Cardio exercise is one way to burn calories and help you lose weight. It makes your heart strong so that it does not have to work as hard to pump blood.
It also increases your lung capacity and helps reduce risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. On top of all of those health benefits, it makes you feel good, sleep better, and reduce stress.
Your first step is to decide what kind of activities you would like to get involved in. The trick is to think about what is accessible to you, what fits your personality, and what you would feel comfortable fitting into your lifestyle.
If you like to go outdoors, running, cycling, hiking or walking are all good choices. If you like the gym, you will have access to stationary bikes, elliptical trainers, treadmills, rowing machines, stair masters and more.
For at-home activities, there are a number of excellent exercise videos to try and you do not need much equipment to get a great home cardio workout. Just about any activity will work, as long as it involves a movement that gets your heart rate into your target heart rate zone.
There is no one cardio workout that is best for everyone, whatever fits your needs is the way to go. Remember that it is not so much what you do, but how hard you work at it.
Any activity can be challenging if you push yourself and make it challenging. Make sure you do something you enjoy so you will be more likely to be consistent and stick with it.
If you hate gym workouts there is no need to force yourself onto a treadmill. Instead, you could try intramural sports through local parks and recreation programs.
Be flexible and do not be afraid to branch out once you get comfortable with exercise. After you choose what to do, the most important element of your workout will now be how long you do it.
You should work on endurance before you work on anything else-. It is more important to work on continuous exercise than to worry about how fast you are going.
If you are a beginner, start with 10-20 minutes and add more time to each workout until you are up to 30 minutes and up. You should make it so that you are consistently exercising 30 to 60 minutes every day of the week.
The frequency of your workouts will depend on your fitness level and your schedule. Beginners should start with about 3 non-consecutive days of cardio and work their way up to more frequent sessions.
If you are still working on building the endurance and conditioning, it may take a few weeks to work your way up to more frequent exercises. If it is a busy schedule that stands in your way or other obstacles, do your best to work out as many days as you can try to squeeze something in.
If you do not yet have the endurance for one block of time every day, split your workouts into smaller workouts throughout the day. Take a few minutes here and there for some stair-climbing or speed walking.
Do all those things you know you should be doing like taking the stairs, walking more, and riding your bike to work. You should also make fitness a priority and make time for it.
Schedule your workouts and treating them like any other appointment that you would not miss. It may help to find an exercise buddy who will hold you accountable and encourage you to get out and be active.
Having a friend will also make the time exercising more fun and go by faster. If you do not have a friend who is interested, you could always hire a personal trainer.
Since you are paying them, you will be more likely to show up to every session to make sure you get your money's worth. Finding a good personal trainer can also make a difference when it comes to motivation and reaching your goals.
Author Resource:-
Jack Landry is a personal trainer and has authored hundreds of articles relating to physical training and elliptical trainers. He has been a health expert and physical trainer for over 15 years.
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