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Anonymous
For your cardio program, you should aim for at least 20-30 minutes of continuous exercise within the first two months. Take yourself seriously in making progress: settling for less will get you less. One of the keys to getting much stronger, increasing stamina, and jumpstarting your metabolism is using interval training. Wiki "HIIT" to learn more about it. Generally, you want to alternate periods of high intensity with periods of low intensity.
Let's create a very basic, beginner's interval program. Say it's your first time using the stationary bike at the gym. Aim for 20 minutes of total cycling time.
00:00: Bike 10 minutes at a steady, even pace. Don't tire yourself out. 10:00: At the 10 minute mark, push it harder for about a minute. 11:00: Slow down and keep steady for two minutes. 13:00: Push it again. If you have the energy to go all out, do it. If not, just keep an increased pace. 14:00: Slow it down. Even out your pace for two minutes. 16:00: Increased pace again. 17:00: 2 minutes normal pace again. 19:00: All out max effort for 1 minute. 20:00: End.
The effect of interval training on the body is very different from that of normal slow-paced cardio, so it's difficult to compare the two. If you had to compare, we can say that you just did the equivalent of maybe 30-40mins of slow biking, in 20 minutes. On top of that, the anaerobic nature of the fast intervals you did will increase your strength, and create a great nutrient demand from the muscles. See what I'm saying? Long, slow cardio DOES burn fat. Interval training burns less fat during the exercise, but burns MUCH more over a long period, throughout the day when your body is repairing itself.
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