Cardiovascular Exercise: More than Running

Your cardiovascular system is comprised of the heart, blood vessels and blood and supplies your body’s organs with the oxygen and nutrients they need to function properly. “When performing cardio, your heart and lungs work together to bring oxygen into the body and deliver it to the muscles being used,” says Hill. This process strengthens your heart and lungs in addition to:

• Burning calories
• Boosting mood
• Managing hypertension, heart disease and diabetes
• Improving circulation

Adding cardiovascular training to your regular exercise routine can provide enormous health benefits but many people don’t know where to begin.

“The most important thing is to just get your body moving,” says Hill. Many people think of running when the word cardio comes up but there are many other avenues to explore! “There are so many types of cardio that many of my clients often don’t think about,” says Hill. “Some of the different cardio options I like to recommend are walking, swimming, cycling, using the elliptical and even the rowing machine.”

So, once you start adding cardiovascular exercise into your routine, how can you keep it interesting? Hill provides four forms of training to try.

• Continuous training : Continuous cardiovascular training is performed at a steady state for 15-45 minutes at a time. Continuous cardiovascular training is beneficial for anyone, improving overall heart health and conditioning of the body.

• Varied training : Varied cardiovascular training includes performing different types of activities in the same training session. For this training plan, you may jog for 10 minutes, cycle for 10 minutes and then get on the elliptical for 10 minutes. This type of training can be helpful by exposing your body to different motions within the same cardio workout as well as keep it interesting for your mind.

• Time training : Time training is a great way to start implementing cardiovascular exercises into your normal training routine. Hill recommends starting with a 30-second jog, walk for two minutes and then repeat until you reach a total of 15-20 minutes. As you progress, you can increase your jogging time and decrease your walking time. Training for time instead of distance is great for improving endurance and preventing injury when first adding cardio to your routine.

• Intensity training : The goal of intensity training is to achieve your maximum heart rate. This can be done with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) when you are exerting maximal effort with minimal recovery between exercises. Intensity training increases cardiac volume and is especially beneficial for post-menopausal women trying to burn fat and lose weight.

For more information about cardiovascular training, watch the Exercise Move .

The above training plans can be used for all forms of cardio—not just running or walking. “Walking is a great place to start—it gets your body moving—but it isn’t the end-all be-all.” Try a new form of cardio the next time you exercise, you may just find something new you enjoy.

So how much cardio—or aerobic activity—should you be including into your exercise routine? Kenneth H. Cooper , MD, MPH, Cooper Aerobics Founder and Chairman, recommends getting at least 30 minutes of collective or sustained aerobic activity most days per week in addition to at least two days of strength training per week. As we age the aerobic-strength training ratios change, too:

• Ages 40 and younger: 80% aerobic exercise; 20% strength training
• Ages 41-50: 70% aerobic exercise; 30% strength training
• Ages 51-60: 60% aerobic exercise; 40% strength training
• Ages 61+: 55% aerobic exercise; 45% strength training

Whether you’re new to cardiovascular training or a seasoned pro, adding some form of cardio to your exercise regimen will help improve your heart and lung health as well as help you live a better quality and quantity of life. A professional fitness trainer can help you implement cardio into your routine and discover a new form of training you can truly enjoy.