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To succeed at losing body fat you need to burn more calories than you take in. Even if you don't eat much you won't lose weight as you could if you don't exercise. To help your body burn the extra calories needed for fat loss you need to do cardiovascular workouts. Once you start performing regular cardio workouts you should see much more fat melt off your body as long as you don't eat too much. Cardiovascular workouts can be done in a gym, outside, or at home. If you don't feel comfortable working out in a gym or outdoors you can find many reasonably priced cardiovascular training machines to keep in your house or apartment so you can exercise with the privacy you want. Running is one of the most popular ways to do a cardio workout. You can run or jog outdoors or on a treadmill inside. Running allows for a lot of variety since you can run on an incline or increase and decrease the intensity based on how fast you go. Biking is another great way to do cardiovascular workouts. You won't put quite as much stress on your ankles when you ride a bike as you will while running, though you will still put some stress on your knees. Biking is great for your quadriceps and hamstring muscles, but if you weight train your legs you'll want to avoid overdoing it. Boxing style cardiovascular workouts using a heavy bag, speed bag, and jump rope are a great way to get away from the boredom of many other forms of cardio. They will also allow you to use your upper body a lot whereas most other forms of cardio involve mostly using the lower body. Boxing workouts will also give you a chance to do a lot of abdominal work. Your shoulders and arms will take a beating from hitting the bags and jumping rope so be careful to avoid over training them if you follow a weight training routine. Elliptical machine workouts will allow you to get all of the benefits of running or biking without putting as much stress on the joints. If you have any joint problems you should exercise on an elliptical machine to get your cardio. If you play a sport that has you constantly moving you'll get a great cardiovascular workout. Some of the best sports you can play for cardio are basketball, soccer, tennis, or racquetball. No matter what kind of cardio exercise you choose to do to help you burn fat you must avoid going overboard with it. If you do too much you may end up burning away muscle tissue along with the body fat. This could lower your resting metabolic rate. Try to work your way up to three or four 45 minute cardiovascular workouts a week and see if you are still burning fat and keeping the same amount of muscle size and strength. If you're getting weaker you may be losing some muscle.
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weight loss, fat loss, exercise, cardio,
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