Some of the most beneficial motives to exercise include the following:
- It improves your mental outlook and your mood due to the release of chemicals called endorphins in the body.
- It improves general health, wards off diseases, and slows down the aging process.
- It helps you acheive a better body compisition by lowering bldy fat and gaining muscle.
- It improves the state of mind, promotes better mental health, and improves sleep.
- It helps in achieving better bone density.
- It enhances self confidence and improves the appearance of the person.
You will often read the term cardiovascular health or cardiovascular endurance when researching exercise programs. All these terms relate to the cardiovascular system of the human body. Cardio fitness is key to weight lose and fitness. The main role of the cardiovascular system in the body is to transport oxygen to all tissues in the body and to remove from these same tissues, metabolic waste products. The more fit the person, the better the supply of oxygen to the muscles (cardiovascular system) and the more exercise enduring capacity.
Calculate Your Exercise Heart Rate Range
In order to calculate the range of your heart rate during exercise, just follow the following steps.
- Estimate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220 (220-age)
- Determine your lower limit exercise heart rate by multiplying your maximum heart rate by 0.6
- Determine your upper limit exercise heart rate by multiplying your maximum heart rate by 0.9
Your exercise heart rate range is between your upper and lower limits.
Types of Cardio
There are a number of types of cardiovascular training which can help you meet your fitness goals. Each type has it's own advantages and disadvantages. Some types of training are better for advanced trainers while some are more appropriate for beginning trainers.
Walking
- This type of training involves intensities of around 40% to 60% of maximum heart rate (MHR).
- You should be able to converse comfortably while doing it (called the talk test).
- Walking is a good type of training for people just getting started with cardio work.
Jogging and Running
- This involves aerobic work done at around 70%-80% of MHR
- It is harder, therefore should be done usually between 20-40 minutes for good results.
- This type of training can be used for fat loss and for increasing aerobic capacity.
Eliptical, Stairs and Bike
- These also involve aerobic work done at around 70%-80% MHR
- These can be a very demanding form of training
- It is done between 20-40 minutes generally, depending on fitness level and intensity.
Circuit Training
- Circuit training is basically aerobic weight training.
- You can mix in treadmill work, skipping, cycling, etc. to add variety.
- It is a reasonably good way to do aerobic work and weight training work at the same time.
- It also has the advantage of working the entire body instead of just the legs as most forms of aerobic training do.
The answer is to find the right exercise for you. Take 30-60 minutes of your day and implement into it your favorite cardiovascular exercise. Doing this 4-5 times a week will offer you a chance at having a healthy, happy and disease free life.
Referances
Medline Plus: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/exerciseandphysicalfitness.html
