Cardio Workout Routines
Do you need to lose weight and find a healthy lifestyle? If so, the best way to accomplish the task is to develop some cardio workout routines that you will follow on a regular basis. Too often exercise plans involve detailed instructions with equipment you don't have, and that can overwhelm and confuse you.
However, cardio training does not have to be complicated. Simplify. You will quickly find the working out can be fun and rewarding. All you need to do is keep three things in mind.
- Stick to the plan
- Vary the workout daily
- Focus on the body you want
If you do those three things you will begin to succeed with your cardio workout goals, lose weight and find vigor in your daily routines. It is truly rewarding to scale a flight of stairs and not be breathing any harder at the top than you were at the bottom.
Week 1 cardio workouts
You can seriously injure your body if you do not already exercise regularly, so you should start very slow. This routine for the first few weeks requires you to find a gym that you like and get a membership. Any local YMCA or 24 Hour Fitness should have monthly membership fees of around $30. Do not pay more. Gym fees are always negotiable, even if they may say they are not.
On your first day at the gym you should find a recumbent exercise bike (the kind that has you in the semireclined position). Select the “quick start” option and peddle for 20 minutes continuously. Adjust the resistance level until you find a setting that causes a mild burn in your quad muscles. If, after 15 minutes, you find that your legs are still not taxed, raise the resistance level and increase your speed. Even though you could certainly work out more, give yourself a reward for getting started on the right track, and go home.
You should aim to visit the gym 3-4 times a week. During the first week, pedal on the recumbent bike for half an hour, or use the elliptical machine. Both workout machines are very low impact and will accustom your joints to the pressure and impact due to vigorous cardio exercises.
From weeks 2-3 follow this routine:
Now that your body is over the shock of cardio workouts, begin to press harder.
- 20 minutes on a cardio machine: recumbent bike, treadmill, elliptical machine, sitting bike, swimming pool or Stairmaste.
- Two sets of sitting quad lifts at a moderately challenging weight
- Two sets of hamstring curls (seated or lying on your stomach, whichever machine feels more natural)
- Two sets of weighted calf raises
- A 5-minute cool down walk on the treadmill
With this workout routine there are a few rules. The first rule is that you may not do the same beginning cardio machine two days in a row, nor more than twice in a week. As for all weight lifting exercises, you must record the weight you select on the first day and strive to increase the increments by 5 pounds a week. Set minimums are 8 repetitions. The cool down must be a vigorous walking pace, not leisurely.
Cardio routines beyond the first month
Having a set plan is critical to building cardio endurance. Denying the pleasure of your mind is critical to losing weight and making gains. Any doctor will agree, your body is designed to conserve energy and the mind will try to lie to the body in order to conserve. You are able to far exceed the limits that your mind tells you. Beyond week three you must increase to 30 minutes of cardio machine workout and three sets of all lifting steadily increasing speeds and repetitions on the weight sets. Strong legs will develop a firm upper body. Keep the focus on the legs and you will develop a well-rounded core.
Cardio Workout Plan
When light jogging is not enough but you have begun to feel the benefits of an active lifestyle, cardio training will seem appealing. The entire purpose of a good cardio workout plan is to strengthen your heart as the most important muscle in your body. The more efficiently it pumps, the fewer times per minute, the better you will feel, the whole day through. Diet has strong implications on your overall health, but assuming you want to choose between a healthy diet or daily exercise, you should choose exercise.
For the intermediate cardio training program begin at a gym or ensure that you have a bicycle and at least one hundred pounds of liftable weight in your home. A good pair of running shoes will be important too. The purpose of cardio workouts is to elevate your heart rate, keeping it between 150 and 180 beats per minute. The longer you keep your heart in that ratio, the stronger you will become. And keeping it in that range is a challenge that takes precise movements and timing of your exercise.
The following workout can be done at the gym, or at home if you have previously listed equipment. Begin with a short five-minute jog to warm your muscles and encourage the heart to pace up. Then take a bearable amount of weight and perform ten lunges per leg (if you are not familiar with weight lifting terms, a search engine inquiry will yield video descriptions of any movements you need to know). Without resting find a stair well and perform twenty to fifty calf raises. Again, without resting go back to the lunges, increasing the set total if manageable. Use the same weight totals for a week at a time during this workout. Don’t bump up the weight until the beginning of a successive week.
Pushups and abdominal crunches will be the next interval you should do. Both are challenging to perform and you should determine a number total that is successful for you. Perform them in circuits being careful not to rest. If you find that even one pushup is too hard, try starting from your knees. Most people can do them from a shorter position.
When you have cycled three to four times through these four weight-training exercises follow up with a twenty to thirty minute run. Pay close attention to your speed during the cardio training portion of the workout routine. The faster you can go, the greater your results will be. The beauty of this workout is that no matter what health you begin with, it can be tailored to be challenging to you.
Lastly, be sure to mix it up. Some days ride a bike for the twenty-minute time. Find a lake or pool to swim for twenty minutes or climb stairs—just be sure to move as fast as you are able. Muscle confusion will yield the best weight loss and will teach the heart to perform better in more circumstances.
The Best Cardio Routine for Healthy Hearts
Cardio workouts were designed to keep one of the most important muscles of the body moving. The heart and lungs are made stronger if a good cardio workout routine is followed. These exercise routines not only help with getting the heart in shape it will also help to strengthen all of the muscles in the body. Since workouts cause the body to lose fat it will also help aid in weight loss.
The best cardio routine, for a healthy heart, starts with stretching. Stretching lets the muscles know they are about to get used and helps to reduce cramping later. Areas that need to stretch before using include the calves and the lower back. Toe touches, leg lifts and toe pointing can all be part of the stretching routine. Each stretch should be held for fifteen to thirty seconds and performed two to four times each.
An easy stretch for the calf region is to get onto the hands and knees. The legs and arms should be straightened now with the buttocks in the air. Start by bending the right knee and holding it for twenty seconds and then straighten the leg. The heel of the right foot should be as close to touching the floor as the leg allows. Hold this position for a count of thirty seconds. The left knee can now be bent for a count of twenty seconds and, then the heel placed to the floor for another thirty seconds. Repeat these motions until both legs have been bent four times each.
Stretching the back muscles can be done as easily as toe touches. Bend forward, toward the toes, reaching to touch them. Hold this position for a count of thirty seconds and stand, reaching toward the ceiling. Hold this position for thirty seconds as well. Repeat toe and ceiling reaches for a count of four times each.
It is recommended to do some type of heart pumping exercise on a daily basis. Cardio workouts should be alternated to eliminate stress to the muscles. They can be done by alternating days of twenty minute vigorous workouts with moderate, thirty minute workouts.
The twenty minute, vigorous, workout can consist of jogging, riding a stationary inside bike, riding an outdoor bike, aerobic exercises or dancing. Thirty minute, moderate, workouts can consist of a pilates-type exercises or walking.