Are aerobics and cardio the same thing?

Question:

I want to make sure i get all the right exercise in in a day, so can someone clue me in as to what the difference is between cardio workouts and aerobic workouts?

Answers:
Hi, I'm a personal trainer and fitness coach of 10 years. Esentially, the terms are used interchangeably, but there is a slight difference. If your goal is a strong heart and lungs for sports training, then "Cardio" is your term. It refers to working out at a higher intensity for a duration that you couldn't possibly maintain for longer than 40 minutes. Tae Bo is a good example of cardio. It's pretty high intensity. "Aerobic" just means "with oxygen" and will help improve lung capacity and heart strength, but the emphasis is more on fat burning. Some research indicates that working out at a slighly lower intensity for 45-60 minutes burns more total fat than the higher intensity workouts. Ultimately, they both burn about the same amount of fat, it's just that the lower intensity burns a greater percentage of calories from fat, whereas "cardio" burns more carbs because the body can process them faster for energy. It's a good idea to do both types of training on alternating days so that your muscles can recover between hard workouts.

Other Answers:
To a point. Aerobic exercise is used mostly to achieve the level of activity that taps into aerobic metabolism (meaning using oxygen). With cardio, you start out with aerobic exercise. You can also tap into what is considered anaerobic exercise. You often know when you begin anaerobic exercise because you feel like you have gotten a "second breath." Anaerobic exercise burns more calories and fat than aerobic exercise.

Aerobic is the type of workout that will trim and tone your body. It will also make you more flexible. Cardio is more like condition training to help you breathe better and to help your over-all fitness. It will help you lose weight, but it won't necessarily make you more toned or sculpted in your appearance. You just usually get smaller in certain areas of your body like the legs, waste, or maybe your over-all frame. Aerobic workouts help you get some tone and that sculpted look during or after you're losing weight from doing the cardio. I hope what I'm saying makes sense, lol. That's the basic difference between the two.

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Are aerobics and cardio the same thing?

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