Cardio Types
There are a number of types of cardiovascular training which can help you meet your fitness goals. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Some types of training are better for advanced trainers while some are more appropriate for beginning trainers.Everybody who trains knows it's necessary to keep body fat levels low and show all those well-developed muscles from years of hard work pumping iron. Most of you will probably agree that cardio is also a pain in the butt, and if you didn't have to, you wouldn't waste another early morning sweating it out on the treadmill for a long, boring hour. The aim of this blog is to inform you all about all the different ways to train your cardiovascular system besides running on a treadmill.
Low Intensity, Long Duration
This type of training involves intensities of around 40 to 60% of Maximum Heart Rate. It is basically something slow, easy, continuous and long (over 40 minutes). This can be walking, cycling, jogging, etc. You should be able to converse comfortably while doing it (called the talk test). This type of training is good for people just getting started with cardio work. It is reasonably good for fat loss, especially in very obese people. It is also the least demanding form of aerobic training.
Medium Intensity, Medium Duration
This involves aerobic work done at around 70% of max HR. It is harder, therefore it cannot be done for as long, usually between 20 to 40 minutes. This is also the next step up from the low intensity work. This type of training can be used for fat loss and for increasing aerobic capacity. It is characterized by the beginning of heavy breathing but not so much that you are soon out of breath and must stop.
High Intensity, Short Duration
This version of aerobic work is done at around 80 to 85% of HR max. That point, at 85% of your HR max, is generally considered to be the Anaerobic Threshold, though this can vary depending on genetics and fitness level. This is a very demanding form of training. It is done for between 5 to 20 minutes generally, depending on fitness level and intensity.
Aerobic Interval Training
The first way of doing aerobic interval training involves doing a period of moderate to high intensity aerobic work, alternating with a period of rest of low intensity work, e.g. 3 minutes of fast running then 1 minute of slow walking, repeated 4 times. You can vary the intervals and intensities to your liking, e.g. 10 minutes of moderate work, 2 minutes easy, 1 minute hard, or perhaps 5 minutes hard, 5 minutes easy. The key is variation during the work while not working so hard that you must stop completely.
Circuit Training
Circuit training is basically aerobic weight training. Here is an example of how it works:
Set up a number of stations with a variety of exercises that work the entire body, e.g. bench, curls, pulldowns, leg curls, etc.
Use a fairly light weight that you can lift without going to failure for a preset period of time.
You will do each exercise continuously for a specified time interval, e.g. 1 minute at each station and go through the cycle 1 to 3 times.
You can mix in treadmill work, skipping, cycling, etc. to add variety.
It is a reasonably good way to do aerobic work and weight training work at the same time. It also has the advantage of working the entire body instead of just the legs as most forms of aerobic training do.
In conclusion, there are a number of types of cardiovascular training which can help you meet your fitness goals. Choose which type of training works best for you and just go for it!
Sources:
https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/betteru16.htm
\https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/5_types_of_cardio.htm
http://www.tabatatraining.com/different-types-of-cardiovascular-training/
