Why Cardio is so Important
For the sake of simplicity, we’re going to break the fitness model into two generalized groups; cardio training and strength/resistance training. There are many other more focused aspects of fitness such as flexibility, stabilization, speed, agility, balance, etc. We’ll get into them later but for now we will go over some basic knowledge and how you can start benefitting from incorporating a cardio regimen based on your lifestyle and desired results.
Cardio training is the yin to strength training’s yang. While both groups have overlapping benefits, there are core differences in training styles and results. Most people prefer to either focus on cardio or focus on strength but its essential to incorporate both into your fitness program.
There’s a lot of supplements out there that can are proven to enhance your cardio training program but it’s most important to factor it into your workouts daily. People may tell you that it’s better to do cardio before or after strength or to separate into different days, but the point is to just do it. Implement them both into your fitness program, set your SMART goals, and just get it done. Stick to it and progress a little more each day. I’ll get into more detail with these theories in later posts but for now we’ll stick to the fundamentals.
Build your Cardio on Solid Foundation
Cardio training is similar to that of any other aspect of fitness in that you push yourself to go farther and faster in small progressions each day. Even though cardio and strength training have overlapping benefits, cardio has some core differences in style, focus, and results. As with strength training (where you mainly focus on building lean muscle mass) cardio training mainly focuses on strengthening the heart and lungs. Cardio is all about safely getting your heart rate up and increasing your maximum oxygen consumption. According to the Cleveland Clinic there’s a wide variety of benefits of cardio training such as less overall body pain to having a better sex life. I don’t think anybody can complain with that!
Let’s take a look at some of these benefits of maintaining a moderate-vigorous cardio workout program 3-5 times a week:
- Strengthening the heart and improving blood flow
- Lowering of blood pressure
- Regulating blood sugar
- Reducing asthma symptoms, frequency of attacks, and severity
- Reducing chronic pain (lower back, legs, upper back, shoulders, etc.)
- Better sleep quality and duration
- Weight regulation from burning calories
- Strengthens immune system by increasing production of antibodies called immunoglobulins
- Improves brain power and combats decline of brain functions (i.e. dementia, Alzheimer’s)
- Boosts mood through release of endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine
- Better sex life with increased blood flow helping firmer erections in men and enhanced arousal in women
Now we’ve seen the many benefits of incorporating cardio training into your fitness program. Let’s take a look and the different types of cardio that would work for you based on your current fitness status and goals.
Steady-State Cardio
This form of cardio training is what most people think about when performing a cardio workout. These workouts tend to be static and longer in form. The durations are gauged anywhere between a 20-60 minute timeframe. For beginners, simply going for a brisk walk, jog, or casual bike ride would be enough to consider it a ‘steady-state’ cardio workout. Although I personally prefer being outside, you can also perform these workouts on indoor equipment such as treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes, rowers, etc. As you advance, you can increase the difficulty by increasing the duration, speed, and elevation changes so that you’re always pushing your heart rate to safe levels of progression.
More advanced steady-state cardio is a progression and regression between different zones of heart rate. The higher the zone, the higher the percentage of your heart rate maximum is being utilized. As you advance, you can increase the duration and intensity in the higher HR zones and decrease the time spent in lower HR zones spent on “recovery” before you bring the HR back up into higher zones again. Each time you do this it is a set. Try to keep increasing the “working” HR zone and decrease the “recovery” HR zone as you progress. You can follow the table below to figure out what your HRmax is and where you should be working based on your cardio fitness level.
Finding Your Heart Rate Zone
To find what a safe heart rate level works for your current fitness level you first need to figure out your heart rate maximum. The simplest way is to subtract your age from 220. So if you are 40 years old you would do (220 – 40 = 180 HRmax). Then, based on your fitness level you would gauge your workout utilizing 5 different heart rate ZONES.
- Zone 1 (50-60% HRmax)
- Zone 2 (60-70% HRmax)
- Zone 3 (70-80% HRmax)
- Zone 4 (80-90% HRmax)
- Zone 5 (90-100% HRmax)
Most beginners will stay in Zone 1 and 2 and then advance to the higher zones as they progress. You can use the lower zones as recovery areas before you bring your heart rate back up, but the point is to always safely push yourself to higher zone levels.
That being said, listening to your body is more important than simply following these zone levels based on your perceived experience. There are many different factors that can affect heart rate such as dehydration, medications, a poor night sleep, eating something a little too heavy, or having a little too much to drink the day before.
The point being, listening to your body will tell you where you need to be on any given day as far as your heart rate is concerned. While its good to push yourself in order to progress, if you’re feeling really lightheaded or excessively fatigued, its best to tone the intensity down or stop completely.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
HIIT has become extremely popular in the past decade or so. The popularity has been caused by the high effectiveness in fat loss combined with the fraction of the time it takes to complete a workout while burning the same amount if not more calories than a 30-40 minute traditional steady-state cardio workout. Essentially, HIIT is short bursts of high-intensity anaerobic exercise such as sprinting, body weight exercise, weight lifting, kettlebells, medicine ball throws, etc., followed by low-intensity rest periods. There are several different styles of HIIT and many people who utilize this form of training develop hybrid styles of HIIT.
The combinations of exercises and durations are endless, but the whole point of HIIT is to get your heart rate way up with maximum intensity effort for a short period and then bring your heart rate back down with moderate intensity of “rest period” to perform a set. Typically people will perform anywhere between 5 to 20 “sets” in a 10-20 minute window for a total HIIT workout. This is followed by full rest and additional workouts for about 30-45 minutes total.
Studies have shown that a correctly performed HIIT workout can burn equal to if not more calories than the traditional cardio/strength workout in a fraction of the time. HIIT also congruently builds lean muscle mass very effectively while increasing aerobic conditioning and VO2max. All these factors influence the body’s ability to burn calories throughout the day through Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). This makes HIIT one of the main focal points of several different commercial and private gyms. Also, the ability to perform these very effective workouts literally anywhere has created huge popularity in the online coaching and social media workout world.
HIIT Highlights
While there are significant benefits to HIIT, unfortunately it’s not for everyone. I would not suggest diving right into a HIIT program if you’re brand new to working out or really out of shape. It would be better to learn some of the moves and condition your body a little first. Plus, the extreme intensity of a proper HIIT workout will not be sustainable or enjoyable. Also, if you have hypertension, diabetes, heart problems, lung problems, or really any medical issue, then you should get a medical professional’s approval, especially for HIIT.
The wild fluctuations in heart rate and oxygen consumption can wreak havoc to those that are not conditioned properly. As with anything, it’s best to start slow and progress to advanced levels at a safe capacity. That being said, if you are cleared by a physician and physically capable, HIIT is a great component to add to any fitness program.
Where to Go From Here
Now that you have some basic information on cardio training you can differentiate what works best for you. As I’ve said before, having a personal trainer or nutrition coach can be invaluable in navigating your wellness journey. The most important part is just getting started. As you get more involved, it’s especially important to work with someone who can provide you with accurate useful knowledge, motivate you properly, a guide you towards completing realistic goals.
With the advent of technology there are more options than ever in finding a nutrition coach or personal trainer. That’s why it’s important to do your homework and find someone you respect that can maximize your effort and potential. You can click the link below if you’d like to learn more about finding a personal trainer or nutrition coach to help you on your fitness journey. I look forward to working with you. Cheers!