Cardio exercise gets your heart pumping, burns excess calories and, done often enough, helps reduce your risk of developing heart disease and some cancers. Activities like walking, running and step aerobics raise your heart rate; so do sports like tennis, soccer and racquetball. You can get your cardio exercise at home, the gym or outdoors, but check with your doctor before beginning any cardio exercise program.
Cardio Exercise vs. Cardio Workouts
Cardio exercise raises your heart rate, but what makes for a good cardio workout? The term "cardio workout" means different things to different people.
Some people define it as any workout that gets raises your heart into the fat-burning zone; others insist that a true cardio workout must be intense enough to get your heart rate up into the "cardio zone", where your heart and lungs are working hard enough for the workout to be considered strenuous.
You and your doctor will decide what level of cardio workout is right for you. If you're looking to lose weight and improve your overall fitness, you might find staying within your fat-burning zone gives you the results you want. If you're training for a race or other competition, you may want to up the ante to improve your lung capacity and develop more endurance and aim for your cardio zone.
Fat-burning and Cardio Zones
How do you know whether you're in the fat-burning or cardio zone? Monitor your heart rate manually or with a heart rate monitor.
Start by calculating your maximum heart rate, by subtracting your age from 220. If you're 25 years old, your maximum heart rate would be 195.
220-25 (age in years) = 195
The American Heart Association recommends exercising within 50% to 85% of your maximum heart rate. If you're exercising between 50% and 65% you're in the fat-burning zone; 65% to 85%, you're in the cardio zone.
If you don't have a heart-rate monitor, you'll need to take your pulse periodically during your cardio workout to see where your heart rate is and that can be inconvenient. If you find that's the case, a good way to gauge which zone you're in is paying attention to your breath. If you're somewhat out of breath, but can still carry on a conversation while you're exercising, you're in your cardio zone. If you can't carry on a conversation, you're probably pushing yourself too hard.
Getting Started with Cardio Workouts
Guidelines for general good health recommend everyone participate in 20 to 30 minutes of cardio exercise five times a week. This is a good place to start if you're just getting back into shape or starting a new fitness routine.
The key to cardio exercise is to build slowly. If you're never been jogging or running, start with walking. As your body adjusts to your walking plan, play around with increasing the distance you walk or alternate jogging with walking. If you're doing cardio exercise at the gym and you've never been on a treadmill, start at slow speed with little to no incline and gradually increase them as your heart gets stronger.
Be sure to monitor your heart rate or pay close attention to your breath and adjust the intensity level, if you need to-if you can't talk comfortably while you're exercising, take it down a notch or two.
Whether you do your cardio exercise at home with a DVD or at the gym, aim for 20 to 60 minutes each session. Always begin your cardio workout with a lower-intensity warm up and end it with a cool down to bring your heart back to its resting rate gradually.
Cardio Workout Safety
Like any exercise routine, it's important to schedule rest days for yourself. If you've found one form of cardio exercise that you live-say, cycling-limit the number of days in a week you cycle or swap it for walking.
If you continue to perform the same movements day after day without a break, you risk repetitive stress injury. Change up your routine so you're using different muscles groups in different ways or consider cross-training.
You'll also want to buy the right gear for whatever cardio exercise you're doing. That means buying running shoes for running and tennis shoes for tennis (yes, there really is a difference). Investing in the proper gear, whether you're running, cycling or hiking, doesn't just keep you comfortable, it keeps you safe.
Staying Motivated
Variety, as they say, is spice of life. Stay motivated and on track with your cardio exercise program by trying several forms of cardio and picking the two or three you enjoy. If you're having fun while you're working you, you're more likely to stick with it. Then, jack it up.
Load your MP3 player with your favorite, up tempo songs or work out with a friend so you're each accountable to someone for showing up. Subscribe to fitness magazines, get a jump rope so you can do cardio on the road or promise yourself a massage after you've reach your first goal.
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