| As discussed in the “Why Be Fit” section,
there are numerous benefits to incorporating a healthy cardio related
training routine. Many people’s workout regimen only involves
a routine of lifting weights a few days a week. While weight training
is necessary and extremely beneficial, ignoring cardiovascular training
can affect your heart and general health. The term cardiovascular
can be defined as the body’s ability and efficiency to get blood
and oxygen to the muscles.
The amount of time spent on cardiovascular exercises will vary
according to your specific goals. For an individual attempting to
further their heart health, without specifically gaining or losing
weight, a general guideline would be to perform cardio a minimum
of 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week. Gaining and losing weight involves
a different approach to doing cardio. If you are a hard gainer attempting
to gain a desired amount of weight, you probably do not want to
do a large amount of cardio. Incorporating light cardio work twice
a week, for about 20 minutes a session, would never hurt anyone
though. If you do wish to gain weight and incorporate a serious
cardio routine, increase your calories consumed per day, or see
our circuit training section.
Losing weight takes a different approach to cardio. In addition
to eating below your maintenance calorie level, taking part in cardio
3-5 times per week, at about 20-40 minutes per session should be
adequate for fat loss. For those who have never done any form of
cardiovascular training, or are just out of shape, 3 times a week
at 20 minutes per session would be a good starting point. For those
in poor shape, low intensity cardio exercises such as walking should
be done in the beginning stages. Those in decent cardiovascular
shape could do exercises at a higher level of intensity. Fat loss
remains the main reason people take part in cardiovascular training.
However, this belief does not totally justify the true advantages
of cardio since anyone can reap the benefits.
Finding your target heart rate is important for the length of time
spent on each session and the intensity that you are completing
the work. Finding your target heart rate can be explained in the
link at the bottom of this page. The two types of exercises that
involve mainly your cardiovascular system include aerobic and anaerobic
exercises. Aerobic work is done where your body is using oxygen
as fuel. Anaerobic work is done where your body does the work without
oxygen as fuel. Both types of exercises are vital to a successful
training regimen.
Examples of aerobic exercises include: Walking, running, swimming,
and cycling.
Examples of anaerobic exercises include: Weightlifting, sprints,
hill climbing, and jumping rope.
--Finding
Target Heart Rate
|
