These days, getting into shape is almost the obsession of almost everyone. Almost 80% of the country’s men, for instance, have tried weight training once in their lives. Most, however, do not realize that cardiovascular workout is as much important as resistance training when it comes to increasing your muscles’ overall strength and endurance that leads to hypertrophy and fat loss, which is what almost everyone is aiming for.
So if you are looking for balance in your overall workout routine, improve your endurance, preparing for an endurance based sport, or just trying to stay fit, cardio workouts are for you. Aside from increasing muscle strength and endurance, it also strengthens your organs, especially the lungs and heart, which is a key to a healthy circulatory and respiratory system; inhaling more oxygen in a single breath and pumping more blood in a single beat. Overall, these makes you burn calories faster even when at rest. The good thing about it is that there are multitude of workouts to choose from. Here are some of the best that you can choose:
1. Swimming
Swimming is one of the best workouts that you can do; perhaps even ‘the’ best. When swimming, you are doing a cardio workout and resistance training at the same time. Cardio, in the sense that you are maintaining an increased heart rate for extended periods of time. And you are also doing resistance training as the water is presenting some resistance that forces your muscle to work harder. It is a whole body workout which means you are burning more calories per movement. It burns the most calories at a given time. Most of all, swimming is a great life skill. Summer will be your best friend with a great body and great swimming skills.
2. Rowing
If swimming is limited due to the facilities needed, so much more is rowing. You’ll need a good place and a boat. Joining a rowing club or team can provide you with the equipment you need for less the cost. If such an option is unavailable in your vicinity, you can find a gym with a rowing machine. This exercise is much like swimming with more emphasis on resistance. Nevertheless, setting it to low intensity and doing it for long periods of time can burn lots of calories while developing your quadriceps, erector spinae, latissimus dorsi and biceps brachii.
3. Running
Running is the best balance of functionality and accessibility. All you need is a great running shoes (which can be bought cheaply using the proper Sears coupon). You can even do it at the comfort of your own home if you have a treadmill, or at the gym for a small fee. Running is also one of the most intense exercise that you can do, burning 300 calories in
30 minutes. However, running can be an intense workout and can be intimidating for beginners. Stick with it however, keep working hard, and you’ll get great results in a couple of months; given that it is exercised together with proper diet.
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