The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic training 5 times a week or high-intensity cardio 3 times a week for optimal health. Cardiovascular training benefits us by reducing the risk of heart disease and some types of cancer and by strengthening the heart and lungs. It also reduces stress, gives us more energy and helps us sleep better. Lastly, it can help us with our weight loss goals. It’s obviously something everyone should be committed to.
The forms of cardiovascular exercise available to us are as numerous as the benefits we derive from exercising. The main equipment needed is usually a good pair of walking or running shoes and comfortable exercise clothing. Once you have these, the next step is to choose which form of exercise you would enjoy the most.
Walking is the most convenient and generally recommended exercise. There are no costs involved, except for shoes and clothing (you were going to spend the money on that anyway), it can be done anywhere, any time of the day. About 15 minutes of walking burns 100 calories, so it’s definitely a viable means to aid weight loss efforts. The key here, as with all forms of cardio, is to get your heart rate up. You should walk at a pace that makes you push yourself, sweat a little, but you don’t need to walk so fast that you feel like you’re going to collapse.
If you are more ambitious, you can try running for your training. It is vitally important to have a good pair of running shoes. You shouldn’t wear a pair of shoes designed for basketball or baseball players because this can wreak havoc on your feet and knees over a period of time. Even the wrong pair of running shoes can cause these problems. With this in mind, when you go shopping for a pair of shoes, ask the salesperson for help and walk around the store with your shoes on. Make sure your toes are not cramped and there is adequate arch support. After you have taken care of these factors, you can start your workouts. If you’re just starting out and find that running continuously is too strenuous, alternate walking and running. If you exercise 3 times a week, the first week try to run for one minute and walk for one minute. As time goes by, you can increase the time you are running, until you are running for 30 minutes at a time.
Swimming is a fantastic exercise. It’s a full body workout and it’s low impact. This is the recommended exercise for people suffering from arthritis. Arthritis is a condition that affects the joints of the body and causes great pain to those who suffer from it. High-impact aerobics can aggravate that pain. Swimming burns an average of 400 calories per hour (give or take depending on weight and stroke used), so in addition to cardiovascular conditioning, it’s also a great tool to use in any weight loss program.
Elliptical trainers are also very popular. They offer a mix of upper and lower body training. The trainer is said to be a combination of running and cycling. There are different types of workouts that can be done as well. Cardio, Manual, Interval Training. This variety helps keep you from getting bored with the same old routine. This low-impact exercise can easily be done 5 times a week, with great results.
Do you like to dance? Do not be afraid. Zumba is another aerobic exercise where you can dance to get in shape. You can join a gym and sign up for classes, or buy a homemade DVD. DVDs are great because they have progressive workouts, you can do them in the comfort of your own home, and you only pay once for the DVD.
Every workout should start and end with a good stretch. At the beginning of a training it is important to prepare the for the work that is going to be done. It is equally important to finish the exercise in the same way. Stretching helps keep muscles, tendons, and ligaments flexible to prevent injury.