Pages

Friday, October 10, 2014

Finding the Best Cardio Training For You

Being healthy is tricky.  In fact, being healthy is so tricky, and then a growing number of Americans are struggling with their weight.  Obesity is on the rise, and health concerns that go along with obesity like diabetes and heart problems have never been more prevalent. 

The first thing people think of when they consider losing weight is to go on a diet.  Monitoring what you eat is helpful, especially look into the nutritions, though it represents only half of what you need to be doing to be healthy.  Exercise is also a must.  The purpose of diet and exercise isn’t to become stick thin, but to be healthy.  Each of us have our own ideal body size, and that doesn’t mean being skinny.  Rather, it means being healthy, being comfortable with our bodies, and maintaining an appropriate body fat% based off of age, sex, and height. 

Central to living healthy is being active.  The best way to be healthy is to have a little cardio training every day.  So, what does cardio training mean?  What is the best cardio training for you?  Lets take a quick look and find out.

What Is Cardio?

Simply put, cardio is physical exercise you do, with a low to high intensity.  It depends almost entirely on aerobic energy, which is energy that comes about through doing something for an extended period of time.  Cardio helps strengthen muscles like your heart, while also burning calories.  If you are considering exercising and you have not exercised in quite some time, then you will most likely be doing a cardio workout.

A Few of the Best and Easiest Cardio Training You Can Do

Below is a list of 5 different kinds of cardio training you can do with little set up or through a gym.  The types of cardio increase in their impact and fat burned the further down the list you go.

1.  Walking
Impact:  Low
Rate of Fat Loss:  Slow

Walking represents a low impact activity that is great for our health.  By taking time out of the day to walk, you can keep your body active.  While it is not the best way to burn calories, it is perfect for those who are looking to build strength, or who do not want to tax their heart with a more intense workout.

2.  Biking
Impact:  Low to Medium
Rate of Fat Loss:  Medium

Depending on the kind of bike, the impact to your joints will be between low and medium.  Indoor biking offers an opportunity to exercise in a controlled climate, and allows you to distract yourself with TV, books, music, etc.

3.  Running/Jogging
Impact:  Medium to High
Rate of Fat Loss:  High

Every beginners guide to running first starts with walking.  Running is a great cardio activity, but it can be stressful if your body is not ready for it.  The best thing you can do is to build up slowly.

4.  Swimming
Impact:  Low
Rate of Fat Loss:  High

Swimming offers the fat loss of running with little to no impact.  Though it takes time to build up form, swimming is a great way to exercise many parts of your body at once.

5.  High Intensity Interval Training
Impact:  High
Rate of Fat Loss:  High

High intensity interval training (HIIT) is an amazing way to build muscle and lose fat.  Comprised of a number of activities that are done in quick succession, HIIT can be a challenge on your body but well worth it because of the results.

Sporting is healthy if you do it in the correct way. Don't overdo your trainings and get injured! A good life starts with enough sport and good food, creating a great health!

Cardio training is very important for other sports as well. Think of football, Nascar drivers to boxers. All of them train a lot of cardio to stay in a great shape!