10 Tips To Improve Your Cardio Workout

Making cardio workouts part of your exercise regimen is a surefire way to improve fitness and health. But you don't have to spend hours on the treadmill or trail to achieve results. Instead, use these tips for effective cardio workouts that burn calories and fat.

1. Increase the Incline

Instead of running on a flat road or treadmill, head for the hills or bump up the incline. Running uphill will send the heart rate through the roof and increase the calorie burn. Some added benefits include improved leg strength, running form and spring speed.

2. Hands Free

When using a piece of cardio equipment don't hold onto the handrail. Just let go and pump the arms forward and back, not across the body (which will reduce the effectiveness of a workout).

3. The Great Outdoors

If possible, take to the outdoors to add variety and new challenges to a boring running routine. Mountain biking and trail running on uneven surfaces improves athleticism and balance while working smaller, but equally important, stabilizer muscles.

4. Stop and Go

Use interval training to increase workout intensity and maximize results. Alternate periods of all-out effort with periods of low effort or rest. Try sprinting 100 meters and then walking or jogging back to the start line before repeating the sprint. Eight to 10 sprints is all it will take to get a great workout.

5. Swing It

Try kettlebell training for a workout that provides both cardio and strength benefits. Use the two-hand kettlebell swing to improve lung efficiency and maximum heart rate in a fraction of the time of traditional training methods.

6. More Work, Less Rest

Select six to eight body weight exercises, resistance training and cardio-based movements to use as part of an up-tempo circuit-based workout. Perform the first exercise, and then move onto the next without working. Repeat for each exercise before resting for one to two minutes at the end of the circuit.

7. Keep Pace

Use a smart phone app (like FitDay), heart rate monitor or GPS to record distance, pace and calories burned. Tracking all of these variables helps increase motivation and promote progress to avoid a performance plateau.

8. Turn it Up

The music that is. Listening to music during a workout improves performance by increasing motivation and reducing fatigue. Pick something up-beat and fast-paced to keep energy levels high throughout the workout.

9. The Buddy System

Workout with a training partner or group of friends to make the entire gym experience more enjoyable. Being accountable to another person will also serve as motivation and prevent missed workouts.

10. Be Consistent

The best way to get results from a cardio workout is to create a routine and stick to it. Whether it's first thing in the morning, at lunch or after work, the body will adapt to training any time during the day. Be consistent and exercise on a consistent basis and your fitness goals are within reach.

Fitness Basics For A Healthy Heart

Wondering what you need to know to improve your physical fitness and help reduce your heart disease risk? Let’s start with these fitness basics.

Physical activity is anything that makes you move your body and burn calories.

For people who would benefit from lowering their blood pressure or cholesterol, the American Heart Association recommends 40 minutes of aerobic exercise of moderate to vigorous intensity three to four times a week to lower the risk for heart attack and stroke.

Below are several key types of exercise that can all help you improve your level of fitness.

1. Strength and resistance training

Strength and resistance training are important elements of a good physical activity routine. The American Heart Association recommends strength training at least twice per week.

A well-rounded strength-training program provides the following benefits:

• Increased strength of bones, muscles and connective tissues (tendons and ligaments)
• Lower risk of injury
• Increased muscle mass, which makes it easier for your body to burn calories and thus maintain a healthy weight
• Better quality of life

2. Walking and running

Walking is a great way to get you moving with minimal impact on your body. It’s also low-risk and easy to start. While the AHA recommends that adults get 150 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week, even short 10 minute activity sessions can be added up over the week to reach this goal.

A regular walking program can also:

• Improve your cholesterol profile
• Lower blood pressure
• Increase your energy and stamina
• Boost bone strength
• Prevent weight gain

Do you want to start jogging or running but aren’t sure how? Dr. Deborah Rohm Young, vice chair of the AHA’s Physical Activity Subcommittee, encourages women to start by setting small goals. Begin by walking 15 minutes four times per week, Young suggests. “You can experience an increased sense of wellbeing almost immediately,” she says. “From there, you can have more energy to do other things.”

3. Yoga

Yoga is an ancient practice with potential mental and physical health benefits for people of all ages.

Practicing yoga—as part of an overall healthy lifestyle—can:

• Help lower blood pressure
• Increase lung capacity
• Improve respiratory function
• Boost circulation and
• Tone muscles
• Give you a sense of well-being while building strength

In addition, yoga poses require stretching, increasing flexibility.

Flexibility activities are an appropriate part of a physical activity program. Note however that yoga does not count toward the 150-minutes-per-week of recommended moderate activity. That’s due in part because some forms of yoga do not raise the heart rate enough to achieve moderate intensity aerobic activity for a sustained period.

Try these yoga moves to improve your heart health.

Learn more about different types of exercises, including swimming and bicycling, to find what is right for you.

3 Tips To Improve Your Cardio Workout

It is common practice for many people to enter the gym, and grudgingly get on a treadmill or cross trainer for their cardio work. Let's face it, cardio work can be a drag at times. Finding ways to to get more enthused about the process can inspire you to excel during this part of your exercise routine, and also make the time appear to pass more quickly.

So how can you make your time on the treadmill (or any piece of cardio equipment for that matter) more exciting? Listening to an MP3 or watching the TV monitor seems to be the standby for most, but if you're looking for something a littlle more motivational consider giving these 3 tips a try to put the bounce back into your cardio routine step. 

Tip 1: Try HIIT Training: 

The principle here essentially would be jogging for two minutes, sprinting for one, or jogging for one minute, sprinting for 30 seconds, and so on, you can alter the formula to suit your needs and ability. You do not need to do more than 20 minutes as the emphasis here is to get your heart rate up and down in a speedy fashion, which is great for fat burning.

* This method can be translated onto any piece of cardio equipment.

Tip 2: Set A Goal:

Don’t let your mind wander away when using cardio equipment, as this can take away from the intensity of your efforts. Every piece of cardio equipment will give you a reading of the distance you have covered. So why not set a goal of trying to beat the distance you may have covered the previous session in the same allotted period of time.

Eg: 5 miles/ 8km – covered in 30 minutes on the treadmill. So during the next session try to cover a larger distance.

Tip 3: Get Your Heart Racing:

Most cardio machines will have a heart rate sensor which is activated when you place your hands upon them. Ensure you are working within your target heart rate and pushing yourself by placing your hands on these sensors. Make sure your heart rate does not drop below your maximum heart rate.

To calculate your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) use the following formulas.

• Male athletes - MHR = 202 - (0.55 x age)
• Female athletes - MHR = 216 - (1.09 x age)

Give these tips a go and continue and alternate between each one to make things interesting and exciting.  

originally posted by muscleandfitness.com