In the past, people worked in the fields and factories, transported wood, drew water from wells and led an active life. Today, we have a much more comfortable life and desk jobs, so we struggle with all kinds of diseases at a young age. We have to get up and exercise for a healthy life. Although what type of exercise you do is up to you, cardio is the number one type of exercise that experts recommend for both heart health and weight loss.
When we say cardio exercise, we all think of running. True, running is a cardio exercise, but it is not the only cardio exercise. Cardio consists of numerous exercises that speed up your heart rate and increase your oxygen capacity. The good thing is that no matter how old you are, there is always some kind of cardio you can do. Let’s examine the questions like what is cardio, how is it done, what are the benefits, in all details.
What is cardio, how is it done, what are its benefits?
What is cardio?
Cardio, which originates from the ancient Greek word kardia meaning heart and is also known as cardiovascular exercise, aerobic exercise; It is a type of exercise that aims to increase your heart rate to a certain extent. Cardio exercises generally consist of rhythmic movements. Your body’s capacity to use oxygen also determines your strength during cardio exercises.
The American Heart Association says that in people who are strong during cardio, this situation is caused by 20%-40% genetic structure. Men show 25% higher potential during cardio than women. No matter how healthy you are, your cardio capacity decreases as you get older. However, no matter how old you are, there is a cardio workout you can do even if the intensity varies.
What are cardio exercises?
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Elliptical bike
- Rowing
- Skateboarding sports
- Cycling
- Jumping rope
- Running
- Squatting
- Squat Jump
- Jack Knife
- High Knees
- Lunge Jump
- Mule Burpees
- Reverse Lunge
- Knee up
- Jumping Jacks
- Mountain Climber
- Manmakers
- Burpee
- Box Jumps
Here are some of the exercises that come to mind when it comes to cardio in general. Most of the cardio exercises on the list consist of movements that you can do by yourself, even at home, without gym equipment. For some, it is possible to do much more intensive work by purchasing special equipment.
When we look at all of the cardio exercises in general, you will see that their common feature is to speed up your heartbeat. This is the main purpose of cardio exercises anyway. They do not aim to build your muscles, but to increase your heart rate and push the limits of your oxygen utilization capacity.
Surely everyone wonders if housework is considered cardio exercise. Agreed, but it’s all about how you do the housework. If you do it without tiring yourself, it doesn’t count as cardio. However, if you are cleaning the floor with rhythmic movements at a certain pace, this is also considered cardio. But unless it is done regularly, it will not give the expected benefits.
What are the types of cardio?
- HIIT cardio
- LISS cardio
HIIT cardio:
Intermittent high Intensity cardio exercises are called HIIT cardio. It consists of phases that start with high intensity and reduce the tempo from time to time. For example, 30 seconds of high-paced jogging, 60 seconds of light-paced jogging and finally sprinting can be done.
As it is a high-intensity training, its duration is 20 – 25 minutes, after which 48 hours of rest is recommended. Since it does not require any equipment, you can do it by yourself without going to the gym. Some of the HIIT cardio exercises that you can do 2-3 times a week are;
- Squat Jump
- Reverse Lunge
- Jack Knife
- Cycling
- High Knees
- Swim
- Mule Burpees
- Skipping rope
LISS cardio:
Cardio exercises performed at low and medium intensity but continuously and for a long time are called LISS cardio . It does not require much effort. It shows its effect as a result of being long-term and regular. It is extremely beneficial for heart and lung health. When done regularly, it creates capillaries and solves circulation problems.
Unlike HIIT cardio exercises, it does not aim to increase the heartbeat gradually, but to keep the heartbeat higher than normal but always at a certain level. Equipment may be required for some exercises, but it can also be done without equipment in general. Some of the LISS cardio exercises that you can do regularly for 45 – 60 minutes are;
- Hiking
- Rowing
- Swimming
- Cycling
- Running
- Skateboarding
- Elliptical bike
How to do cardio?
First of all, whether you have a health problem or not, you should consult a specialist physician. Because there are countless cardio exercises and they may not be suitable for everyone. Choose a cardio workout you love, with physician approval. It is extremely important that you love the exercise you will do, because your goal in this type of exercise is not to do it for a certain period of time, but to make it a part of your life and do it regularly.
Why you want to do cardio exercise is also extremely important. If you only want to exercise for a healthy life, you can do light training. But if your goal is to lose weight, feel free to push yourself a little harder and start high-intensity workouts gradually, if not immediately. The first days are always difficult, but if you do it regularly with patience, you will realize that you want to increase the training intensity over time.
Once you have set the basic choices, you can customize your workouts to your liking. You can run in a park, practice equipment at a gym, prepare a space at home, or open an exercise video and do rhythmic movements with it. Whatever you do, the important thing is to do your cardio regularly in a way you enjoy. Because if you don’t enjoy it, you don’t do it regularly and eventually you quit.
Benefits of cardio:
- It helps you lose weight by accelerating fat burning.
- It increases your sleep quality when done with medium and high intensity.
- Expands your lung capacity, increasing the amount of air it can hold.
- Improves sexual dysfunctions by increasing the body’s arousal ability.
- Weight-bearing cardio exercises increase bone density.
- Relieves stress.
- Makes you feel good by relieving depression and anxiety.
- Increases your self-confidence.
- Reduces the risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer.
- Strengthens your heart.
- Regulates your circulatory system.
- Improves your quality of life.
We answered questions such as what is the cardio you need to do to live a much healthier life and achieve your dream body, how it is done, what are the types, what are the benefits, and we talked about the details you need to know about the subject. Remember that what we are telling you is for informational purposes only and you should definitely consult a specialist doctor before doing such exercises.
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