It’s Never Too Late!

Cardio is for everyone and every age…

As a movement professional, I enjoy reading the latest research on how to stay heart-healthy and physically strong. Part of the joy of my work is trying out new exercises and techniques with friends and clients. If you’re like all enthusiastic exercisers, you’re curious about adding more variety to your exercise routine, and, as a bonus, improving your heart’s function and conditioning. Now, let’s explore cardio exercise—movement specific for the heart.

Just what is a cardio workout anyway?

Cardio is movement dedicated to elevating the heart rate or increasing the heart’s beats per minute. The heart is a muscle composed of cardiac muscle tissue. Not unlike the skeletal muscles of the body, the heart muscle must be “worked” to improve its power. Exactly like lifting a heavy weight to improve the function of your bicep—you need to impose a similar stress on the heart to improve its function.

For cardio training, I’ll narrow it to two basic types: MICT and HIIT. Each is performed differently, and the health benefits of each also differ.

MICT, Moderate Intensity Continuous Training, is a cardio workout consisting of 15 to 40 continuous minutes of movement, and at a rate of exertion of 65-75% of your heart’s maximum as determined by gender and age. Often, I direct clients to use this type of exercise most days of the week if weight loss is a goal—a regular MICT workout schedule, combined with proper nutrition, helps to safely shed pounds, and months of MICT over years of steady exercising keeps weight in check. MICT also enhances improvements in metabolic health. Blood pressure (hypertension) is better managed. Cholesterol numbers improve, specifically High-Density Lipoproteins (HDLs, the good cholesterol), thereby lowering your stroke risk and chance of heart disease. Also, blood glucose levels are easier managed. Common American lifestyle diseases, those which come about from lack of activity and exercise, are greatly reduced when you commit to being more active and adding in at least 20 minutes of MICT 2 – 4 times per week.

HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training, is different from MICT. Instead of continuous movement, intervals are performed and the rate of exertion is closer to 85-100% of maximum heart rate. The intervals are on average one minute of high intensity followed immediately by 60-75 seconds of an active recovery. It’s hard work, but the payoff is tremendous as HIIT delivers enhanced vascular benefits quite unlike any other form of cardio. The heart muscle gets stronger, and the respiratory system improves. Doing HIIT 1-2 times each week is optimal, with a minimum of 20 minutes for each session.

If these types of cardio are new for you, seek out your current baseline numbers, especially if you’re de-conditioned. And learn how to monitor your heart rate, knowing if you’re training in the zone, or simply not working hard enough. Know too that there’s a different formula for women when determining maximum heart rate. And always warmup and cooldown.

Is one form of cardio exercise better than the other? Not at all, go ahead and do some of both MICT and HIIT. And everyone, regardless of current health, benefits. It’s never too late. As one of my instructors tells me, “Its only too late when you’re, well…dead.”

Once you get going, keep going. For great results and added health benefits, try to do cardio-intensive exercise most days of the week. And, for maintenance, don’t go more than two days in a row without cardio.

If you’re eager to improve your heart’s health, give both MICT and HIIT a try. It’s indeed never too late to experience the compelling effects of exercise. Your stronger heart will certainly reward you with greater health.

AtHomeBeFIT

AtHomeBeFIT

It’s Never Too Late!

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