It is time for me to talk about the last element I believe in...air. Air represents the cardiovascular system or cardio for short.
Why is this air? The air we breath contains oxygen, which is a necessity for all of your living cells to function. That is where the lungs come in, the lungs transfer that oxygen from the air you breath into the blood that circulates in your body. So when doing cardiovascular (cardio) training we are working our heart and lungs. It is important to do this because it helps to: improve heart and lung capacity, improves your metabolic rate, decreases your risk for cardiovascular disease and helps to maintain hormonal balance.
So how does one work on their cardiovascular exercise? Good news is that there are plenty of options. You do not have to run as many people think. You can walk, swim, ride a bike, hike, play basketball, play pickleball, actually anything you want to do as long as it's 20 consecutive minutes in length or longer. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise. Moderate intensity means your heart rate should be between 65-75% of max heart rate. Vigorous intensity would be anywhere from 70-85% of max heart rate. Your max heart rate is 220-age, then do math to figure out the %. For example if you are 32 years old your max heart rate would be 188. That would mean for you moderate intensity would be between 122 and 141 beats/minute. Vigorous intensity would be between 132 and 160 beats per minute. Most smart watches are capable of taking your heart rate during exercise.
You need to work on your heart and lungs as part of a complete fitness program. In fact, cardiovascular exercise is one of the components of fitness. Just like any other component of fitness your body will adapt to the stresses. So you need to make sure you challenge yourself or change things up occasionally to get the most from your cardio exercise. Like I mentioned earlier you can do any type of exercise you want to raise your heart rate, as long as you do a minimum of 20 consecutive minutes.
If you are new to doing cardio, start small. You can always build up. Need help or advice on what to do or how to start, please go the Contact link at the top of the website and reach out to me. I would love to help you come up with a plan for you cardiovascular exercise.
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