Why You Should Add Cardiovascular Fitness to Your Workout Routine?
So you want to add more cardiovascular fitness into your workout routines. But what kinds of cardio should you be doing.
Or better yet what are the kinds of cardio that work the best. Below we are going to go over some of the most effective types of cardio exercises that you can do.
Cardiovascular fitness is very important to your overall fitness level, but most of us would agree it is a pain in the butt.
You know you are going to be pushing your heart and lungs to a high level and probably sweating buckets.
So let's make sure we are doing the kinds of cardio that really work to burn those calories. You need to have a good cardio routine if you are looking to get shredded or lose those unwanted pounds.
Continuous Cardio Training
This is the kind of cardio that most people think about. It's the long slow cardio that will usually take a half hour to a full hour to do. Generally it is done with no rest periods.
A good example of this is taking a long jog on a treadmill or outside for a couple miles. It is a safe and easy method that will get results. But those result will take a while to see.
This is a good option if you want to get into running marathons or long distances, but not the best option for many other sports training.
Interval Training
If you are training for sports, or are fit enough for high intensity cardio (Cardio where your heart rate will peak around 90% of max) then interval training is a good option for you.
Basically it is high bursts of exercise with a easy recovery period where your heart rate will drop. Then you go right back at it with another high burst of exercise.
We like interval training a lot here, and think that it is a great option for people that are looking to really get in great shape.
Fartlek Training
Fartlek training (funny name with great results) is really an advanced version of interval training. It is a non-structured version of this.
The durations of high intensity and recovery are varied; you could be running hard for 15 second then recovery, then going back to a high intensity level for a min and a half.
It is a good option for athletes, as it really mimics the high intensity bursts of many sports. If you are an athlete training, try adding this type of cardio into your fitness routine.
Circuit Training
Circuit training is mixing short periods of cardio with short periods of anaerobic exercise like strength training.
If you have heard of curves for women, this fitness facility has made a major chain on this exact premise. This is a great way to combine your fitness, and is not just for women.
This is a way to really maximize your training in a minimum amount of time because you are getting both cardio and strength together.
The best part is the two really accent each other and actually make the other more effective. It is really a novel approach to fitness.
Cross-Training
The final type of cardiovascular fitness that we are going to look at is Cross Training. This is basically continuous training with either different machines if you are in the gym or different types of terrain and cardio activities if you are outside.
For example in the Gym you may go from the treadmill to the bike to the elliptical machine for a set amount of time each, or if you are outside you may go from jogging to swimming to skiing or rock climbing.
Your Cardiovascular Fitness
Whatever way you chose or any combination you chose is great. Your cardiovascular is really important in your workout routine, and by doing something that you like and changing it up sometimes you will prevent boredom and will be able to stick to a great workout routine.