How much cardio should I do? When should I do it? What type of cardio should I do? How often should I do it? These are the questions my brain was filled with before I had my breakthrough. These are also questions I frequently get asked by clients.
Cardiovascular exercise generally falls into two categories.
Cardiovascular exercise generally falls into two categories. The first type of cardio is what is known as steady state cardio. The second type of cardio is known as high intensity interval training, or HIIT cardio. Steady state cardio is what people generally think of when they think of cardio. In short, it simply means getting on the treadmill or the bike and going for a half hour to an hour for most people. HIIT cardio is a different approach all together consisting of very low intensity walking or running followed by brief intervals of all out very intense sprints.
Which approach is better and which should you do?
The question is which approach is better and which should you do? In short, it depends on the preferences of the individual. Personally, I enjoy cardio. It gives me time to myself to listen to music or podcasts and learn new things. It helps me to distress and to unwind. I look forward to my 30 to 45 minutes per day of steady state cardio.
Unlike me, many people just want to get it over with to move on to other parts of their lives that they enjoy. If you are one of these people HIIT cardio may be a better option. HIIT sessions generally take about 20 minutes to complete. They consist of a 2 minute warm up, followed by 30 seconds of maximum effort expenditure, meaning you are working as hard as you possibly can during this 30 seconds. At the end of the 30 seconds, you then decrease the intensity to a very light effort for 90 seconds, rinse and repeat until minute 18 when you complete a 2-minute cool down. HIIT cardio has been shown in scientific peer reviewed studies to help maintain lean muscle mass and increase your metabolism as well.
Both steady state cardio and HIIT cardio are good options that work depending simply on which one you prefer. The key is that either one you choose, you stick to consistently.
Fitness + Nutrition + Wellness Coach
Andrew is a graduate of Wright State University and has over 10 years of behavior change experience working with a diverse base of clientele. He takes a holistic approach to weight loss and behavior change with an emphasis on Neuro Linguistic Programming.
Andrew is a graduate of Wright State University and has over 10 years of behavior change experience working with a diverse base of clientele. He takes a holistic approach to weight loss and behavior change with an emphasis on Neuro Linguistic Programming.
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