As a beginner, cardiovascular exercise is a great way to get in good physical condition. Once you build up stamina and strength, you can move from basic cardio exercise to more advanced forms of working out. Whether you are young or old, overweight or healthy weight, in shape or out of shape, cardiovascular exercise is good for you. Cardio exercise primarily works the muscles of the heart, improving its ability to effectively pump blood throughout the body.
Benefits
There are many benefits to cardiovascular exercise. It strengthens the heart and makes its blood pumping and oxygen delivering abilities more effective. In addition, cardiovascular exercise burns calories, which aids in weight loss. The more calories you expend through either working out or eating less, the more weight you will lose. Cardio exercise also can improve both stamina and strength throughout the body depending on how you workout.
Intensity
The intensity at which you do cardio exercise is dependent largely upon your level of physical fitness and how hard you want to work. While exercising, you shouldn't allow your heart rate to get above your determined maximum heart rate. This rate is calculated by simply subtracting your age from 220. Your heart rate should get no higher than this during the height of your workout. You can change the intensity of your workout by going longer, changing the resistance or incline, or by moving faster. Again, determine your own intensity and stay comfortable, especially as a beginner.
Types
There are many different types of cardiovascular exercises. Choose exercises based on your own personal preferences and what is available to you. Swimming, elliptical training, walking, biking, hiking, and aerobics are all great cardiovascular exercises for beginners. Other exercises for those that are more advanced would be high-intensity sports that require lots of movement such as racquetball, rowing, cross country skiing, jumping rope, soccer, or tennis. In addition, running and rollerblading are both great for cardiovascular health. If you have injuries or pain in your knees or hips, avoid running, walking, and other weight-bearing exercises until this improves.
Improving Your Workouts
To improve your cardio workouts, consider working out with a friend or someone who is at a similar level of physical fitness. Not only will you have someone to help motivate you, but you have another person to hold you accountable and make sure that you are working out enough. A friend can encourage you to see improvements, just as you will encourage them. Working out with a friend can help you to reach your goals and deepen your relationship.
Time Frame
For the beginner, you should try to work out about 20 to 30 minutes at a time at least 3 days a week. Gradually build up your endurance and increase to 30 to 45 minutes a session 4 to 5 days a week. If you don't have the stamina to work out for 30 minutes, do 10 minute increments throughout the day at least 3 times. Work on improving your workout time and set goals to increase both frequency of your workouts and the duration of the exercise. To make workouts at the gym more interesting, consider doing 10 to 20 minutes on one machine and then switch to another. This will use different muscles and burn more calories because some muscles will already be fatigued and use more energy and others will be used for the first time in the workout.
