Cardio Have No Fear

Cardio, you say?

Yes! We know that cardio training has a positive impact on health at every age and stage of life and want to support our clients to bring this training into their routines on a regular basis for optimal health.  

Research shows that HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is the most effective way to exercise for cardio training:

• Improves insulin sensitivity
• Improves post-exercise energy expenditure (E.P.O.C.), in other words, it increases the amount of calories you burn all day
• Causes a spike in two key hormones: epinephrine and norepinheprine, which play an important role in fat loss. These two hormones (sometimes referred to as adrenaline and noradrenaline: the fight or flight hormones) are responsible for driving lipolysis, which is the breakdown of fat.

What is High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)?

While there are different types of HIIT training, a great deal of studies characterize HIIT training as bursts of working to your maximum output for 30 seconds to a few minutes and recovery periods. Traditionally people thought that the longer you workout the better. But we know now that’s not the case. With HIIT you can maximize benefits of an hour workout in 20 minutes. 

Cardio Could Save Your Life

Cardio workout significantly improves your VO2 max. This is the max amount of energy consumption your body can use effectively during working out. Why does this matter? VO2 max is a factor in predicting cardiovascular disease and mortality. According to a study in the Journal of Sport Science Blair, et al. report that “risk of low fitness comparable to smoking.” Moderately or highly fit populations can bounce back from illness and disease better than low-fitness individuals. This is irrespective of other factors like obesity, body mass, elevated cholesterol, and smoking.

How should I approach my next cardio class?

• Self-selected pace – work at your body’s pace, not your neighbor’s
• Listen to your body – do not work through pain
• Try to have fun – community makes working out easier  
• Slow and steady wins the race. 

Feeling ‘the burn’ 

In general, when we refer to feeling the burn we’re talking about lactic acid in the muscle groups that we’re working out. But in the cardio world, the burn is a full-body experience. You’re sweating a ton, breathing rapidly and deeply, and your blood is flowing fast.  Some people enjoy this feeling (see runner’s high) and others hate it. Both of those reactions are completely okay. If you’re someone who can’t stand the panting and the exhaustion that comes from a cardio workout,  have hope! Long term, it gets easier and much more manageable. You may even get to that point where you crave a good cardio workout. If you don’t see that happening anytime soon, HIIT in a supportive environment is a great way to knock out your cardio fast.

Articles of interest

• https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/HIITvsCardio.html
• http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/10/for-better-heart-health-exercise-harder-not-longer/
• https://www.medicinenet.com/aerobic_exercise/article.htm#what_are_the_health_benefits_of_aerobic_exercise
• http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/metabolic-effects-of-hiit

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/026404198366678