Cardio Motivation Quotes

Cardio fitness is an important part of getting in shape and improving your overall health. Any exercise that is aerobic, in which you increase the amount of oxygen you take in and your heart pumps more blood, improves not only your cardiovascular health but your level of fitness as well as helping you lose weight.

When it comes to cardiovascular exercise, the general guidelines recommend doing between 20 and 60 minutes. However, this will depend on the intensity of the exercise you are doing. Steady state low intensity cardio, such as walking on a treadmill, can be done for up to an hour at a time. In contrast, high intensity interval training (HIIT), which involves short sprints followed by even shorter rest intervals, should only last for a maximum of 20 minutes.

Begin each workout with 3- 5 minutes of light cardio. If you don’t have access to an exercise bike or treadmill, you can simply jog around your garden/ outdoor space. Or jog on the spot for 60 seconds, perform jumping jacks for 30 seconds, followed by high knees for another 30 seconds and repeat 2-3 times.

Stretching Recommendations The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends flexibility exercises for all of the major muscle-tendon groups - neck, shoulders, trunk, lower back, hips, legs, ankles - 2-3 times per week. Spend up to 60 seconds on each stretch; if you can only hold the stretch for 20 seconds, repeat the stretch three times. Never bounce into a stretch. Perform dynamic stretches before your workout. Perform static stretching after your workout. If you are doing a separate stretching session, do a 5 minute warm up of cardio and dynamic stretches.