Happy Valentine's Day - Cardio Crash Course

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

14 Feb 2006 04:00 PM

We talk about cardio a lot. Cardiovascular exercises are fundamental in any fitness program as it helps you to lose weight, build heart and lung strength as well as increases circulation and overall endurance. Cardio is also one of the 'easier' sets of exercises to perform because you are using large muscle groups and you can set the pace yourself.

Here are four cardio fast-track tricks that you can use to increase your own performance during cardio exercises:

Interval Training - At periodic intervals you increase speed or intensity for short periods of time. For example, you warm up for 10 minutes on the treadmill at a comfortable 2.5 pace on a 3.0 incline. You can feel the pleasant burning in your legs, but you're not really working it. After your 10-minute warm-up, you crank it up to a speed of 10 at an incline of 5 for 1 minute, and then you drop back to your normal pace. You wait another five minutes and then perform the 60-second interval again. This switches you between the high and low end of your target zones. Your heart rate will increase and you will sweat, pant and generally feel fast fatigue that you then recover from during the next five to ten minutes before another interval.

Fartlek - I love the word, it's Swedish and means 'speed play.' This means you just do the intervals when you want to do them. It's for outdoor walkers, joggers, runners and cyclists. Imagine that your daily jog takes you around a park; perhaps you spring from one light pole to the next or at every third one.

Uphill - If you think going uphill is harder and requires more lung and heart capacity, you're right. Hills make you work harder and that's why they are a great way to increase your heart rate whether you increase the pace or not.

Rhythm and Tempo - This is all about speed and movement. You use tempo in a drill format. For example, you're doing your regular workout routine, but you've added a really upbeat song to your headset. When that song plays, you kick it up and keep the speed going at that tempo until the song ends, then you resume your regular workout.

These four different methods are all variants on interval training, but they will get your heart rate up and help you build a stronger heart and greater endurance.

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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