Have you been someone who wanted to lose weight for months but gave up because of the long process of diet and gym? Usually, for a beginner, cardio exercises can start your weight loss journey.
Cardiorespiratory exercises are a group of exercises that depend on the mechanism of generating aerobic energy in the body. Thus, cardio exercises are also called aerobic exercises. Aerobic refers to any mechanism or reaction requiring oxygen as a base. For example, all of our body’s energy-producing mechanisms need oxygen to supplement responses. Thus, cardio exercises also depend on the oxygen inhaled by our respiratory system.
If you want to lose weight, follow a good diet and adequate cardio exercises. Usually, a good diet combined with cardio and strength training helps shed those extra pounds faster.
Cardio Exercises: Introduction
Cardio exercises are recurring sequences of activity that focus on increasing heart rate. Based on weight and age, we group it into low and high intensity cardio exercises.
We consider cardio exercises to be the best for weight loss because they convert carbohydrates into ATP via the mitochondria. We group these exercises into several categories. For example, running at a medium pace for a longer duration is cardio exercise. Categories and types can sometimes be confusing.
Types of Cardio Exercises
Now that we know that cardio exercises represent a wide range of physical activities, it is essential to know the difference between them to choose the best one for you.
A few of the types or groups of cardio exercises are below.
Rigorous cardio exercises
These are the group of exercises that are high intensity in nature.
- Ride a bike
- Fast walk
- Tennis (Single)
- Basketball
- Soccer
- Jogging
- Hiking / Trekking
- Jumping rope
- To go upstairs
- cross-country skiing
Moderate cardio exercises
These exercises are low to moderate intensity.
- Dancing
- Tennis (Doubles)
- Swimming
- Hiking Downhill
- Moderate walking
- Soft ball
- Gardening
How do cardio exercises help you lose weight?
ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, is the currency of the body because it is its main source of energy. ATP is to the body what gasoline is to vehicles, the fuel of the body. Depending on daily activity and food intake, the body uses the fuel present in the body. Mitochondria produce this fuel or ATP through various mechanisms. The production of ATP is mainly due to the food we consume. By consuming excess food, it is stored in the liver as glycogen or deposited as fat in various parts of the body.
Depending on the intensity of the exercises, the deposited fat is converted into energy or ATP for later use. Usually the exercises are performed at a moderate speed and help in losing more weight compared to high intensity activities. Indeed, one can feel tired after a few minutes of a high intensity workout, whereas this is not the case with moderate intensity or low intensity exercises. In addition, during moderate exercise, the body uses fat for energy, while during high intensity training, glycogen is an instant form of energy. In addition, glycogen passes in a few minutes. Then the stored fat is burned.
Cardio exercises more than any other help to lose fat.
Benefits of Cardio Exercises
Besides weight loss, cardio exercises have several additional benefits related to all vital metabolic systems in the body. A few of these benefits are below.
- Strengthens respiratory muscles
- Reduces stress
- Reduces the risk of depression
- Increases erythropoiesis – Production of red blood cells, thereby increasing oxygen-carrying capacity.
- Reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes
- It improves cardiovascular health and reduces heart disease.
- Lowers cholesterol level
- Prevents and reduces bone loss
- Reduces the risk of stroke
- Increases pain tolerance
- Reduces blood pressure
- Enlarges heart muscle, improves pumping level and efficiency
- Improves Daily Memory: Episodic Memory
- Reduces the risk of osteoporosis
These benefits are taken from a few studies. More evidence on these facts is yet to come.
Note from The Fitness Freak
Cardio-respiratory or aerobic exercises are a group of high-intensity activities that stimulate faster weight loss. Cardio exercises encompass a wide range of exercises grouped into two broad categories, high and moderate intensity exercises. Although the primary benefit of cardio exercise is weight loss, it also has several other benefits that help improve heart health.
Best Cardio Exercises
Cardio exercises have several health benefits. But to get those benefits, you have to fit cardio into your daily schedule. Also, since cardio activities have a wide range of exercises, it might confuse a beginner on which exercises are best for a particular person with a certain BMR. Therefore, some of the best cardio exercises are mentioned below.
Jogging in a zone
Are you worried that you don’t have a garden or a park to jog in every day, but you still have the motivation to jog? Then this exercise can do wonders for you. You just need a mat to avoid slipping.
Start bouncing on your legs one after the other. Combine this by swinging your arms to either side. This exercise will increase your heart rate and works as a good warm-up exercise because every member of your body is stretched and activated.
Dancing
Dancing is one of the best cardio exercises to date. It has no prerequisites. Any part of your home could be your dance floor. There are no convenient steps for dancing. Just crank up the volume, dance to your favorite song and burn those calories!
Star Jumps
You can perform Jumping Jacks anywhere. Moreover, the steps are quite simple.
- Stand with your legs apart almost hip-width apart.
- Start jumping with your arms at your side. Then, jump up on your legs and spread your arms to each side.
- Bring your arms and legs back to the starting position.
First, start with slow jumps, then you can modify and increase the intensity of the exercise.
Jumping rope
It is one of the most effective ways to burn calories. Rope jumping, also called rope jumping, requires a rope. You can opt for the two-legged jump or the one-by-one jump. Gradually you can also increase the intensity/pace.
Mountaineers
This exercise falls under the advanced cardio category. It activates the lower body muscles.
- Start with a push-up position.
- Bring one of your knees close to your chest and switch legs.
- Increase the intensity by quickly switching legs.
You should include the above exercises in cardio exercises. You can also include cardio by switching to stair climbing instead of elevators and daily brisk walking.
How much cardio do you need?
The cardio requirement is different for different individuals. It depends on several factors. These factors are:
- Genre
- BMR: basal metabolic rate
- fitness level
- Oxygen carrying capacity
- Red blood cells and hemoglobin
- body fat
- Diet
- Frequency of cardio exercises
Even though cardio is interrelated with many factors, certain conditions are common. These are below. Elderly people can follow these regulations.
- If you opt for regular moderate-intensity cardio exercise, you need at least 150 minutes of activity per week. For example, a 30-minute walk five days a week achieves this goal.
- If you go for high-intensity cardio, you need 75 minutes of vigorous cardio per week. People who are already fit and trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle can opt for this method.
- After losing weight, you need to continue with 300 minutes of cardio activity per week to maintain that weight.
The Physical Activity Guidelines United States have all these regulations in place.
Even though seniors can perform all the cardio exercises reserved for young adults, certain regulations are prescribed for seniors by the National Institute of Aging. These are below.
- Light activity, preferably warm-up or beginner cardio activities
- These exercises should not cause sharp chest pain or dizziness.
- It would help if you didn’t drink too many fluids during exercise. (Exception: if prescribed by a doctor).
Tips for a Beginner Cardio Program
From a beginner’s perspective, cardio can become tedious and exhausting if it’s limited to the treadmill. Many think they can only do cardio in a gym, which is limited to a few machines. However, this is not at all true. As a solution, here are some tips:
- First, choose an activity that you will definitely enjoy, such as dancing.
- Then, include warm-up and cool-down (stretching) in the sessions.
- Choose the right place and set the right intensity
- Establish a schedule
- Gradually increase the cardio rate
- Start with a 30 min cardio activity
- Combine cardio with strength training and the perfect diet to lose more weight.
- Check the target heart rate with a heart rate monitor and modify the cardio intensity and duration accordingly.
- Don’t force yourself to increase the training time with each passing day.
HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) is a fun activity to combine with cardio. Plus, it burns more calories compared to low-intensity training.
Disadvantages of Cardio Exercise
Cardio activity has certain drawbacks and limitations. These are below.
- An increased number of injuries due to repetitive high intensity exercise.
- It may help with weight loss initially, but may not be effective long term if the intensity is not high.
Note from The Fitness Freak
Cardio is undoubtedly a great way to burn calories effectively. However, it cannot independently help with weight loss. You need to combine it with an effective diet and strength training. Cardio exercises will help you lose fat initially, but won’t help you lose weight in the long run. They are intended for people of all ages, but you should regulate and modify the routines according to your age and metabolic rate.
Cardio to gain muscle
Cardio exercises are usually stopped if they are trying to gain muscle. But, as vague as it sounds, cardio can help you gain muscle mass. Moreover, according to studiesaerobic activities like cycling, running, and walking can also help increase leg mass.
Before you begin the process of muscle gain, be sure to do two weeks of cardio. Doing this would help improve the aerobic system. Additionally, an improved aerobic system will allow for better strength training for muscle mass gain.
Aerobic and anaerobic exercises
Anaerobic exercises typically include strength training and running for short distances.
Aerobic exercise also helps with anti-inflammation, improved heart health, new tissue growth, and more.
There must be a balance between aerobic and anaerobic exercise. This is because the anaerobic system kicks in when the aerobic system is exhausted due to oxygen demands. Anaerobic systems will generate the necessary ATP. This ATP will reactivate the aerobic system.
Conclusion
Cardio exercises are a blessing in disguise. It helps in weight loss, improves heart health, reduces the risk of diabetes, etc. Cardio is one of those exercises that doesn’t require special equipment. Instead, you can incorporate it into everyday activities like climbing stairs, dancing, and walking.
We chose the best form of cardio based on BMR and age. There are general categories of cardio: beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Doing cardio alone will not help you lose pounds. Cardio with a good diet and HIIT can do wonders for your body.
