Cardio and Weight-Training Exercises
Let’s Get Moving
No time to exercise? You just have to make time, because if you don’t, all kind of ailments will follow. The body is designed to move, so you either move it or loose it. When you are coming up with excuses not to exercise, ask yourself whether you can afford to get sick, live in pain or not able to do the things you like and want to do later on in life? If not, you just have to find the time, even 30 minutes a day will do.
Here is a foundation exercise program any one can do (unless your doctor says no). You don’t have to go to a gym. You need only 30 minutes. You can do the cardio and weight training at home, around the block or in your back yard.
Cardio exercise
Cardiovascular (cardio) exercise is commonly referred to as “aerobic” which means “with air”. Exercise increased the heart rate, and when your heart rate increases so does your breathing rate. This is to pull in more air containing oxygen to compensate for the increased oxygen you are using in muscles. Blood flows faster to deliver oxygen and other nutrients to muscles and to remove waste products. Research shows that the benefits of cardio exercise on numerous.
Types of cardio exercise
The types of cardiovascular exercise, also call modes, are whatever uses large muscle groups in rhythmic patterns.
- Walking, jogging, all running outdoors or on treadmills
- Cycling outdoors or on cycle ergometers
- Swimming all pool-walking
- Cross-country skiing or Nordic-tracking
- Stair climbing using stairs or stair-climbing machines
- And too many others to list
Find something you like (or dislike the least) and go for it. You can use a combination of various exercises on different days or even within each workout. It’s up to you, but you must pick something.
The foundation 5-20-5 cardio workout
Once you have picked the mode of cardio exercise, get started. Get out door, jump on the bike, get in the pool, put on the skate and get moving.
5 Begin at a comfortable pace—one that is easy to sustain without getting out of breath. You may feel a slight glow and have to take the deep breaths occasionally, but you should be comfortable. If not, back off, because you have started too fast.
20 After 5 minutes, increase the speed, grade, or intensity in a way appropriate to your mode of exercise so that you are moving faster and breathing deeper in a rhythmic way. If you are gasping for air, slow down! This is a pace you want to sustain for the next 20 minutes. You should start to sweat – that’s good because it means your cooling system is working just fine.
5 Reduce the intensity for 5 minutes to cool down—same pace as you warm-up—and you are done. Time to hit the showers
This is the simple as approach to cardio exercise and it’s effective. It’s always good to have a workout buddy to make sure your form is correct, to make the times go faster, and to drag you to the weights when you feel like skipping your workout.
Although it is recommended that you do 30 minutes continuous exercise for better result, you can do 10 minutes three times a day. You can also change the type of exercise you do. Walk in the morning and ride an exercise bike in the evening. Variety can spice up your workouts.
Is 30 minutes enough to burn fat?
There is no such thing as fat burning exercise! As long as you don’t over-eat, your body will be forced to burn fat throughout the day. The best thing to do is to exercise as hard as you can to use as much total energy as possible—then after your body uses up all of the readily available carb, it will have to burn fat.
Weight training workout
If the heaviest weight you have ever lifted was yourself out of an easy chair to go get another snack, or you have lifted in the past but now it’s just a faded memory, this foundation weight training program is the place to begin. And you don’t have to go to the gym if you don’t want to. You can do this program your living room.
You can use the elastic bands or surgical tubing or dumbbells for resistance. Either way, you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars for equipment just to get started we are.
The promise is no more than 30 minutes per day for three days a week. It can be Monday-Wednesday-Friday, choose a-Thursday-Saturday, or any other combination as long as there is a day of rest between weight training exercises.
Weight training lingo such as reps, sets, and rest…Reps are repetitions – how often do you do in action. Sets are groups of reps –for example, you do an action 15 times and that equals one set. Rest means relax—you don’t have to put your head down on your desk, just hang loose and let your muscles recover.
Some cautions
Never hold your breath! Breathe out on exertion and in when returning to starting position. This includes abdominal exercises as well. Holding your breath builds up pressure in you chest cavity. The effect is t make your heart beast harder wile you’re lifting and limits the return of blood to your heart.
Start slowly to prevent injuries. You will make gains quickly and avoid the pain and possible injury of doing too much, too fast.
Don’t lift alone if you are using free weights. Too many injuries occur when people lifting heavy weight don’t have a spotter and drop a weight on themselves. Be safe because you can lose a lot of time in recovery.
May 22 2008 06:00 pm | Fitness and exercise
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