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With approximately 37% of Americans overweight, it's clear that many of us are not following the latest fitness guidelines that prescribe an hour of exercise a day. In fact, there was no doubt a collective groan when people realized they would now have to find an hour each day to do something they can't seem to find 5 minutes for. But there is hope! With a few simple tips I will show you how to maximize the health and fat burning benefits of cardio (aerobic activity).

How Cardio Can Be Used to Maximize Fat Burning

After a good cardio session your Metabolic Rate is higher and you actually will burn extra calories for several hours later. The calories that you will burn literally while doing nothing, will most probably exceed the calories initially burned during the exercise.

Morning Cardio for Maximum Fat Loss

Doing cardio in the am before eating carbs is beneficial because your body's glycogen levels will be lower in the morning (assuming you last ate at dinner time and have essentially fasted for 10-12 hour fast). Doing cardio without eating causes your body to mobilize more fat because of the inavailability of glycogen. Blood glucose levels are also lower after an overnight fast so you will burn more fat which will be used for energy.


After fasting your insulin levels are the lowest. When you consume a meal, especially one with carbohydrates your body releases insulin, which interferes with the mobilization of body fat. Because there is less insulin present before eating after a 10-12 hour fast more body fat is burned when cardio is done in the morning. Note: this is also why many "fat burning" or carbohydrate blocking products contains several ingredients, which have shown to reduce or regulate blood insulin levels.

Eating immediately before cardio also inhibits fat burning because you will first have to burn off what you ate first before your body will burn stored body.

When you do cardio in the morning, your metabolism stays elevated for a period of time after the cardio workout is over.

Cardio in the morning will also give you an energy boost throughout the rest of the day and can also regulate your appetite and assist you with controlling cravings and binging.

Afternoon Cardio

By doing an afternoon cardio session you will be able to elevate your metabolism a second time for another period of a few hours. Therefore your body burns extra calories while doing no extra work. This is similar to the calories that will be burned by extra lean muscle you develop. Once you add the muscle you burn more calories without doing any additional cardio exercise. Isnt that great? These are those little tricks that must people do not hear about.

Two-a-days for Maximum Fat Loss

To maximize fat burning perform two cardio sessions, one in the morning and when after you train in the afternoon. This technique works so well because of a cool effect that occurs after you do cardio.

About the Author

Jeff Behar, MS, MBA is a recognized health, fitness and nutrition expert, regularly writing about hot topics in the areas of health, fitness, disease prevention, nutrition, anti agingalternative medicine. His work also often appears in several of the major health and fitness newsletters, health and fitness magazines, and on major health, and fitness websites. Behar is also a well sought after personal trainer, motivational speaker, and weight loss expert.
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People who have lost brain cells in the hippocampus area of the brain are more likely to develop dementia, according to a study published in the March 17, 2009, print issue of NeurologyҮ, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study involved 64 people with Alzheimer's disease, 44 people with mild cognitive impairment, which is the stage of memory problems that precedes Alzheimer's disease, and 34 people with no memory or thinking
problems.

MRI scans were performed on all of the participants at the beginning of the study and again an average of a year and a half later. During that time, 23 of the people with mild cognitive impairment had developed Alzheimer's disease, along with three of the healthy participants.

The researchers measured the volume of the whole brain and the hippocampus area, which is affected by Alzheimer's disease, at the beginning and end of the study, and calculated the rate of shrinkage in the brain over that time.

For the people who did not have dementia at the beginning of the study, those with smaller hippocampal volumes and higher rates of shrinkage were two to four times as likely to develop dementia as those with larger volumes and a slower rate of atrophy.

This finding seems to reflect that at the stage of mild cognitive impairment, considerable atrophy has already occurred in the hippocampus," said study author Wouter Henneman, MD, of VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. "In people who already have Alzheimer's disease, the loss of nerve cells is more widespread throughout the brain."

About Dementia

Dementia is a progressive brain dysfunction (in Latin 'dementia' means irrationality), which results in a restriction of daily activities and in most cases leads in the long term to the need for care. Many chronic diseases can result in dementia, the most common one being Alzheimer's disease.

The probability of suffering from dementia increases with advancing age. Dementia predominantly occurs in the second half of our life, often after the age of 65. The frequency of dementia increases with rising age from less than 2 % for the 65-69-year-olds, to 5 % for the 75-79 year-olds and to more than 20 % for the 85-89 year-olds. Every third person over 90 years of age suffers from moderate or severe dementia (Bickel, Psycho 1996, 4-8). About half of those affected by dementia suffer from Alzheimer's disease.

About Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a slowly progressive disease of the brain that is characterized by impairment of memory and eventually by disturbances in reasoning, planning, language, and perception. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, which afflicts 24 million people worldwide. Alzheimer's disease is not a normal part of aging and is not something that inevitably happens in later life. It is rarely seen before the age of 65. The likelihood of having Alzheimer's disease increases substantially after the age of 70 and may affect around 50% of persons over the age of 85.

About the American Academy of Neurology (AAN)

The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as multiple sclerosis, restless legs syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, narcolepsy, and stroke.

Most people are aware that there are many proven health benefits to those that incorporate aerobic exercise into their daily routine. But did you know that there are at least 40 major benefits to get you off that couch and to get your heart pumping?

Top Health Benefits of Aerobic (Cardio) Training

Research shows that the specific benefits of regular low impact aerobic exercise includes:

• Weight management. Aerobic cardio exercise helps maintain a healthy weight.
• Burns calories. Aerobic exercise raises the metabolic rate and burns calories.
• Reduces body fat. A research team at the University of Chile Clinical Hospital in Santiago, showed that aerobic exercise reduced body mass index (BMI), a measure of body fat. The study also showed that the participants had waist circumference, decreased blood pressure, and reduced appetite. Reference; The Endocrine Society (2008, June 18). Aerobic Exercise Increases A Blood Protein That May Suppress Appetite. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 2, 2008, from /releases/2008/06/080616115855.htm.
• Reduces hunger and suppresses appetite. Aerobic exercise increases leptin levels, a hormone that helps reduce hunger and suppress appetite.
• Increases your metabolic rate. The metabolic activity of an individual is heightened for several hours following a bout of aerobic activity.
• Promotes weight loss through calories burning and increased metabolism. When performing aerobic (cardio) exercise the increase in work load of exercised muscles results in increased metabolic rate, fuel consumption or calorie burning, continues for several hours after the workout is completed.
• Slows down the aging process. Maintaining aerobic fitness through middle age and beyond can delay biological aging by up to 12 years and prolong independence during old age, according to several recent studies. Reference: BMJ-British Medical Journal (2008, April 10). Maintaining Aerobic Fitness Could Delay Biological Aging By Up To 12 Years, Study Shows. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 2, 2008, from /releases/2008/04/080409205827.htm
• Increases brain power (cognitive ability). Several recent studies show that aerobic exercise can increase cognitive ability and allow down age related dementia. According to a recent review of studies from the Netherlands. Aerobic physical exercises that improve cardiovascular fitness also help boost cognitive processing speed, motor function and visual and auditory attention in healthy older people, said lead review author Maaike Angevaren. Reference: Center for the Advancement of Health (2008, April 20). Aerobic Exercise Boosts Older Bodies And Minds, Review Suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 2, 2008, from /releases/2008/04/080417173453.htm.
• Improved muscle health. Aerobic exercise stimulates the growth of tiny blood vessels (capillaries) in your muscles. This helps your body more efficiently deliver oxygen to your muscles and remove from them irritating metabolic waste products such as lactic acid.
• Improves balance and coordination. Regular cardio can help prevent falls through improve balance and coordination. It can also help you improve your coordination for other sports and activities.
• Tone muscles throughout the body. Cardio helps muscles get firmer, toner and have a more youthful appearance.
• Increases fitness. Can help keep you fit if you have arthritis, without putting excessive stress on your joints.
• Improves range of motion. Can help warm and lubricate the joints, if kept to low impact.
• Increases stamina/endurance. Aerobic exercise may make you tired in the short term, i.e., during and right after the activity, but over the long term it will increase your stamina and reduce fatigue.
• Improves the ability of muscles to use fats during exercise, preserving intramuscular glycogen. This helps give you a leaner physique while also giving you more energy for your workouts and for your daily routines
• Reduces risk to many chronic diseases. Several studies show the benefit of regular exercise including aerobic exercise on health. In the January 2008 issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter, the Mayo clinic notes the following health benefits associated with 30 minutes of exercise a day: lower blood pressure, reduction in LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol), improvement in the concentration of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or goodӔ cholesterol in the blood), reduction is risk to type 2 diabetes, reduction in risk to osteoporosis, cancer and heart disease, improvement in bone density. Note: extra weight is also a contributing factor to conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes (adult-onset diabetes) and some forms of cancer, therefore as you lose weight, your risk of developing these diseases decreases. Reference: Mayo Clinic (2008, January 4). Moderate Exercise Yields Big Benefits. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 2, 2008, from /releases/2008/01/080104123421.htm
• Helps reduce the risk of developing insulin sensitivity and Type 2 diabetes. Tighter management of blood glucose levels reduces the workload of the pancreas, which reduces the risk for developing insulin sensitivity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetesdiabetes (adult-onset diabetes) significantly, the greatest improvements came from combined aerobic and resistance training. Referece: Mayo Clinic (2008, January 4). Moderate Exercise Yields Big Benefits. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 2, 2008, from /releases/2008/01/080104123421.htm. American College of Physicians (2007, September 18). Both Aerobic And Resistance Exercise Improved Blood Sugar Control In People With Diabetes. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 2, 2008, from /releases/2007/09/070917173157.htm (adult-onset diabetes). Note, although aerobic exercise improved glycemic/blood sugar control in people with type 2
• Lowers risk of heart disease (including but not limited to coronary artery disease,coronary heart disease angina.
• Stops or reverses the build-up of blockages in the vessels that supply blood to the heart.
• Increases the total number of red blood cells in the body, facilitating transport of oxygen.
• Helps control blood sugar. Regular exercise stops wild blood sugar fluctuations, thus helps control the insulin response as well.
• Increases bone density. Lowers risk of osteoporosis.
• Helps prevent osteoporosis (gradual loss of bone mass/strength). Research shows that bones become weaker if they are not stressed and that exercise helps prevent bone calcium loss.
• Reduces stress. Regular aerobic exercise releases endorphins, your body's natural painkillers. Endorphins also reduce stress, depression and anxiety.
• Improves sleep patterns. Studies show that exercise help reduce stress, increases calmness, and improves sleep disorders. Reference: American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2008, June 12). Moderate Exercise Can Improve Sleep Quality Of Insomnia Patients. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 2, 2008, from /releases/2008/06/080611071129.htm
• Reduces anxiety. Aerobic exercise can reduce anxiety and improve the sleep quality of insomnia patients, according to several research studies. Reference: American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2008, June 12). Moderate Exercise Can Improve Sleep Quality Of Insomnia Patients. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 2, 2008, from /releases/2008/06/080611071129.htm
• May reduce chronic pain. Regular aerobic exercise releases endorphins, your body's natural painkillers.
• Improves mobility and strength in later life. Research shows that exercise helps improve mobility, flexibility and strength.
• Enhances the body's hormonal system. Aerobic exercise stimulates the body to secrete specific hormones that have positive specific effects on specific parts of our bodies. Examples include hormones that lower cholesterol, suppresses appetite (leptin), etc.
• Enhances the body's neuro system. Many hormonal changes affect the nervous system, including some that act on specific areas of the brain that control pleasure and elation. Among the effects are increased alertness and IQ
• Improves immune system. People who exercise regularly are less susceptible to minor viral illnesses such as colds and flu . It is possible that aerobic exercise helps activate your immune system and prepares it to fight off infection.
• Enhances the speed at which muscles recover from high intensity exercise. Quicker recovery means better gains in the gym and an overall fitter body.
• Improves quality of life. Less chronic muscle pain, less stiffness and greater mobility are all benefits of exercising.
• Increases life span. Several studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine, scientifically linked aerobic exercise with increased life spans.

About Jeff Behar

Jeff Behar, MS, MBA

Jeff Behar, MS, MBA is a recognized health, fitness and nutrition expert, regularly writing about hot topics in the areas of health, fitness, disease prevention, nutrition, anti aging and alternative medicine. His work also often appears in several of the major health and fitness newsletters, health and fitness magazines, and on major health, and fitness websites. Behar is also a well sought after personal trainer, motivational speaker, and weight loss expert.