The cardio vascular workout

Health and fitness essentials

There are many aspects to health and fitness, including diet, exercise, lifestyle and attitude of mind. In this article I cover one of the most important facets – the cardio-vascular workout. In particular, slow and steady cardio. I include tips and advice on safely building up a useful regime of the most popular exercises.

To accomplish a good cardio-vascular workout all you really need is a good pair of running shoes. Most cardio-vascular exercise needs little or no third party apparatus to help you accomplish your routine. Running, dancing, walking can all be done with no equipment (well, if dancing, then maybe some music would help). Other forms of cardio are step, circuit training, bike riding, swimming, aerobics and more…

With most exercise you should always remember to warm up first. Static stretching is not the best way to warm-up and it may even increase your chances of getting injured. However, suddenly moving into full exercise without building up first may cause problems such as stiffness, cramps or injury.  Do a dynamic warm-up to prepare your muscles, joints and improve your range of motion.

Just realize that the exercises and types of exercise here is not the only way to improve your cardio vascular ability,  but it remains an important part of training for most people.

Running:

Make sure you have a good pair of running shoes. The technology put into these shoes nowadays is highly researched and designed to reduce shock to the feet, ankles, legs and back. You don’t need the most expensive, but do your research and get a good one.

Before you start your run, be sure to warm up first. Even the best marathon athletes warm up by running very slowly before a race. Start with a brisk walk ensuring you use your arms before gradually breaking into a slow jog. It is better to run at a speed to which you can still converse. If you find yourself losing breath, slow your pace down until you’ve recovered. If you are a novice runner try running and walking, until you can hold your run for 15 minutes.

Now increase the length and time of your run by a couple of minutes every other time you hit the road or treadmill, until you can run for 30 minutes without stopping. Try to increase your run time by 10% each week, remember not to over do it and don’t forget to warm down at the end of each by slowing down gradually. When your run is complete stretch your legs for 30 seconds per muscle, hamstring, calf and thigh or follow these stretching recommendations.

Cycling:

Cycling is a good cardio-vascular workout and is easy to make time for.

First of all, if you are riding on the roads safety is paramount, always use the appropriate safety equipment when road riding. You can stay fit by riding a bike to work, most people work within a five mile radius of there place of work, which is a perfect distance for a bike ride.

Exercise bikes can be used in a variety of ways, general riding for specified length of time, this is like going for a bike ride with out the dangers of road riding and the weather. Warm up riding you can use an exercise bike for warming up the legs before a leg workout. Also exercise bike classes, these classes are taken by an instructor, who will put you through various levels of pace, quite like a circuit training exercise with a bike.

You may find it surprising to find that riding a bike only five miles 3 times per week will improve your heart rate, your posture, skin and weight control. Riding and running are great ways of relieving stress.

Swimming:

One of the best ways to firm up and trim your body down. Due to the resistance the water has on the body swimming involves all the major muscle groups this allows the body to burn up to 20% more calories than swimming through air. Swimming a few lengths per day will keep you fit and give you an excellent workout. Swimming also has less impact on the joints than say, running.

If you wish to take your swim a little further try picking up the pace of your swim, you can work up to a great aerobic exercise and give your body an excellent workout.

Start off by swimming 1-2 lengths at a time resting between sets if necessary, after you have swam ten lengths call it a day. The next day repeat the process until you can swim five lengths without a break. Progress to ten lengths in by adding an extra length each time you return.

You can put together your own cardio training routine in the gym, if you have a problem with this then the staff on hand will write one for you and show you how to achieve your goal. To improve your endurance try to make your cardio last between an hour and an hour and a half. It may sound like a long time to do steady state cardio so you may find it easier to do different kinds of cardio during one session. A good start point for cardio is always a run.

This cardio workout will work for a person of medium fitness, however adjust the times and pace according to your fitness levels.

1. Run at a light pace for 20 minutes, start off at a walking pace and gradually move to a run, this helps you get warmed up and the blood pumping.

2. Rowing machine- set the rowing machine for a countdown time of 15 minutes or keep a check on your watch or the clock. Maintain a steady pace throughout the full 15 minutes.

3. Move immediately on to the exercise bike. Take a steady paced ride for 12 minutes with a sprint finish for the remaining 3 minutes.

4. After the exercise bike move directly on to the step climber for a period of 15 minutes climbing on a light level to get the legs going. Try to move at a swift pace for the full 15 minutes as this is the last of the leg work you will be doing.

5. When you have completed the step climber, move onto the abs bench for some crunches. 4 sets of crunches to failure is your target for this exercise. Try twisting your body and touching your left knee with your right elbow and vice versa.

6. The last exercise in this quick cardio workout is the leg raise apparatus. Bring your knees up to your chest for 3-4 sets for as many reps as possible (failure)

After the completion of this cardio workout, it is optional to do a full warm down by stretching the muscles. The full workout should take you around 1 hour 20 minutes.

Bear in mind that steady state cardio like described here is not the best or only way to lose fat or be healthier. Long slow cardio has numerous benefits and in order to be as healthy as can be you should include it in your program. But there are many other types of exercise that you should consider.

Too much cardio can have a negative effect on your health and it should never be the sole type of training you do.

The Strydom Method of training is designed to give you excellent cardio ability, but because it combines the most effective fitness methods, your health will improve together with your fitness and your strength.