your left foot. Next Raise the dumbbells laterally out to your sides until they are level with your ears, and then lower them back to your sides. Next curl the dumbbells up and down with your palms up. Repeat, alternating legs, until 20 to 30 lateral raise curls are performed. Do three to five sets.

3. Up Down Push ups: Target = Butt, Thighs, Shoulders, Triceps Chest, Core and Cardio
Do one push up. Quickly jump feet forward to a squatting position. Jump high into the air, raising your hands above your head. Land with feet shoulder width apart, on the balls of your feet and drop back into a squat. Jump feet back to a push up position. Repeat 20 to 30 times in a fluid motion. Do three to five sets.

4. Cable Squat Twist: Target = Butt, Thighs, Shoulders, Core and cardio
Use a cable attachment with a handle and adjust it so it’s at eye level. Stand with feet shoulder width apart and grab the handle with both hands. While keeping arms straight and the weight on your heels, squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. As you begin to stand up, twist to as far as you can to the right keeping your arms straight, hands at eye level. Bring the handle back to the middle then repeat 20 to 30 times to the right then do the same to the left. Do three to five sets.

5. Walking Lunge Push Ups: Target = Butt, Thighs, Shoulders, Triceps, Chest, Core and Cardio
Do alternating walking lunges for about 20 to 30 steps each leg, then immediately drop down and do as many push ups as you can. After your push ups, stand up, turn around and do alternating walking lunges back to the starting place. Repeat this until you complete three to six sets of push ups. Your goal should be to do about 25 push ups each set even if you have to do them from your knees.

Steve Hochman is the founder of Next Level Fitness, Irvine. We specialize in using our exclusive 3-in-1 Personal Training system to melt fat fast and build healthy toned bodies.
http://www.nextlevelfitness.net

You can become lean, more energetic, and happier by making a few easy decisions in your life. Below are ten tips to get you started.

1. Lift weights. An effective strength-training regimen adds lean muscle mass to your body. Each pound of lean muscle mass burns, on the average, 13 calories a day; that means, if you gain an additional ten pounds of lean muscle, you will burn an extra 130 calories per day.

2. Do cardiovascular exercise. Perform 20-minutes of interval-based cardio exercise three times a week. Interval training means varying the intensity of exercise throughout your workout. Pick the cardiovascular exercise of your choice; running, biking, and elliptical are good options. Alternate the intensity of exercise throughout your workout, 2-minutes of fast, high-intensity exercise followed by 2-minutes of low-intensity exercise.

3. Drink plenty of water. You lose, on the average, 64 ounces of water a day in sweat and urine. It seems counter-intuitive, but the less water you drink, the more water you retain. The more water you retain, the more bloated you will look and feel. Drink at least a half-gallon of water every day. Keep a bottle of water at your desk while you work. Sip as you go.

4. Quit sugar soda. Americans consume one-quarter of their daily caloric need from sugar sodas. Soda has no nutritional value. Not only that, it can be harmful. Ramachandran Vasan, MD, professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine recently stated that, “Even one soda per day increases your risk of developing metabolic syndrome by about 50%.” Metabolic syndrome is a combination of medical disorders–elevated waist circumference, higher levels of fats in the blood, and a drastic reduction in good cholesterol–that can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Rather than drinking sugar soda, opt for no-calorie diet drinks, or drop soda altogether and replace it will water.

5. Reduce simple carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are found in foods like white bread, candy, cake and ice cream. They are absorbed into the blood stream directly through the intestinal lining and are rapidly converted into glucose at the rate of 30 calories per minute. The body responds by producing high levels of insulin to regulate the blood sugar. This can cause your body to experience energy spikes, followed by energy lows. Complex carbohydrates, found in whole grain breads, oats, rice, and vegetables, are converted to blood glucose at only two calories per minute. Sticking to complex carbs drops the level of calories converted to fat and regulates your energy levels.

6. Eat breakfast. Researchers at the National Weight Control Registry studied 3,000 people who successfully lost weight and kept it off. Most of these people stated that they eat breakfast every day as a weight control strategy. Breakfast starts your body’s metabolic system early in the day and fights hunger well into the afternoon. Eating breakfast also prevents many adverse effects that come from fasting, such as irritability and fatigue.

7. Set and achieve goals. Never live a day without a written goal. A good goal should have three characteristics; it should be realistic, it should have a deadline, and it should be written down. To lose one pound a week for twelve weeks is an excellent goal as long as it is written down.

8. Reward yourself. Life is full of triumphs; some are substantial; others are small; none are insignificant. Reward yourself for each accomplishment. Take yourself out to lunch or buy something nice. Think about how your accomplishments affect your life for the better. This will cause you to focus on the things you do to better your life and the lives of your friends.

9. Spend time with friends and family. By spending at least a few minutes a day to strengthen relationships, perhaps with a telephone call to an old friend or a birthday card to a family member, you give a little bit of yourself away. And the more you give, the more you receive in love, support and acknowledgement for all the wonderful things you are.

10. Meditate. A recent study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison sent 25 corporate Americans to an 8-week meditation coarse. After completing the course, subjects showed, on the average, a 5% increase in antibodies–some even showed a 25% increase. Researchers were surprised to see a 50% increase in electrical activity in parts of the brain associated with positive emotions and anxiety. The speed of life moves at a fever pitch. It’s essential to find a place where you can set everything aside and reboot your mind so you can stay effective.

Craig Nybo is the president of http://www.TOTALhuman.com, a company dedicated to improving YOUR quality of life with advanced, highly efficient fitness products. http://www.totalhuman.com

Nothing beats waking up in the morning with the thought of going to the gym to lift weights or jog on the treadmill. After a hard days work, the gym is one place you don’t even want to think about. Sometimes, even the thought of exercising at home with your own equipment can be less than desirable, which is why many people in San Diego and other cities all over the world turn to personal trainers to stay motivated.

Sometimes, just trying to get and stay motivated to exercise on a regular basis can be a challenge. No matter how you look at it, exercise can be downright boring and even tedious at times.

So, you may be wondering just how you can get the motivation you need to exercise on a regular basis. If you’ve been wondering what you can do to make exercise more fun, you’ll find some ideas below that just may help to make exercise more fun and a little bit easier.

First things first, you should exercise with a friend. You can challenge each other, help each other out, keep each other motivated and on track, make each other laugh or just make a game out of your exercise programs.

You can also try something different. If you go to the gym each and every day and use the same piece of equipment or use the same piece of equipment at home, you should try mixing things up, and your personal trainer can help you. Reverse your routine or just change the order of your exercises.

Go to a city park that has playground equipment and use the slide, climb on the monkey bars, do pull ups, hang from your knees, just let your imagination guide you. You don’t always need to follow a strict routine, just get out there and have fun working your muscles.

An outdoor circuit in the park is also something you can try. There are some parks that have circuit courses set up with a planned course where all you have to do is walk or jog to each station and then follow the instructions. If there isn’t a planned course, then you should do a combination of jogging and walking, picking a distance of a couple hundred feet. Jog 100 feet then drop and do a couple of pushups, walk the next 100 feet and then drop to do sit ups.

You can also ride a bike around your neighborhood or hike on a hiking trail. A walk in the park or around your neighborhood is also a great way to get some exercise. Doing yoga in the park or on a beach is also a nice and relaxing way to exercise both your body and your mind.

Playing a competitive sport is also something you can try. A lot of cities have team activities such as softball, volleyball, tennis, soccer, and so on. These types of activities will not only provide you with good exercise but they will also help you to meet new people as well.

When you exercise, try to picture your muscles getting bigger. Research has shown that if you focus all of your thoughts on the muscles that you are working, they will respond better. Try to watch them work with each repetition as your muscles contract and relax.

As you can tell, there are plenty of ways you can make exercise more fun and interesting. You don’t need to follow the same routine day after day, as you can do many other things to get in some exercise.

The important thing is that you should always try to incorporate exercise in any various form into your everyday life and make these habits the kind of habits that will last a lifetime, and your personal trainer is the perfect person to help you develop them.

Always consult with a a professional fitness consultant like the Personal Trainer San Diego before you begin a new training regimen. For more information about exercise and staying healthy, please visit http://www.sdpersonaltrainers.com

OK, so sweat isn’t particularly the nicest of topics to talk about. People spend vast amounts of money on deodorants to stop themselves from sweating. It’s no wonder either because sweating can turn smelly and make our clothes wet and uncomfortable to wear. The thing is though that our bodies need to sweat in order to be able to keep in good health.

But why should this be? Sweating is so horrible, surely it can’t be good for you? Well, the reason we sweat is because humans need to intake water for a variety of reasons. Water is essential for tissues and cells in our body and it allows important elements such as salt and sugar to be transported throughout the body. Besides these reasons, water also acts as our bodies own thermostat so that you can keep to the optimum temperature for health.

In order for your body to be able to maintain your body in equilibrium you’re body goes through the process of homeostasis. To be able to do this body temperature is extremely important. If the temperature of your body becomes too high you experience a fever and even heat stroke. When your body gets too cold then you suffer from chills. Both of these conditions should be avoided in order to stay healthy.

Also perspiration isn’t the primary method of homeostasis it’s very important for body temperature control. When we exercise all the different chemical reactions increase in speed which causes the internal temperature of your body to increase. Your body is always aiming for equilibrium which is about 98.6F/37C. Sweating causes the heat to be carried out from your body through the skin.

It’s also said that by sweating you are expelling lots of toxins from your body so it’s important that you do some exercising that is designed to make you sweat. There are so many different types of exercise that allows you to do this. Cycling, running, rowing, boxing and weightlifting all allow you to achieve this.

In addition to sweating out toxins you’re body also releases many different good hormones that increase your levels of happiness. This is why some people exercise instead of taking anti-depressants. There have been many studies on the effects of exercise and one of them found that people with gastroenteritis (GI) have had their symptoms greatly reduced when they have been exercising more. How you choose to get more exercise is up to you. Some people like to join a gym whilst others prefer to go hill walking and enjoy the outdoors.

April Kerr is keen on exercise and has created website http://bestellipticaltrainer.info/

You can lose weight quickly. You can shed fat from your belly and under your arms with rigorous but smart exercise. You can get a lean, athletic build. You can even show off your muscles by losing that pesky layer of fat that obscures your tone and definition. It is not a matter of training for hours on end every day. It is a matter of making every minute of your exercise as efficient as possible. When training your heart while shooting for fast calorie loss, interval based cardio training is the key.

Low Intensity Vs. High Intensity Cardio Training
There are two camps when it comes to cardio training; one buys into the low intensity philosophy. They say, walk, don’t run. The high intensity people, on the other hand, say run, don’t walk. Lets explore both arguments.

It is true that, during low intensity cardio exercise, such as walking or light biking, more calories are burned directly from fat. The only problem is, with low intensity cardiovascular exercise, your overall calorie burn isn’t enough to truly make a difference in your overall weight loss and body fat reduction.

High intensity cardio training, on the other hand, burns many more calories in a much shorter time period. Some fitness enthusiasts take this to the extreme by pushing themselves as fast and as far as they possibly can. A competitive athlete might sprint flat out for as long as possible, increasing his or her distance and time on the track with every workout. This method works well for some, but is not practical for all.

Tools For Effective Interval Based Cardio Training
Interval based cardiovascular training is a more sensible method of burning a high volume of calories in a short time period. To train with cardio intervals, you will need two things: a heart rate monitor and your maximum heart rate (MHR). Your MHR relates to your age and sex. You can get your MHR by using the following calculations:

For men: MHR = 202 - (.55 x age)
For women: MHR = 216 - (1.09 x age)

These calculations are the results of research conducted at John Moores University in Liverpool in 2007. Research results were reported in the Int J Sports Med 2007; 24.

To practice, lets calculate the MHR for both a 36-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman.

A 36-year-old man calculates his MHR with this equation: 202 - (.55 x 36) = 182.

A 28-year-old-woman calculates her MHR with this equation: 216 - (1.09 x 28) = 185.

Once you have calculated your MHR, you will need a heart rate monitor. You can purchase an inexpensive model from any sporting goods store or from an online vendor. With all the right tools in place, you are ready to workout using interval based cardiovascular training.

Using Interval Based Cardio Training
Any cardiovascular exercise will do. You can run, speed-walk, bike, stair-step, work on an elliptical, jump rope, or any other from cardio exercise. High impact cardio exercise such as running can be harmful on the ankles and knees over time. You might consider using low impact exercises like biking or elliptical to guard against unnecessary wear and tear on the body.

Interval based cardio training breaks your workout into sections (intervals) of time. These intervals alternate between low intensity and high intensity. Your heart rate during exercise acts as a guide to tell you when to switch from low intensity to high intensity mode or from high intensity back to low intensity mode. To exercise using interval based cardio training, follow the eight steps below:

1. Put on your heart rate monitor and begin exercise. Start with one to two minutes of exercise at a light, warm up speed.

2. After a short warm up, kick it in gear. Push yourself as hard as you can. Keep an eye on your heart monitor. Your goal is to hit around 80% of your MHR. If you MHR is 185, you should shoot for 148 to 160 or so.

3. Once you hit 80% of your MHR, maintain your current intensity/speed to keep your heart rate at 80% of your MHR for one minute.

4. At the one-minute mark, drop the intensity of your exercise. Your goal is to drop your heart rate by twenty beats per minute. If, during your high intensity interval, you kept your heart rate at 148 (80% of your MHR), you should shoot for a heart rate at around 128 during your low intensity interval.

5. Maintain your low exercise intensity to keep your heart rate at 20 less than 80% of your MHR for one minute.

6. After a minute of low intensity exercise, kick it in again to raise your heart rate to 80% of your MHR.

7. Continue this pattern, alternating between a high intensity interval for one minute and a low intensity interval for one minute for as long as you like.

8. Finish your interval based workout with a one to two minute, low intensity cool down.

Usually twenty minutes of interval based cardiovascular exercise is enough to keep your metabolism pumping, to lose weight, and to keep your heart in good condition. You should experiment with the frequency and length of your interval based training. Put yourself a cardiovascular exercise schedule for two weeks, perhaps working out for 20 minutes on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. Weigh yourself at the beginning of your schedule and again at the end. If, while maintaining a healthy diet, you have not lost weight, try increasing the length or frequency of your cardiovascular workouts. You should see a weight loss difference; if you don’t you need to change your routine until you get on a steady fat loss track. With some experimentation, you will find your way to obtaining a slim, athletic body.

Craig Nybo is the president of TOTALhuman.com, a company dedicated to improving YOUR quality of life with advanced, highly efficient fitness products. http://www.totalhuman.com