That’s right cardio! Some people dread it and are scared of it, but what truly is cardio and what are the benefits? Are you stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to cardio? When it comes to Cardio workout’s people seem to know the basic and boring cardio machines at any standard gym, but with some tips, and recommendations by a CT personal trainer, your cardio workout can be fun exciting!
Let us start with what cardio is.
Cardiovascular training is exercise that increases the heart rate of the individual performing the exercise. It also reflects the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply oxygen-rich blood to skeletal muscles during sustained physical activity. Cardio fitness is part of any fitness routine regardless of the fitness goals you have in-mind. Cardio can be vitally important to your health as well as to the ability to engage in normal activities of daily living without excessive fatigue. Benefits of a cardio workout range all over, but some major benefits include decreased chance of cardiovascular disease, less fatigue, weight management, increased bone density, and better sleep.
So how can we start achieving our cardio fitness goals?
Well there are a bunch of different ways to begin, but the most common way to start into a cardio routine would to do something that you do everyday! Walking! Walking even if it is on a trail or just walking around the neighborhood can help you ease into cardio fitness. Being a personal trainer in CT, I love to keep tabs on all the fun hiking trails around. My number one choice is Sleeping Giant, and the trails there are good for all fitness levels. Another easy way is by using cardio equipment. Cardio machines are straightforward, for the most part, and are extremely beginner friendly. It is also an alternative if you cannot run or walk in inclement weather.
What does the #1 Personal Trainer in CT think when you do not have “enough” time:
This does not stop here, and are many types of cardio workouts! But if you’re the kind of individual who doesn’t have much time, then a HIIT workout may be for you!
High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT for short, is a form of training where you give one-hundred percent during a specified amount of time, and resting for an equal amount of time when you start. For example, if I worked for 30 seconds then I would rest for either 30 seconds or less. Consider 1 set to be completed after the rest period, and then repeat for multiple sets. HIIT also focus’s on an individual’s EPOC, or Excess Post-exercise consumption, which is the amount of oxygen needed to bring the body back to its normal resting level of metabolic function. Progress for HIIT styled workouts are also easy to do, each week just bring down the rest time to half or a quarter of what you do the working phase at. It is another method to keep things fresh and new, and challenging your body in new ways!
So instead of trying to keep doing the same cardio routine, you can do a HIIT styled cardio routine, and it can be simple! A sample-simple routine can be running, jumping jacks, jump squats, and jumping lunges. All of those exercises would be done for 30 seconds, and rest for 30 seconds after! Try it out for a couple weeks, then switch up the exercises!
