Best Form of Cardio

Cardiovascular exercises have a huge significance in our lives and also play a serious role in keeping our weight in control. The intention of cardiovascular exercises is to increase out heart rate for a significant period of time so as to strengthen the heart muscles and increase the lung capacity and most importantly increase the blood circulation in the body. The benefits of cardio intensive exercise plans are many and no amount of weight training can substitute a cardio routine.

There are many forms of a cardio intensive workout. Some are more effective than others and may even require a much lower time frame. Let’s take a look into some effective forms of cardio that we can adopt in our daily lives:

• Running – Bring out your running shoes and set off for a 45 minute run and your cardio needs for the day are done. Running is the best form of cardiovascular exercise. You can run at any given moment. Irrespective of whether you are on a holiday, a business trip, at home or even in office, running does not take much. The best way to go about this is to run for 25 minutes in one direction and the head back on the same path. A word of caution though, you must have proper running shoes and it is important to run on soft ground since the hard path could damage your knees considerably. Running allows you all the advantages of a cardiovascular exercise and also helps to increase bone density.
• Swimming – A very safe and effective cardiovascular exercise is swimming. Not only is one able to work out all the body parts but it is also an injury free routine. Of course one will need to swim for about an hour at a stretch if looking to achieve substantial gain. While breast stroke is one option, the more effective one is free style and mixing the various styles of swimming works well since one is able to get all the muscles working. Swimming is great for those who have weak knees or back injuries and cannot afford to jerk them in any way.
• Cycling – Now it is a fact that cycling does not do much for increasing bone density, but this is a great cardio routine for someone who cannot run due to injury or age.  Cycles these days allow for a high intensity cardio work out too and this helps save on time. However, in most cases it will take about an hour of cycling to match up in calorie count to half an hour of running. Cycling is very good for the leg muscles and does help in strength building too.

A cardio training program is as essential as food and water for our system. With an increased heart rate, we are able to provide the body with added oxygen and blood supply and this has an all round benefit. So when you sit down to chalk out an exercise routine, make sure that cardio forms an integral part of the program.