The most effective fitness workouts are classified as “cardio” because they elevate the heart rate for an extended time. Options range from indoor and outdoor activities, to the use of exercise equipment in a gym or other fitness facility. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 30 minutes of cardio exercise about every day for the average adult. Here are tips on how to get the most out of your cardio workouts.
Convenience
Many workouts can be done in the privacy and comfort of home. They include running in place, racing up and down stairs, jumping rope and doing jumping jacks. Among the many floor exercises from which to choose are squat jumps, burpees, “mountain climbing,” bear crawls and kickboxing.
A wide range of home exercise equipment is available. Cardio workouts can be done with treadmills, stationary bicycles, rowing machines, elliptical trainers, weight machines and free weights.
Outdoor Cardio
Exercising outside offers the same advantages as indoor workouts, while also providing fresh air and open spaces that may reduce stress and balance the mind.
Running, perhaps the most popular form of outdoor cardio, is great for the heart and lungs. However, injuries to the knees, ankles and feet are common. Many people opt for jogging, speed walking, hiking or just plain old walking. Others alternate between walking and running.
High Intensity
Interval training has becoming increasingly popular, primarily due to its priority on convenience and overall utility. There are myriad benefits associated with interval workouts, including the improvements of one’s overall fitness; a marked increase in the body’s ability to consume oxygen; and the promotion of lean muscle.
Interval training can also be performed in myriad settings, either at the gym, in the outdoors, or even at home. Moreover, if one is faced with a dearth of adequate time, interval regimes can be completed within a relatively circumscribed timeframe.
The logic undergirding interval training is to place an elevated emphasis on a high amount of physical activity within an abbreviated timespan. Exercises like sprints, rowing, biking, burpees, or even a brisk walk, can all be modulated to fit within the structure of interval training. With successive repetitions, studies have shown that interval training can enhance one’s metabolic rate for hours after one’s regimen has been completed.
Diversify Workouts
Trudging through the same cardio workout each day, with notable variance, can be akin to wading through molasses. Whatever enthusiasm you may have mustered to begin improving your overall fitness, will quickly diminish if one’s interest is not piqued by exploring new routines or exercises.
Work with a trainer, or group, therefore, to abet your enthusiasm in pursuing your fitness goals. If you embark on a strenuous set of sprints one day, shift gears into a more relaxing swim or contemplative jog on the next. Whatever you can do to orient your mindset to perceive cardio workouts as a fruitful endeavor, rather than a begrudging one, embrace it.
Community
Most of the suggestions thus far delineated imply that exercise must be performed in isolation, separate from the influence of others. If you are more extroverted, however, you can improve cardiovascular health in conjunction with fitness communities dedicated to that very aim.
Of course, boutique gyms dedicated to interval training, or other high-intensity exercises, are available for your patronization. Most classes, in these settings, are facilitated in groups, where it is easy to establish community amongst like-minded individuals. Even at larger, mass-market gyms such as 24 Hour Fitness or LA Fitness, specialty classes are often included in your membership. Recreational leagues offering participation in popular sports like flag football, basketball and softball are generally available in your community as well, depending on its size and resources.
Whatever it is you elect to do, it is often far more fulfilling to do it in close proximity to friends or teammates. Fitness can be a particularly useful way of forging a community, especially if you are a new resident in an unfamiliar setting.
Monitor Heart
Having a way of evaluating one’s heart rate during a workout can be immensely helpful in determining the efficacy of fitness regime. With a heart rate monitor, usually included in a number of digital products including watches, one can numerically quantify the intensity of their performance. Actively leveraging the benefits of a heart monitor can allow you to structure your routine in a more productive fashion. Rather than going for a casual jog, blithefully unaware of the distance or rigor of your cardiovascular activity, with a heart monitor you can gain an idea of just how strenuously you are working.
For further information on improving physical health, reference the following articles: