Cardiovascular exercise explained!

Any gym would in the least have a cardio section and a section dedicated to weights. While any form of activity actively involves cardiovascular training, the intensity of the workout is pivotal. In simple words, anything which gets you huffing and puffing would qualify as a cardiovascular exercise, be it walking, jogging, running, skipping, swimming or rowing. A sport or any physical activity which may not be above the target heart rate may not be good enough for your gym goal. And if running outdoor is not an option for you then the gym is pretty convenient.

How does cardio exercise work?

Any cardiovascular exercise is aerobic in nature and requires a steady flow of oxygen from your heart. As you exercise it becomes more and more difficult for the heart to keep up with the oxygen requirement. It is around this time that you may stop, or otherwise it may cause pain due to the secretion of lactic acid. The purpose of cardiovascular exercise is to train your heart to gradually increase its ability to transport oxygen. Elevating your heart beat during an extended period of time does exactly that. As a result, your metabolism improves, your cells require more energy to cope with the demands of working muscles and you burn calories.

Essentially, cardio exercise helps you to burn fat by boosting your metabolism. The frequency, intensity, duration and mode of a cardio workout are important determinants. By varying one or two of these factors, you force your body to respond to a slightly different stimulus each time. Exercise at the same pace, for the same interval of time does little to boost your metabolism as the body gets used to the same workout. Hence, varying your cardio is important. A simple way to do this would be by going that extra minute longer every few cardio sessions or varying the intensity.

Now, whatever your gym goal may be, cardiovascular exercise is here to stay. What may change is the duration and intensity. If your goal is to lose fat, you would concentrate more on cardio than say, someone who wants to gain muscle. Even doing weights would burn calories, but does not compare with cardio when it comes to training of the heart.

Also, warming up by doing a few minutes of low intensity cardio and stretching your muscles post workout is critical. The next few posts will give a better idea of how to vary your cardio workouts.