A cardio work out can be done at home or in a gym to boost heart health. Additionally, it can also reduce obesity and stress levels. Here we discuss a few cardio exercises you can do at home.
Cardio work outs
Written by Dr. Sanjana p[ VB]
Cardio work outs help to improve the health of heart and blood vessels. It is one of the best exercises to manage obesity, achieve weight loss and prevent plaque formation in blood vessels.
According to American heart association at least 150minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise per weeks or 75 minutes of high intensity aerobic exercise per week is necessary for an adult. Adding moderate to high intensity resistance or strength training for at least 2 days per week is essential. It is recommended that you increase the intensity of resistance training gradually.
Health benefits of cardio work outs
• better mental wellness positive feeling
• mitigation of your stress levels
• helps to reduce anxiety and depression
• helps in obesity management
Moderate-intensity exercise
A cardio work out can raise your heart rate and improve cardio respiratory fitness. Additionally, moderate-intensity cardio activity raises heart rate to a level where you breathe harder but you can still speak.
Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale
It is a way of measuring physical activity intensity level. In other words, perceived exertion is how hard you feel your body is working. It measures the physical sensations a person experiences during physical activity such as increased heart rate, increased respiration or breathing rate, increased sweating, and muscle fatigue.
Moderate intensity exercise as defined by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) is exercise at 64–76% of maximal heart rate and 46–63% of VO2max,
RPE-3-4 for moderate intensity exercise in the scale [out of 10]
Moderate intensity cardio may be done in this way:
- about 100 steps per minute or 1,000 per 10 minutes
- a person is able to carry a steady conversation
For example, a brisk walk o 15 minutes, Recreational activity with children running around.
Vigorous-intensity exercise
This is a high intensity work out causing sweating and while you attempt talking, you may end up without getting adequate breath.
RPE: between hard and very hard or about 5–7 out of 10
heart rate: about 76–96% of a person’s maximum target heart rate.
steps: greater than 100 steps per minute
conversation level: a person can speak only a few words comfortably
The examples for vigorous intensity cardio work outs include Jogging ,Squat jumps, Mountain climbers, Jump rope etc.
How to do cardio work outs for beginners
You may start off each exercise for 45 seconds to 1 minute and rest for a few seconds.
Overtime with consistent training , you can gain strength and endurance and gradually increase the frequency of each exercise.
The beginner level cardio exercises include:
- Arm rotation in circles
- Marching one leg
- Jogging in the same place
- Jumping jacks
- Lateral shuffles
- Wiper’s exercise
- Stand on one leg
- Trunk rotation
- Air squat
Advanced cardio work outs
• Squat jumps
• Mountain climbers
• Jump rope
• Lunge jumps
• Speed skaters with weights
• Jumping jacks with resistance band lat pulls
written by dr sanjana p[vb]
References
. Riebe D, Ehrman JK, Liguori G, Magal M, editors. ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Kluwer; 2017. [Google Scholar]
. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6172294/
. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/aha-recs-for-physical-activity-in-adults