What is Cardiovascular Training?
Cardiovascular training, cardio for short, is exercise involving your large muscle groups, such as your legs, to make your heart and lungs healthier. There are many different approaches and varying opinions on the best way of exercising your heart and lungs. The most important thing to know about cardio is just to get out and do some!!
The Benefits of a Cardio Workout
•Improved cardiovascular and respiratory functions
•Decreased resting heart rate and blood pressure
•Decreased risks of death from coronary artery disease
•Decreased anxiety and depression
•Enhanced physical ability and independent-living in older persons
•Enhanced feeling of well-being
•Enhanced performance at work and recreational / sport activities
•Reduced unhealthy weight gain
•Lowered incidence of cardiovascular disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, colon cancer, breast cancer and gallbladder disease
Effective Cardio Training
P.A.C.E. Yourself!
The way you exercise affects the way your metabolism operates over the next few hours following your workout. Are you thinking this is the part we tell you to start training for your first 10K run? Don’t worry; if the thought of that makes you cringe, you will love this next part. Cardio training does not have to be as overwhelming as running an hour every day, or even half an hour every day. I am going to introduce you to a technique. I came across called the PACE™ method. This method was discovered by Dr. Al Sears who has been in the field of exercise for over 25 years. His PACE™ training method is based on the theory that continuous, endurance exercise actually induces your heart and lungs to “downsize” as the body adapts to the demand. This method has also been referred to as the “short-burst” training method and it has proven to lower fat percentage and increase muscle mass,better than traditional, hour long workouts. Having said that, if you are a runner, and that is what you enjoy doing, that is great cardio exercise. The idea behind the short-burst training is to give you ways to exercise efficiently and give you quick results.
Some of the Benefits of Short Burst Training
•Improves maximum cardio output
•Better cardiac adjustment to your heart’s demand
•Helps your body lose fat in as little as 12 minutes per day
•Improves cholesterol levels
•Provides anti-aging benefits
•Suitable for all experience levels even those who have never taken up an exercise
program and are out of shape
Examples of Short-Burst Exercises
| Activity | Equipment Required | Duration | Instruction |
| Jump Rope | Skipping Rope | 24 Minutes | One minute jumping followed by one minute resting. |
| Sprint | None | 24 Minutes | Run hard for one minute followed by a minute of walking/resting. |
| Cycling | Stationary Bike | 24 Minutes | One minute hard cycling followed by one minute of rest. |
| Elliptical | Elliptical | 24 Minutes | One minute hard activity on the elliptical followed by one minute of rest. |
