It’s no secret that to keep healthy, we must move our bodies every day. Movement strengthens our muscles, including our heart. When you go for a run or walk up and down stairs, you’re performing cardio. The stronger your cardiovascular system becomes, the more capillaries you have delivering oxygen to the cells in your muscles, where these cells then burn more fat.
A strong cardiovascular system means more than just weight loss. Cardio exercises strengthen the heart and lungs, increase bone density, reduce stress, improve sleep and decrease the risk of heart disease. Most importantly, cardio makes your body more efficient in your day-to-day living.
Cardio exercise should be personalized to fit your needs. Begin by finding your target heart rate. This will give you a starting point to be sure your workout is not only beneficial, but also safe. To calculate your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. Then take 50-85% of that number. According to the American Academy of Sports Medicine, 50-85% of your maximum heart rate is the sweet spot of where your heart rate should be during routine cardiovascular exercise.
A heart rate monitor offers an important tool to track your heart rate throughout your workout. It can record the amount of time you exercise in your zone and how many calories you burn. If you don’t have a heart rate monitor or fitness band/watch that measures heart rate, consider buying one.
Cardio exercise can be done inside or outside. It’s a personal preference and both offer advantages. Cardio equipment in a health club is intended specifically for exercise. Each machine is designed to imitate your body’s natural movements. Understanding what each machine does will help you decide which one works best for your body and goals. Ideally, it will be a combination of a few of them.
Start with the treadmill. It simulates walking and running. This machine has both incline and speed adjustments. By increasing the incline of the bed of the treadmill, you will feel as though you’re walking uphill. This will also increase your heart rate. Try to use the handles for balance only, not support. When you use the treadmill without holding on, you’re engaging your core muscles to stay balanced.
An elliptical machine offers a non-impact form of exercise. This cardio machine is a good alternative for people who have joint or back issues. This machine can provide upper and lower body strengthening and conditioning. You can set the resistance for a harder workout as well as the cross ramp for an increased incline.
The recumbent bike is another beneficial cardio machine. This bike allows you to change the level of resistance while giving your gluteal muscles a great workout.
Other cardio machines include the adaptive motion trainer that can vary from stepping to running with stride length. The rowing machine offers a great cardio intensity workout.
About 150 minutes of cardiovascular activity per week is what is recommended by the American Academy of Sports Medicine. You can break that down to a more manageable 30 minutes of cardio five times a week, or whatever fits your weekly schedule.
If you’re short on time, try Tabata training. Tabata training is a form of high-intensity interval training that’s great for burning calories. A traditional Tabata session is only four minutes long. For example, you could perform a Tabata session on an elliptical trainer. Go for 20 seconds at your maximum and recover for 10 seconds. Repeat eight times. This small change can yield big results.
Making a conscious effort to get in just a little more activity can also be a useful way to incorporate cardiovascular exercise into your daily life. Park a little farther away from work or the store, take the stairs instead of the elevator, put on your sneakers and go for a walk rather than going out for a high-calorie lunch.
Try measuring your workouts in terms of not only in minutes, but also exertion. If you’re wearing a heart rate monitor, figure out your target heart rate and this will help you to reach your goals. Sometimes you might feel as though you’re working hard, when you’re really not. A heart rate monitor or Fitbit watch will help you know if you are exercising hard enough.
Controlling your breathing during exercise is an important concept that should not be ignored. Whatever cardio based exercise you were doing, try to avoid heavy shallow breathing. If you are struggling to catch your breath, slow down your intensity a bit and make a conscious effort to force out slow exhales from your lungs, as if you are blowing out a candle. This activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation. This will slow down your heart rate and cause you to sweat more (which is your body’s way of cooling yourself off), and will allow you to adapt better to the stress of exercise. This is how you build endurance and can push yourself more in your future workouts.
Cardio exercise is only one of the four cornerstones of exercise, but one of the most important. As previously mentioned, there are various ways to increase your heart rate with cardiovascular exercise. Choose one that best suits your body and fitness goals. By choosing exercises you enjoy, you’ll be more apt to consistently do them and help you stay on the road to a healthy lifestyle.
If you ever experience pain or discomfort during your cardio workout, don’t wait for it to worsen. Consider a PT evaluation to find the root of the problem so you can continue your exercise routine pain free! For more information visit: https://reachyours.com/physical-therapy/.