Cardio Training
Let’s put this simply. Cardiovascular or Aerobic training is good for two things: Strengthening your heart and getting rid of unwanted body fat.
There are certainly other benefits, like increasing endurance and helping to gain greater lung capacity, but most people are looking for those two basic aspects. Cardiovascular training is not only important for general health, but essential for maintaining fitness, and must be included in your exercise program.
If you want a healthy heart and you want to get rid of that fat you are going to have to do some moving around. There is no way around it. Cars and more desk based jobs have made moving your own body around on a regular basis a thing of the past and this has caused a deterioration in the health of many individuals. Your body was designed to move, not to stay sedentary for long periods of time.
Getting started is easy and rewarding. There are literally hundreds of ways to exercise aerobically. You can jog or run, skip rope, box, ride a bike, dance…anything that gets you to move your legs and arms in a relatively vigorous manner for a sustained period of time.
As with any exercise program, you should consult your GP about your ability to start a vigorous aerobics program. Once you get the go ahead from your doctor you should start slowly and move methodically to more challenging exercises. Your body is made to adapt fairly quickly to changes in stress and you can only make progress if you gradually increase that stress.
It is a good idea to find your “Target Heart Rate Range” (see FAQs, How to measure Heart Rate), which is the optimum heart rate (in beats per minute) you’ll need to maintain in order to benefit from your exercise. If you don’t hit your “Target Heart Rate Range” or higher you will likely be doing little to help improve your heart or shed that fat.
In order to decrease fat levels you will need to exercise relatively vigorously. Interval training has proven to be a very effective means of burning fat in a short period of time. It usually works much better than long bouts of exercise that are low to moderate in intensity and also quite demotivating. This type of training involves short, intense bursts of exercise interspersed with periods of less intense exercise, (for example sprinting for 45 seconds walking for 20 seconds x 10).
Cardiovascular exercise should be done a minimum of 3 – 4 times per week. If you are working out less than three times per week your training will likely not produce the results you want. On the other hand, if you’re training more than six times per week you will likely be over training and will need to ease off slightly. You need to find the balance between exercise and rest. For the best results, each cardiovascular workout should last a minimum of 45 minutes.
Don’t forget, to achieve maximum results it is best to do cardio exercise and weights based training alongside each other. Remember that you will achieve a cardio workout with weights also!
Benefits of regular CV training.
• promotes the loss of body fat
• Helps keep the heart and lungs healthy
• Can help strengthen the skeletal system
• Helps keep blood sugars regulated
• Helps decrease clinical symptoms of anxiety, tension and depression
• Reduces the risk of stroke and other heart diseases
• Improves stamina
