Cardio Routine

Helpful Tips For Your Cardio Routine

If you are looking for a cardio routine, you are probably aware that this type of exercise will help you lose weight but you may not know about all of the other outstanding health benefits that you receive as well. Before deciding what type of exercise is best for you, it is helpful to understand the reasons why you need to add this to your daily regimen.

A cardio routine will raise your heart rate up however, you should still be able to talk. It is so important to engage in this activity for a few reasons, such as:

You lose weight by burning calories.

Your heart becomes significantly stronger and doesn't have to exert as much energy to pump blood.

Your lung capacity is increased.

It reduces your risk for high cholesterol, heart attack, diabetes and high blood pressure.

You feel healthy and more energetic.

It reduces stress and helps you sleep better.

Choose Your Cardio Routine

You should not choose a specific activity to engage in because other people tell you to. You need to pick a type of exercise that you know you will enjoy and that is convenient to you. If you think you would like to go swimming but that requires you to get in your car and drive across town at specific hours, that might not be a practical choice. Of course, you could still go swimming but you also need to choose a cardio routine that you can fit into your schedule at least four to five days per week.

If you enjoy the outdoors, an ideal cardio routine could consist of walking, running, hiking or cycling. If you are the kind of person who prefers the gym and the motivation that the environment offers, treadmills, elliptical trainers, stationary bikes, stair-masters and rowing machines are all excellent choices. There are even convenient home exercise DVDs available and most cable companies offer Exercise TV. The more variety that you add in your cardio routine, the more likely you will stick with it and enjoy it.

Cardio Rules To Remember

There is no such thing as the “best” or “perfect” cardiovascular exercise. Whatever activity gets your heart rate up that you enjoy doing is better than doing nothing at all. Even if this means mowing your lawn, raking leaves or shoveling.

Any exercise can be challenging if you really put your all into it.

Choose exercises that you enjoy. If you don't like the gym, don't pay for a membership and force yourself to go or else you will never stick with your exercise program.

Aim to add cardio to your daily routine at least three days to start and then increase that to four or five days when you feel comfortable.

Cardio Duration

So, how long exactly should you participate in physical exercise? There seems to be a lot of controversy over that question and of course, no one person is right. A 10 minute walk is obviously better than sitting on the couch but an hour walk is clearly even better.

If you are a beginner and you feel like you can only complete 15 to 20 minutes of exercise, start from there and gradually increase your time every week. You will eventually find that the more you exercise, the more you will want to exercise and the longer you will be able to exercise without getting tired.

Helpful Tips

Do all of those little things that you know you should be doing during the day such as taking the stairs and choosing a further parking spot to give you a little extra walking time.

Make your cardio routine a priority! You may not think that you have time but you need to start allowing yourself time.

Hire a personal trainer. If you are actually paying someone to make you workout, you might actually stick with it.

Make every minute of your workout count, whether it is a short one or a long one.