everything you need to know about cardio training
Definition of cardio exercises
cardio exercises simply mean that you perform a rhythmic activity that increases your heart rate to the target heart rate, the area where you burn the most fat and calories.
even intervals of up to 10 minutes count towards your weekly minutes of cardio exercise. According to the 2018 recommendations of the Physical Activity Advisory Committee, " episodes of any duration contribute to the health benefits associated with the accumulated amount of physical activity."
Benefits of cardio exercises
when you understand how much cardio you need, you may want to do it right now. There are very few activities that can be done in a short period of time that have so many benefits.
Some of the well-known benefits of Cardio · Burns Fat and Calories for Weight loss
* Improves sleep quality
* Increases lung capacity
* improves sex life
* Increases bone density (cardio exercises with a weight load)
* Reduces stress
* Promotes well-being and can even temporarily relieve depression and anxiety.
* Gives you more confidence in how you look
* Reduces the risk of heart attack, lowers cholesterol, as well as high blood pressure, prevents diabetes and some forms of cancer
· You set a good example for your friends
* Strengthens the heart, resulting in better blood pumping
The great thing about cardio training is that you don't need an hour of high-intensity training to get the benefits. Even a little training helps. A 15-minute walk in the fresh air will lift your mood and help lower your blood pressure.
Don't think you have to have a lot of time and energy for cardio. it is better to do a little every day than to do nothing at all. With all the benefits laid out for You, it's time to move On to the next step, which describes exactly How to choose A cardio exercise.
choosing cardio exercises
your first step in setting up the program is to figure out what you want to do. the trick is to think about what is available to you, what fits your personality, and what you would be comfortable fitting into your life. If you like walking, running, cycling - a good choice for you.
almost any action will work if it involves a movement that puts your heart rate in the zone of rapid heart rate. A walk is always a great choice. This is something that most of us can do on a regular basis, and you don't need fancy equipment.
If you prefer to go to the gym, you have access to many other features in the form of exercise equipment, such as exercise bikes , elliptical machines, treadmills, rowing machines , mountain climbers , swimming pool and much more. As a home trainer, of course, you can buy yourself a treadmill or an elliptical trainer, but there are other great options, for example:
· Exercise videos
* Fitness Apps · Home cardio exercises like skipping rope, ski jumping, spot running, burpee and more
* Online training
you have so many options, but the problem is that you may not even know what you like. you may have to try a few different activities before you find one that suits you. This is an experiment that we all need to participate in, and it can be a failure or a missed one, so don't be afraid to try something, and if it doesn't work, move on to something else.
here are some tips to keep in mind:
* be flexible. don't be afraid to expand your horizons. what's great about cardio is that you can choose any exercise that increases your heart rate. It is not necessary to perform the same program every workout or every week. changing your cardio is very simple. try different options to learn more about the activities you like.
* Choose what you do regularly. to follow the exercise recommendations, you need to do cardio 3 days a week. make sure to be consistent by choosing an activity that you are comfortable doing often, at least until you get into the habit.
* Do what you like (or at least what you can tolerate). if you hate working out in the gym, don't force yourself to sit on the treadmill. Take a walk, jog or bike outdoors to enjoy the scenery. if you enjoy socializing, consider sports, group fitness, training with a friend, or a walking club.
* Keep it simple. If you don't know what to do, start with the basics. you need at least 20 minutes for the body to start working, so start with that. take your calendar, find 20 minutes of time on 3 different days, and do something like walking, running, going to the gym, or doing vigorous gardening. first, make cardio a habit, and then work on your time and intensity.
* there are no "best" cardio exercises. Just because your friend says running is the best doesn't mean you should do it, especially if running makes you feel like your whole body is falling apart. anything that increases your heart rate meets your requirements, even vigorous activities like raking leaves or washing the car.
how long should a cardio workout last?
Once you choose what to do, the most important element of your workout will be how long you do it. You should work on the duration before doing anything else, such as high-intensity workouts; it takes time to develop the stamina for continuous exercise.
The guidelines suggest 20 to 60 minutes of cardio to be healthy, lose weight, and get in shape, depending on the type of workout you're doing. That's fine, but don't start with an hour of exercise. That's too much for someone who hasn't trained in a while (or never trained at all).
For beginners
To start, choose an available exercise such as walking or treadmill, and start with 10-20 minutes of brisk walking with moderate intensity. This means that you have just stepped out of your comfort zone, at about level 5 or 6 on a scale of perceived tension from zero to 10, where sitting is zero and the maximum possible effort is 10.
To determine how long you should train, consider the following:
* Add small cardio workouts throughout the day. Try climbing stairs or speed walking.
* Do whatever you know you should do. Go up the stairs, walk more, stop driving around looking for a front-row parking spot, etc.
* Do something... anything. If you think that 5 minutes is not enough for a workout, you are wrong. Whether it's 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 60 minutes, every minute counts.
* Find the time. People who exercise don't have more time than people who don't. They just learned to make exercise a priority. Planning your workouts and treating them like any other meeting you wouldn't miss can help you stick to your program.
* Pay someone to make you train. Finding a good personal trainer can make a big difference when it comes to motivating and achieving your goals.
* consider the intensity. the harder you work, the shorter your workouts should be. so, if you're doing tabata training or some other high-intensity interval training , your workout may only last 10-20 minutes. if you do a slower and more stable workout, you can train for longer, maybe 30-60 minutes.
* you don't have to do everything at once. you can divide your workouts into smaller ones throughout the day. to start, try three 10-minute walks.
Frequency of cardio training
the short, unscientific answer to the question of how often to do cardio training is to do more than you think you should, and more than you really want or have time for.
the longer answer is that it depends on your fitness level, schedule, and goals. if you want to be healthy and not worry about losing weight, daily moderate exercise for 20-30 minutes can benefit you. But for weight loss, it's a different story.
And it's not just the frequency. It's also about intensity. If you only do moderate workouts, you'll probably be able to work out every day. But if you're doing high-intensity interval training, you may need more rest days between training days. The bottom line is that it's better to have a mixture of the two, so that you work with different energy systems and give your body something different so that you don't"burn out".
Recommendations for cardio frequency
The frequency of training will depend on your fitness level and schedule. General recommendations:
* For general health, try moderate-intensity cardio 30 minutes a day 5 days a week or high-intensity 20 minutes a day 3 days a week. you can also make mixtures.
* To lose weight and / or avoid weight gain, you may need more than 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week to achieve your goals.
· to maintain a normal body weight, you need 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week.
When life gets in the way
What happens if you can't follow the instructions? if you're still working on developing your stamina and fitness, it may take you a few weeks to move on to more frequent exercise.
if you are hampered by a busy schedule or other obstacles, try to work out as many days as you can, try shorter and more intense circuit training to make the most of the time you have available.
Keep in mind that if you can't follow the guidelines because of your busy schedule, you may have trouble meeting your weight loss goals.
If you can't do the work necessary to achieve your goals, you may have to change your lifestyle or, if that doesn't work, change your goal to match where you are in the process of exercising or losing weight.
Cardio Intensity
Once you get used to the exercise (and up to 30 minutes of continuous movement), you can start working on your intensity. How hard you work is a crucial factor in your training for the following reasons:
* Calorie burning: The intensity directly depends on how many calories you burn.
* Easy monitoring: A heart rate monitor or perceived load scale makes it easy to monitor the intensity of your workout.
* Time Saving: Increasing intensity burns more calories when you're running out of time.
* variations: intensity is an easy part of a workout that can be changed without having to look for a new exercise.
how hard should i work?
your best level of exercise intensity depends on several factors, including your fitness level and your goals. there are three different levels of intensity that you can focus on during your workouts, and you can even include all of these levels in one workout:
· High-intensity cardio : This value is between 70% and 85% of your maximum heart rate, or between 7 and 8 on the perceived load scale. This level seems challenging and it takes your breath away to talk a lot. if you're a beginner, try interval training for beginners to work harder for shorter periods of time.
* Moderate intensity cardio: Moderate intensity falls between 50% and 70% of your maximum heart rate (level 5 to 6 on the perceived load scale). This is the level that you usually strive for during training.
* Low-intensity cardio: This type of exercise is considered to be less than 50% of the maximum number of heartbeats, or about 3-4 levels on the perceived load scale. This is a good level for working out during warm-ups or when you are doing other activities, such as walking, during the day.
Whatever you do, try not to complicate it. Just start with something and set a goal to do something every day, even if it's only a 5-minute walk. Try doing this every day at the same time and schedule it in your calendar. The more you practice, the easier it becomes.
