The word 'cardio' is probably one of the first words you hear when you first start an exercise program. You know that cardio is an essential component of any workout, whether you want to lose weight, get fit, or just be healthier.
Health authorities recommend 150 minutes of cardio exercise per week to reduce health risks. If you want to lose weight or keep it off, you may have to do up to 300 minutes of cardio a week and that doesn't even include strength training. Getting a deeper understanding of cardio exercise may be what you need to get motivated to do it a little more often.
Cardio Exercise Definition
Cardio exercise simply means that you're doing a rhythmic activity that raises your heart rate into your target heart rate zone, the zone where you'll burn the most fat and calories. To count as cardio exercise minutes, you must do the activity for at least 10 minutes.
Benefits of Cardio Exercise
When you realize just how much cardio exercise can do for you, you may want to do some right now. There are very few activities you can do for a short period of time that has this many benefits. Just a few of them:
- It helps you burn fat and calories for weight loss.
- It makes your heart strong so that it doesn't have to work as hard to pump blood.
- It increases your lung capacity.
- It helps reduce your risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and some forms of cancer.
- It makes you feel good, and can even provide temporary relief from depression and anxiety.
- It helps you sleep better.
- It helps reduce stress.
- It improves your sex life.
- It gives you more confidence in how you look and feel.
- Weight-bearing cardio exercise helps increase your bone density.
- It allows you to set a good example for your family.
And the great thing about cardio is that you don't have to work out for an hour at a high intensity to get the benefits. Even just a few minutes of cardio can have health benefits. A 15-minute walk outside can boost your mood and help lower blood pressure, so even a little goes a long way.
Don't feel like you have to have a lot of time and energy for cardio. Doing a little each day is better than doing nothing at all. With all the benefits laid out for you, it's time for the next step which covers exactly how to choose your cardio exercise.
Choosing a Cardio Exercise
Your first step in setting up a program is to figure out what kind of activities you'd like to do.
The trick is to think about what's accessible to you, what fits your personality and what you'd feel comfortable fitting into your life. If you like to go outdoors, running, cycling, or walking are all good choices.
If you prefer going to the gym, you have access to many more options in the form of machines like stationary bikes, elliptical trainers, treadmills, rowing machines, climbers, the pool, and more.
For the home exerciser, you can, of course, buy your own treadmill or elliptical trainer, but there are other great options like:
- Exercise videos
- Online exercises and workouts
- Fitness apps
- A variety of home cardio exercises you can do like jumping rope, jumping jacks, jogging in place, burpees, and more.
You have so many choices but, the trouble is, you may not even know what you like yet. You may have to try several different activities before you find one that works for you. This is the experiment we all have to take part in and it can be hit or miss so don't be afraid to try something and, if it doesn't work, move on to something else.
Important Tips for Choosing Your Cardio:
- There is no 'best' cardio exercise. Just because your friend says running is the best doesn't mean you have to do it, especially if running makes you feel like your entire body is falling apart. Anything that gets your heart rate up fits the bill, even vigorous chores like raking leaves or washing the car.
- It's not what you do, but how hard you work. Any exercise can be challenging if you make it that way. If you're walking, make it challenging by speeding up, walking up hills and pumping your arms.
- Do something you enjoy or at least something you can tolerate. If you hate gym workouts, don't force yourself onto a treadmill. Walk, jog, or bike outdoors to enjoy the scenery. If you like socializing, consider sports, group fitness, working out with a friend or a walking club.
- Choose something you can see yourself doing at least three days a week. To meet the exercise recommendations, you need to do cardio three days per week. Make it easier to be motivated by choosing an activity that will be convenient for you to do that often, at least until you've formed the habit.
- Be flexible and don't be afraid to branch out once you get comfortable with exercise. The nice thing about cardio exercise is that you can choose any activity that raises your heart rate. You don't have to do the same workout every session, nor every week. Changing up your cardio is easy, so do it often and you'll discover more activities you enjoy.
- Keep it simple. If you're confused about what to do, start with the basics—you need at least 20 minutes for the body to get going, so start there. Get out your calendar, find 20 minutes of time on three different days and do something—walking, running, going to the gym, vigorous yard work—whatever you want. Make it a habit first and work on your time and intensity later.
How Long to Do a Cardio Workout
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 duration before you work on anything else like doing high-intensity workouts; it takes time to build up the endurance for continuous exercise.
The guidelines suggest anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes of cardio to be healthy, lose weight and get fit, depending on the types of workouts you do. That's fine, but you don't want to start with an hour of exercise. That's just too much for anyone if you haven't exercised for a while (or ever).
Important Tips for How Long You Should Workout:
- You don't have to do it all at once. You can absolutely split your workouts into smaller workouts throughout the day. Try three 10-minute walks as a good start.
- Add small bursts of cardio throughout the day by climbing stairs or speed walking.
- Do all those things you know you should be doing: Take the stairs, walk more, stop driving around looking for that front row parking space, etc.
- Make the time. People who workout don't have more time than people who don't. They've just practiced making exercise a priority. Scheduling your workouts and treating them like any other appointment you wouldn't miss may help you stick to your program.
- Pay someone to make you exercise. Finding a good personal trainer can make a difference when it comes to motivation and reaching your goals.
- Do something—anything. If you think five minutes isn't enough time to workout, you couldn't be more wrong. Whether it's five minutes, 10 minutes or 60 minutes, every single minute counts.
- Consider your intensity. The harder you work, the shorter your workouts should be. So, if you're doing tabata training or some other kind of high-intensity interval training, your workout may only be 10-20 minutes long. If you're doing a slower, steady state workout, you can workout longer, maybe 30-60 minutes.
Keep in mind that doing too much cardio is a no-no as well and can actually backfire. There is a point of diminishing returns, so keep it reasonable (three to six days a week, depending on your fitness level), vary your intensity and don't forget to take rest days when needed.
Frequency of Cardio Workouts
The short, non-scientific answer to how often to do cardio workouts is to do more than you probably think you should and more than you really want to or have the time for.
The longer answer is that it depends on your fitness level, schedule, and goals. If you want to be healthy and aren't worried about losing weight, getting in 20-30 minutes of moderate activity every day can do you some good. But, for weight loss, it's a whole other story.
And it's not just about frequency. It's about intensity as well. If you only do moderate workouts, you can probably workout every day. But, if you do high-intensity interval training, you may need more rest days in between workout days. The bottom line is that it's better to have a mixture of the two so that you're working different energy systems and giving your body something different to do so you don't burn out.
How Hard Should You Work?
Your best exercise intensity level depends on several factors including your fitness level and your goals. There are three different levels of intensity you can focus on during your workouts, and you can even incorporate all of these levels into the same workout:
- High-Intensity Cardio: This falls between about 75-85 percent of your maximum heart rate (MHR) if you're using heart rate zones, or a 7 to 8 on the perceived exertion scale. What this translates to is exercise at a level that feels challenging and leaves you too breathless to talk much. If you're a beginner, you may want to work up to this level or try beginner interval training so that you work harder for shorter periods of time. Advanced exercisers can try high-intensity interval training for more strenuous workouts.
- Moderate-Intensity Cardio: This level falls between about 60-70 percent of your MHR (a level 4 to 6 on the perceived exertion scale). The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) often recommends this level of intensity in its exercise guidelines. This is the level you typically want to shoot for during your workouts.
- Low-Intensity Cardio: This type of exercise is considered to be below about 50-55 percent of your MHR, or about a level 3 to 5 on the perceived exertion scale. This is a good level to work at during your warm-ups or when you're squeezing in other activities, like walking, throughout the day.