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Although you may think you are doing yourself a favor by getting in some extra cardio, it can actually have the opposite effect. In fact, too much cardio can have a dangerous impact on your overall health, hurting your longterm health and weight loss goals.
Though cardio is a great way to increase your heart rate and burn calories, you should not rely too much on it. It may be a necessary component to weight loss, using it as your sole means of exercise could end up being a serious mistake.
Too much cardio can overwork your muscles, making them tired and sore, which makes it difficult to maintain a regular exercise schedule. Moreover, too much cardio can put a strain on your body, hurting you--especially your joints--overtime.
Weight Gain
Surprisingly, too much cardio can also lead to weight gain. According to MindBodyGreen, "When you do too much cardio, your body generates soaring levels of cortisol. Producing too much instructs your brain to store fat (especially around your abdomen) and inhibits your body’s ability to process sugar. If sugar isn't processed properly, you gain weight."
With that in mind, keeping cardio in moderation is a better way to achieve weight loss.
What To Do Instead
Instead of focusing all of your attention on cardio, incorporating other types of workouts into your exercise routine could be the key to sustainable weight loss. Mixing in HIIT with your regular exercises is a great way to kickstart weight loss.
HIIT incorporates short bursts of cardio that is shown to be effective in promoting weight loss.
With that in mind, trying other exercises instead can help save your body from unnecessary pain and over exertion and speed up weight loss. Besides HIIT, other exercises to try instead of cardio include yoga or pilates. Both of which can help promote weight loss without the risks of too much cardio.
