Improve Your Cardio

Cardio is quite essential for our daily normal activities as well as in any physical sport or activity that we do. The main reason as to why we need to improve our cardio is because of its obvious health benefits. 

What are these benefits you ask?
1. Improves overall cardiovascular health,
2. It improves your metabolism,
3. Enhances cognitive functions, and it
4. Aids in your overall immune system and many more benefits to our health.

WORKING OUT

If you can’t ride your bike everyday BUT have access to a commercial gym, you can definitely use any type of cardio machine available that you prefer such as the ff:

• Rowing machine
• Stairmaster

• Stationary bike
• Elliptical machine
• Treadmill

These basic equipment would help you in your cardio needs. If you don’t have access to any of them, then you can always consider the following:
• Long walks
• Brisk walking
• Light jogging
• Or even increasing your NEAT (non-energy activity thermogenesis) would do you good. 

TAKE THE FIRST STEP

To get you started, set a goal as to how long you want to do your cardio session in order to have a starting point for you to progress and get a hang of the routine. Next, you want to consider a sustainable pace that you’re able to start with wherein you avoid going beyond your maximum heart rate. Lastly, you want to plan the frequency of how many times you’re willing to commit to doing cardio per week. 

You can start with a duration of 10minutes with any machine or cardio activity of that you prefer, then consider adding 5 – 10 minutes per session for progression. Only apply the increase of cardio duration depending on the goals you have for yourself and your capabilities. 

If you’re using a machine, start with a speed that you can sustain in a duration you aim to work with without getting too tired or totally lose your breathe. You can increase the speed for progress per session depending on the goal you have set for yourself. Keep in mind to progress your speed and duration gradually, not aggressively to avoid risk of any possible injuries whatsoever. Do practice your breathing technique as well with your cardio session. Inhale through your nose, and exhale through your mouth. 

You want to aim for a linear and gradual progression rather than an aggressive one. Having to do an aggressive progression to improve on your cardio may result to your body rejecting the exercise which would then possibly make you dislike the activity.

For the frequency of cardio sessions per week, consider starting with 2-3x a week and then add more days for progress. There are people who do their cardio sessions two times a day (one in the morning, then one in the afternoon or at night), but it all boils down to your personal preference, schedule, lifestyle, and of course, your goals. Also, if you’re more of a video-person, check this channel out by Fit4Racing:

Once you’re able to establish these things, you want to keep it consistent in order to get the ideal progress you expect for your journey. You’ll definitely improve your cardio once you’ve established consistency and constantly progress along the way.