Cardio Energy Systems: How Do They Work?

Although cardio workouts have been around for decades, it actually isn’t always the best form of exercise in terms of seeing results. If you’re new to cardiovascular routines, you’re in luck – knowing the mistakes many make beforehand will stop you doing the same, so you can see results far quicker and start to benefit from this great exercise. For example, knowing the energy systems prior to beginning can help you develop a truly effective regime.

Aerobic cardio involves activities such as stationary biking or distance running and are low intensity, as well as being quite time consuming. Although these exercises are great for burning fat, they don’t build muscle so it can be difficult to maintain the weight loss that you’ve worked hard to achieve. The other energy system is anaerobic, which is the opposite in every way – they are quick, reduce fat as well as building lean muscle, and are high intensity. The benefits you may see from aerobic exercises are invariably temporary, but anaerobic exercises provide more solid and consistent results. Muscle burns fat so the more of it you can build, the more chance you have of decreasing your level of body fat.

Sprints and interval training are both a great place to start, as they can provide brilliant results in next to no time. Sprinting creates fast twitch muscle fibres, which ups your athleticism. High intensity workouts may seem too much early on in your workout career, but don’t fear them – they’re vital for successful weight loss so the sooner you can include them in your exercise programme, the better. A full anaerobic regime can be completed in less than thirty minutes, so it’s ideal if you struggle to fit exercise into your week. With these amendments to your workouts, you’ll be seeing results in no time.