Workouts that challenge your cardiovascular system include moderate-intensity fat-burning workouts, vigorously intense aerobic workouts and high-intensity anaerobic workouts. Walking, jogging and sprinting are examples of each, respectively. Most people use "cardio" to refer to aerobic exercise. You can create a variety of cardio workouts using different exercises, equipment and machines.
Cardio Heart Rate
You reach an aerobic level of exercise when you work at 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. You'll be breathing hard and sweating but still able to talk. To learn your target heart rate range in numbers, start by subtracting your age from 220, if you are a male, and 88 percent of your age from 206 if you are a female. This is your maximum heart rate. Multiply your maximum heart rate by .70 and .80 to learn where you should keep your heart rate during aerobic exercise. The American Heart Associations suggests that adults under the age of 65 should perform 20 to 30 minutes of cardio, several times each week for heart health, and 60 to 90 minutes each week for weight loss.
Machine Exercises
Many exercise machines are designed specifically for cardio workouts. These include treadmills, ellipticals, rowing machines and exercise bikes. A typical workout can be a monotonous, repetitive motion, such as pedaling a bike or rowing for 30 minutes. You can vary these exercises by using different techniques to challenge different muscles and to raise and lower your heart rate. For example, use walking poles and hand weights while using a treadmill, and increase the incline to use more muscles.Stand on the pedals while you use an exercise bike or use dumbbells while you ride. Vary the intensity levels of machines by setting the electronic programming devices to change the resistance, incline or speed. You can use home gyms or weight machines for cardio workouts by exercising with less weight or resistance so you can perform many reps without fatiguing to failure.
Dumbbell and Resistance Band Exercises
Use dumbbells and resistance bands to create circuit training workouts, which have you move from exercise to exercise with only short breaks in between. The American Council on Exercise recommends you use 40 to 70 percent of the maximum weight you can lift, depending on how much muscle you want to build. Perform eight to 12 reps of an exercise, take a one-minute break, then start another exercise. For a full-body workout, perform biceps curls, rows, kickbacks, triceps extensions, squats, deadlifts, lunges, flyes and chest presses.
Calisthenics
Create a cardio workout using calisthenics such as push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, chair dips, crunches, sit-ups, squats and lunges. Many athletes use these exercises to build muscle, performing them slowly to maximize muscle use. If you are using these exercises to raise your heart rate, perform them at a faster rate. Jump rope, do jumping jacks, run in place and do burpees for more cardio. Burpees have you start from a standing position, then bend downward to a crouching position with your hands on the floor, kick your legs back into a push-up position, move back to your crouch, then jump up.
