I’ve spoken about cardio before, many times in fact, but since this is a reboot of the site I would like to mention it one more time as the groundwork for a healthy life.  Cardio means doing some physical activity that challenges your cardio vascular system.  That’s the part of your body in charge of moving oxygen around and includes some pretty important organs, like your heart.  Cardio exercise means anything that increases your heart rate to a certain level.  A good goal for cardio is usually between 60 to 80 percent of your max heart rate which is calculated as 220 minus 30.  I emphasize that this is a very imprecise method and, when in doubt, you should consult with your doctor.

The benefits of cardio are improved health, lower blood pressure, lower risk of heart attack and lower weight (cardio burns a lot of energy).  For optimal performance, you should plan on doing cardio exercise for at least 15 to 30 minutes at a time but even shorter intervals can be fine.  In fact, Mark over at Mark’s Daily Apple is a big fan of sprints as opposed to long runs.  I don’t have a problem with that as long as you do some kind of exercise on a regular basis that leaves you out of breath.

I will say that cardio is probably the lowest bang for the buck you’ll get in your quest to become healthy.  As you can see in previous posts, it’s really the last 10% or so of being healthy, and yet it takes a lot of effort.  Still, if you intend to be healthy, you can’t really avoid this.

Common Types

Running – I’m guessing this is the most common type of cardio exercise out there.  Joggers out on the road, the track or the trail, running until they’re sweaty and out of breath.  Seems a little intimidating but it can actually be quite fun if you do it right.  Running is a great way to burn calories but it’s a bit hard on your feet.  Anyone with a health issue of some kind would be better off trying other forms of cardio exercise.

Biking – Another common type of cardio exercise, biking isn’t as hard on your feet but it can be hard on your back and your wallet.  A good bike and a helmet will set you back a few bucks but you can make most of those back by replacing some of your car commutes with biking.

Swimming – I would call this the perfect cardio exercise except that I find it incredibly boring.  Swimming back and forth and back and forth and back and forth without being able to talk to a friend, listen to music or watch the scenery drives me insane.  However, you merfolk out there can enjoy this cardio exercise that gives your whole body a workout while eliminating any harmful impacts.

Rock Climbing – Challenging, adrenaline filled, cardio based with a lot of resistance elements thrown in.  This would be the other perfect cardio except for that whole falling thing plus the fact that rock climbing equipment and gyms tend to be horribly expensive.

Aerobics – This includes everything from Jazzercise to Zoomba or whatever the heck they’re teaching down at the gym these days.  These are basically classes or videos that you can follow, usually to very loud music, as they guide you through a variety of movements at a rapid pace.  Excellent all around exercise with the possible exception of the damage to my self esteem done through watching little old ladies dance around while I fall down like a klutz.  If you have no rhythm, you may want to skip this one.  Also, not as convenient as some of the others since it usually requires a gym and scheduled classes.

Martial Arts – Traditionally, martial arts practice was about form and accuracy, not speed and sweat.  However, western civilization has turned martial arts from zen practice to something like jazzercise with a lot more kicking.  Now you can get a great workout while also learning how to pound the crap out of the person in front of you.  My favorites are boxing and krav maga but try them all and see which one you like.  (Personal recommendation for you guys, wear a cup!)

Others – There are an infinite number of ways to get your heart rate up.  From stair climbing and rowing to dancing and energetic sex.  I’m going to cover a bunch of them in the future (except maybe the energetic sex one) but I’ll leave you with this.  Two to three times a week, you should be doing something that leaves you short on breath and high on heart rate for at least 20 minutes.  That’s an hour total every week for something that could stave off that heart attack for years.  Even if it is just the last 10% of a healthy life, isn’t that worth it?

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Thank you to On A Mission From Goddess for including my post on your health tool kit in their latest carnival of healing.