>By Shannon Clark

You hear different theories every day as to how much and what kind of cardio you should be doing in order to reach your goals. Some personal trainers will tell you a moderate pace hits your fat burning zone, while others proclaim that intense interval training for short periods of time is the best way to burn fat. So, which cardio training works best?

Steady State, Moderate-Paced Cardio

According to twenty-nine-year-old Jonathan Fass, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist at Rutgers University in New Jersey, steady-state, moderate-paced cardio training would be a good start for beginners, since they may not be able to work at higher intensities without risking injury or becoming quickly fatigued.

This type of cardio is performed at a continual intensity, where you can keep a conversation going with slight difficulty for a period of 20-60 minutes. You may want to find an activity you enjoy to help you stick to it. It could be running or jogging, biking, rowing, swimming, or using the elliptical trainer.

Fass believes this moderate type of training allows you to burn a higher number of calories, but it may not increase your metabolism the way interval cardio or weight training will based on the levels of intensity. Also, this training improves your endurance, but may not improve your maximum volume of oxygen (VO2) that your body can consume due to the low intensity of your workout.

In addition, your body adapts to this cardio training rather quickly. You will need to continue performing this moderate-intensity activity for a longer period of time in order to continue to see results. It may lead to a lot of wasted time in the gym. However, there is a more productive method for achieving fat loss.

Interval Training

Fass says working out for a period of time at a higher intensity followed by a period of rest is simply a better method for fat loss. Because of the intensity of interval cardio, your body will burn a great deal of calories after you are finished exercising. Why?

Since your muscles were working intensely for this type of cardio, small tears are created in the muscle tissue. Your body needs to repair these tears, which consumes a lot of energy, after your workout. Hence, your metabolism kicks up as the tissues are being repaired.

Another benefit from interval training is that it also pushes your body’s cardiovascular system more and helps improve your physical conditioning further. You may need to be in pretty good shape to begin this type of training. Beginners may want to start with the steady-state, cardio training first, then work your way into interval training.

If fat loss is your goal and you are already in decent shape, give the interval training a try instead of a steady-state cardio session. You may be amazed at the benefits you achieve and how much more time you’ll have instead of spending endless minutes on cardio machines.