Being fit and healthy is the in thing. Actually, it really never goes out of style. Your body is the most valuable asset you could have in your lifetime. Thus, it is important that you take good care of yourself, particularly your lungs and cardiovascular system. Give them the proper attention they needs. When it comes to maintaining your cardiovascular health and overall physical fitness, the best option is to do cardio training.
What Is Cardio Training?
Cardio training involves any activity that requires the use of the large muscle groups of the body in a regular and uninterrupted manner to raise your heart rate and build lung endurance capacity. It elevates the heart rate between 60 to 85 percent of your max heart rate. Your heart is a muscle, and like all muscles, you need to exert stress on it to improve its over all strength and health; therefore working it via cardio training makes it stronger. A stronger cardio-vascular system means more capillaries delivering more oxygen to cells in your muscles. This enables your cells to burn more fat during both exercise and inactivity. Some of the usual cardio training activities are walking, jogging, running, aerobics, cycling, hiking, swimming, cardio boxing, rowing, and High Intensity Cardio training also known as HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).
What Are the Benefits of Cardio Training?
- Boosts Your Body’s Energy Levels
You can expect more energy and higher endurance after some time of regular cardio training. The improved heart health and lung capacity will increase oxygen flow to your muscles.
- Prevents Diseases
You could prevent heart and artery disease with regular cardio training. It is also helpful in preventing other varieties of diseases like diabetes, obesity, and depression. Cardiovascular training strengthens the heart and the lungs’ capacity to carry oxygen to the body increasing overall health. Low to moderate types of cardio exercises are required for people seeking to help prevent the diseases listed above and many others. Some examples of low to moderate cardio exercises are walking up a small to moderate incline or hill, brisk walking or light jogging, and a casual bike ride.
- Helps to Control Your Weight
With cardio training, you are able to burn more calories. This will help anyone who needs to lose weight as excess calories are what becomes fat in the body. Cardio training can help you burn more calories in a day than you take in by diet. The process of burning more calories than taking in is what causes your body to burn fat for energy to make up the calorie deficit. For those that have already achieved their ideal body mass, cardio training will make it easier to control your weight. Please keep in mind that while cardio training does help burn calories, this generally depends on your current weight and the kind of cardio training you are undergoing. If you have any injuries or other medical issues it is always the best thing to consult your physician and/or personal trainer, to know the proper type of training for your needs.
- Get Rid of the Boredom
Cardio training is fun. It pumps up your system. You will definitely feel more energized and on the go. Also, with modern technology making all of your entertainment options portable, even the more dull cardio training exercises can be fun and entertaining.
Tips to Maximize the Benefits of Cardio Training
- Stay consistent
For starters, it is best to do the 30 to 45 minutes of exercises, 3 to 5 days a week, 15 to 20 minutes for beginners or if you have had a long layoff in training. If you are aiming for weight loss, the training must be done 5 days a week. The more frequent you do it; the more likely it is that you will lose weight. However, avoid exhausting yourself. Avoid going beyond 45 minutes. Remember, it has to be done in a regular basis.
- Start now
This may not seem like a tip but it really is. Most people will come here and read many articles but never actually do anything to start! I know, crazy huh? So, GET STARTED! Do whatever you can with whatever you have to get started. Walk or ride the bike around the neighborhood now. Follow that aerobics video you purchased. Set a goal and follow that goal. And if you can’t start due to injury or other medical issue you can always modify your diet to eat healthier food and drink more water. The key is to change your current behavior that has you not moving.
- As your fitness improves you should increase the intensity
This is to have an area of variation and there should always be room for improvement. Implement this by intensifying some parts of the training. If you are into jogging or running, increase speed every 5 minutes for at least a minute or two.
- Avoid doing the cardio exercises before bedtime.
You will have a difficult time sleeping if you do so as the energy level of the body will stay high for sometime. This why cardio is best done when you wake up, if possible.
As always, if you want to learn more about what High Intensity Cardio products that may help you in your cardio journey, check all of the great equipment and accessories Amazon has to offer here.