Cardio workouts such as running, jogging and swimming offer several benefits to your body. For example, it helps burn excess calories to help you lose weight and maintain a toned, lean body. It also helps enhance the general health of your heart and cardiovascular system. Several tips can help you make the most of your cardio regimen and experience the greatest results.
Count to 30
To experience all of the benefits of cardio exercise, you should aim to do a cardio workout for a minimum of 30 minutes every day, reports the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. However, you don't need to do the 30 minutes all in one go. Instead, you can break up your workout into 10-minute segments.
Increase Your Intensity
It's critical that you exercise at the proper intensity or you won't achieve the full results of your cardio routine. Ideally, while you're exercising, your heart should be beating at 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. To calculate this, subtract your current age from 220 if you are a man, or from 226 if you are a woman, then multiply the results by 0.7. The result is how many beats your heart should pulse per minute while you're doing cardio.
Pick the Right Indoor Equipment
If the outdoor weather is unfavorable, you can enjoy all the benefits of cardio by working out indoors. The best equipment for calorie-burning cardio is the treadmill, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. The second-best is the stair climber, followed by the rowing machine. If you suffer from joint problems, choose a low-impact form of exercise, such as elliptical machines or swimming in your gym's pool.
Stay Motivated
Half of the effort of cardio exercise isn't the actual physical exertion, but the mental aspect. "Arthritis Today," the official publication of the Arthritis Foundation, suggests doing your cardio fitness routine with a group, such as in a gym class or with a group of friends. Working out with other people can help give you the peer pressure, as well as the positive feedback, to stay motivated.
Limit Your Cardio if You're Lifting Weights
Too much cardio ranks as one of the top 10 ways to lose your muscle gains when you're lifting weights, warns certified strength and conditioning specialist Rachel Cosgrove. If you're trying to bulk up, don't let your cardio sessions go beyond 45 minutes in length.
Count to 30
To experience all of the benefits of cardio exercise, you should aim to do a cardio workout for a minimum of 30 minutes every day, reports the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. However, you don't need to do the 30 minutes all in one go. Instead, you can break up your workout into 10-minute segments.
Increase Your Intensity
It's critical that you exercise at the proper intensity or you won't achieve the full results of your cardio routine. Ideally, while you're exercising, your heart should be beating at 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. To calculate this, subtract your current age from 220 if you are a man, or from 226 if you are a woman, then multiply the results by 0.7. The result is how many beats your heart should pulse per minute while you're doing cardio.
Pick the Right Indoor Equipment
If the outdoor weather is unfavorable, you can enjoy all the benefits of cardio by working out indoors. The best equipment for calorie-burning cardio is the treadmill, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. The second-best is the stair climber, followed by the rowing machine. If you suffer from joint problems, choose a low-impact form of exercise, such as elliptical machines or swimming in your gym's pool.
Stay Motivated
Half of the effort of cardio exercise isn't the actual physical exertion, but the mental aspect. "Arthritis Today," the official publication of the Arthritis Foundation, suggests doing your cardio fitness routine with a group, such as in a gym class or with a group of friends. Working out with other people can help give you the peer pressure, as well as the positive feedback, to stay motivated.
Limit Your Cardio if You're Lifting Weights
Too much cardio ranks as one of the top 10 ways to lose your muscle gains when you're lifting weights, warns certified strength and conditioning specialist Rachel Cosgrove. If you're trying to bulk up, don't let your cardio sessions go beyond 45 minutes in length.
