What is the Best CARDIO exercise? – Running, Bicycling, Elliptical, Swimming ?

There are many choices on Cardio exercises in the gym; but I will narrow down to 4 choices: (1) Running; (2) Bicycling; (3) Elliptical; & (4) Swimming. I will compare Pros and Cons of each choice.

(1) Running
a. Pros
No tools or machines are needed. It is very effective on calorie burning. A 30-minute slow running can burn 300 calories for a 135 lbs woman and a little more for a 175 lbs man. Especially, on the Treadmill, you can select different options such as speed, degree of the slope, and time.

b. Cons
The impact from the surface could create too much pressure on the joints, the knees,

(2) Bicycling
a. Pros
It is also good for effective calorie burning- 200 calories for 135 lbs woman and more for a heavier man. It works on Arms and Glutes as well.

b. Cons
The wrong posture could hurt the back- keep the back straight. Forget the Tour De France riders- they are professionals riding against time.
Good bikes can be costly- over $1,000. If you have a gym membership, be sure to take advantage of its stationary bikes.

(3) Elliptical Machine
a. Pros
It provides a total body workout. Especially, the ones with arm movements can be used as a simple warm-up exercise as well.
It burns about 200 calories for 30 minutes.

b. Cons
It might take a little while to get used to the different movements of the legs.

(4) Swimming
a. Pros
Swimming is an all-around body exercise. It works on your shoulders, back, quads, and abs. It is a very effective cardio exercise because it forces you to breathe at the right interval. You also learn how to coordinate the movements of your arms and legs.
Swimming is good for the people with joint problems, especially in the knees.
Recreational swimming can burn roughly 300 calories for 30 minutes.

b. Cons
Obviously, you need an indoor pool for cold weather.
If you do not know how to swim, start with a kickboard and a buoy.

I will post more blogs on swimming to help you learn how to swim as a beginner.

The "best" ABS workout ???

Well, I get that question a lot at the gym and from my friends.

Once and for all, here is what I found out from my experience and research.

I did the following for 12 months, probably 360 days out of 365. As a result, I got my current six pack with 2% body fat.

1. Warm up: Start with a regular sit ups, 50 non-stop, in a slow but controlled manner. You are NOT trying to do as fast as you can, but nice and slowly. Take a break for a minute before going to the next.

2. Upper abs: Do 30-degree angle sit ups. Lie down on your back, bend your knees 90 degrees. Lift your upper body only 30 degrees from the ground. Stop for three seconds. Then, down. Repeat this 10 times. That's one set. Do five sets with a break in between sets.

3. Lower abs: Do flutter kicks. Lie down on your back flat on the ground. Lift your feet 30 degrees up from the ground. Do flutter kicks. Do 20, that's one set. Do five sets with a break in between sets.

4. Obliques: Do bicycle sit ups. Just like regular sit ups, except that you touch the right knee with your left elbow, touch the left knee with the right elbow. 25 reps each set, 2 sets.

The total reps would be over 200. I do all of these in the gym, but if you are not accustomed to doing sit ups, you might want to start doing 1/4 of them a day and increase the number of reps. Otherwise, your abs will get sore and you might have to stop for a few days.

Unlike other muscles, you do NOT need to do this alternate days. You may and should do sit ups everyday.

You will see a noticeable difference in six months and a lot more in a year. I started doing sit ups right after high school and when I started, I did not have a big belly. So, it took me only a year to get a six pack. Depending on your current fitness level, it might take you longer, but you will get there. The key is patience and persistence.

Moreover, fitness is 70% diet and 30% exercise, which means that eating healthy is more important than doing thousands of sit-ups.

So, here is how to eat for the "abs."



First, eat 6 times a day, every three hours.
Some of healthy snacks are:
(1) A peanut butter sandwich, especially in the morning: don't worry- peanut butter has GOOD fat, the type the body needs. I add celery in it, which surprisingly tastes good.
(2) Fruits: I eat per day two apples, two bananas, two oranges, and other seasonal fruits. Fruits have low calories but are filling.
(3) Baby carrots: might be hard to eat first time, but tastes not bad if you get used to it.
(4) Power bars/ Granola bars: choose the ones with less than 5 grams of fat per serving.
(5) Soy milk: will take your hunger away and also has protein for muscle building.

The Abs Diet 6-Minute Meals for 6-Pack Abs: More Than 150 Great-Tasting Recipes to Melt Away Fat!

Second, Try NOT to eat a heavy dinner and follow the every 3-hour eating rule (see First above). Do not eat within 2 hours before going to bed except a small portion of light snacks listed above.

Last, do NOT miss breakfast.

While doing all of those above, if you can do cardio exercises, you will see the results sooner.

I will talk about cardio exercises in my next blog. It's time to go to eat :)

In the mean time, would you like to share your abs workout methods?