How to Pick a Cardio Exercise

• Also try: How to Get Into Shape | How to Eat Healthy Foods | How to Build Muscle | How to Lose Weight

Introduction

• In the language of gym rats and personal trainers, "to do cardio" means to participate in any activity which raises your heart rate to a level where you're working, but can still talk. Technically, this is called your "Target Heart Rate Zone." Regular cardio exercise is essential if you're trying to lose weight, but it's also a great way to maintain a healthy heart, lower your blood pressure and reduce stress.

Why Is Cardio Exercise Important?

• Cardio exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Its benefits are well-documented and include:

1. Weight Loss and Maintenance: According to WebMD, "Because exercise helps use up oxygen, it causes your body to burn stored fat and helps you maintain a normal weight."
2. Strong Heart and Increased Lung Capacity: According to Dr. Len Kravitz of the IDEA Health and Fitness Association, cardio exercise reduces your risk of heart disease and improves your blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels. ^[1]
3. Less Stress: Because regular exercise reduces the amount of stress hormones in the body, your heart rate slows, blood vessels relax and blood pressure lowers. ^[2]
4. Improved Mood: According to WedMD, "Research shows that regular exercise reduces symptoms of moderate depression and enhances psychological fitness. Exercise can even produce changes in certain chemical levels in the body, which can have an effect on the psychological state."

How Much Cardio Exercise Do You Need?

(Creative Commons photo by Lee Brimelow)

• The intensity, duration and frequency of your cardio routines depend a great deal on your current level of fitness and personal goals.

Intensity

• According to the Mayo Clinic, the intensity of an exercise reflects "the amount of oxygen your body uses to do an exercise and the number of calories you burn while doing it." In laymen's terms, intensity is how hard an exercise feels to you.

• For cardio exercise to be effective, you want to workout at a moderate-intensity. According to the Mayo Clinic, you're reached a moderate intensity if:

1. You're breathing faster.
2. You're developing a light sweat.
3. You're feeling some strain in your muscles.

• While these signs are useful, the best way to measure whether or not you're working out hard enough is to determine whether or not you've reached your "target heart rate."

• Measuring Your Target Heart Rate
• You can use either a Target Heart Calculator or a Target Heart Rate chart to determine what your Target Heart Rate should be.

• To monitor your heart rate while you exercise, you'll need to periodically take your pulse or purchase a heart rate monitor to keep track of your pulse for you.

• The American Heart Association advises that you aim for the lowest part of your target heart rate zone (50%) if you're just getting into an exercise program. After a couple of weeks, build up to 75%. After six months or more of regular exercise, build up to 85% of your maximum heart rate. ^[3]

Duration and Frequency

• WedMD advises that you workout for at least 30 minutes roughly three to four times per week. However, you'll want to increase the frequency and intensity of your workouts if you're trying to lose weight or are training for a major event like a marathon:

• To Maintain Your Current Level of Fitness: 2-4 Days/Week for at least 20 Minutes
• To Lose Weight: 4 or More Days/Week for at least 30 Minutes

Choosing a Cardio Workout

Jumping rope is a great all-around workout. (Creative Commons Photo by isado)

• You want to choose a cardio program that you can stick with, which means nothing boring and definitely nothing that leaves you feeling defeated on Day One. Take the following into consideration as a choose a workout routine:

1. Your Current Level of Fitness: You'll want to get your doctor in on this one. If you have any kind of physical ailments or just haven't been terribly active for the past couple of years (or decades), you don't want to start with a marathon. Choose the exercise that gets you into that target heart rate zone, but doesn't leave you feeling broken.
2. Your Fitness Goals: Are you trying to lose or maintain your weight? Maybe you're gearing up for a big race. Let your ultimate goal help you decide on what exercises you should be doing today.
3. What You Enjoy: This might be the most important consideration of all. If you hate gyms, don't join one. There are hundreds of different types of exercises you can do. Find the one that suits your personality, budget and interests. Running and biking are two of the most popular forms of cardio exercise, but you can also dance, row, learn martial arts, fence, cardio kickbox, etc.
4. Your Budget: There's no reason why getting fit should break the bank. If you can't find a gym in your price range, consider outdoor exercise, organized team sports or, the cheapest exercise of all, walking.

Low Intensity Workouts

• Low intensity workouts take exercises at a slower pace, so they are ideal for those who get winded just looking at a flight of stairs. If the last time you ran for more than 20 minutes was chasing the ice cream truck, then a lower intensity workout is the way to go.

• With low intensity workouts you will exercise at a moderate pace and maintain it for 30-60 minutes. Once your heart rate gets to its target zone (usually 5-10 minutes into the workout), your body starts burning fat. The longer you remain active after that initial warm-up, the more fat you burn.

1. Walking: If most active sports are too physically demanding, you can walk those pounds away. For an extra challenge, try walking uphill or increasing the walk to a light jog. Making a point of walking more in your day-to-day routine can also make a difference.
2. Elliptical Trainer: Using an elliptical machine allows you to maintain a steady heart rate without extra stress on your knees.
3. Bicycling: This can be done on a stationary bike or a regular one. Biking to work is a great way to get a cardio workout doing something you have to do every day anyway.
4. Swimming: Swimming is a great full body exercise that does not put any pressure on your joints.

High Intensity Workouts

• Generally, high intensity workouts consist of exercising very hard for brief spurts with quick cool downs in between. Because your heart rate reaches a higher level, you will burn more fat than during a lower intensity workout. Here are a few high intensity workouts:

1. Jumping Rope: All you need is a jump rope and 15-20 minutes for a complete workout. It can also improve coordination, and when landing on both legs, jumping rope cuts down on the knee stress that running can cause.
2. Spinning: Because you simulate cycling through all types of terrain, you can get more of an intense workout than just biking over flat surfaces.

Resources for How to Pick a Cardio Exercise

• American Heart Association: Target Heart Rate
• MayoClinic.com: Fitness Programs: 6 Steps to Guide Your Selection
• MayoClinic.com: Fitness Programs: Staying Motivated
• MayoClinic.com: How to Measure Your Exercise Intensity
• MayoClinic.com: Elliptical Machines: What are the Fitness Benefits?
• MayoClinic.com: How to Measure Your Exercise Intensity
• eMedicineHealth: Walking for Fitness
• Medicine Net: No Gym Required: How to Get Fit at Home
• WebMD: Which Exercises Burn the Most Fat
• WedMD: The Incredible Benefits of Regular Exercise
• WebMD: Kicking It Up With Cardio Exercise

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