Cardio Madness - How Much Is Enough?

When it comes to weight loss, cardiovascular training is important to perform. However, if it is the only exercise that you are doing for weight loss then you are definitely doing yourself a disservice. Also, how do you know when you are doing too much of it?

The purpose of performing cardiovascular training

Cardio training involves movement of large muscle groups aerobically or anaerobically to increase function of the heart and blood vessel systems known as the cardiovascular system. Movement can be activities such as running, jumping, playing sports, treadmill, stationary bike, etc. It's long term benefits include lowered heart rate, lowered blood pressure, higher HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) and much more.

When it comes to weight loss, it burns a tremendous amount of calories. However, more doesn't necessarily mean better. You want to maximize your cardio training so that you get the maximum results and that you don't waste your time.

How much is enough?

ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) recommends the following:

Do moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week or do vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week.

I won't disagree with this at all. I would follow the guidelines myself. However, let's take somethings into consideration. Generally, very few if any exercise organizations recommend performing cardio for more than 1 hour. So if you are doing it longer than 1 hour, I wouldn't recommend it. Unless you are an athlete who is fueling up during training so as not to drop off performance.

When you perform too much cardio, your performance could actually drop off. For example, if you are feeling like you are wearing down that is probably a sign that you are doing too much. If you stopped seeing results from your cardio training then it's time to do something else. If nothing is happening from your cardio results then it's time to change it up.

How to maximize your cardio training

One way that I recommend that you can maximize your cardio training is to keep doing different cardio training methods. For example, run for one day. Play basketball the next day. Go on the stationary bike the next time you train. Take a group exercise fitness class the next time. And keep varying it up. Make it so that it's never the same thing. The point is to keep the body guessing.

Another method is to perform short bursts of high explosive cardio training and then take it down. For example, your on the treadmill and you explode for 30seconds and then rest for 1min. You continue to train like this for no more than 15 minutes because it's so demanding physically.

Personally, I love to play soccer for my cardio training. It's fast at times, it's slow, it requires power and then it requires you to take it slow. I love the constant change in intensities. The same can be said about fitness boxing and cardiokickboxing. These are fun for me and I enjoy them very much.

The point is for you to maximize your cardio training so that you continue to see results. It's also important to do things that you like. I personally don't like to get on machines. I would rather compete or do something that I really like and that I can continue to do for a long time. But this article isn't about me it's about you. Follow these suggestions and guaranteed that you won't be guilty of doing too much cardio. For more information, visit my website and get a copy of my book "Don't Wait Get in S.H.A.P.E."

Josue

"Cap" Josue Cano B.A. C.S.C.S., is a specialized strength trainer and author of the book: "Don't wait get in S.H.A.P.E.: drop body fat fast and get fit quick". He is also an entertaining, funny health and fitness speaker who speaks to college students about college weight gain and has a program called Tackle the Freshman 15. He can be reached at his website: http://www.dontwaitgetinshape.com or by phone: (805) 415-0497 E-mail: cap@dontwaitgetinshape.com.