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Getting Started on a Cardiovascular Program
What is cardiovascular
exercise?
Cardiovascular (or aerobic) exercise is any type of exercise performed
for a sustained period of time with an elevated heart rate.
How hard should I be exercising?
Beginners often struggle to find the appropriate intensity level and
get discouraged early in a program. To find your desired level of intensity
in any exercise, ask yourself which of the following categories you
fall into:
| Beginner | If this is a new activity, or if you haven't been exercising in a while, your initial goal should be to get up, move, and do whatever feels comfortable. |
| Intermediate | As you advance and begin to feel more comfortable with your exercise, you may wish to increase the intensity a notch or two. If you were to rate your percieved exertion during exercise, the activity should feel "fairly light to somewhat hard." In other words, the activity shouldn't feel very easy or very hard, but somewhere in between. |
| Advanced | Once you have mastered the workout, you may wish to begin challenging yourself. At this point, you may try short bursts of higher intensity mixed in with intermediate intensity. This is called "interval training" and can be performed with most any activity, as a way to increase the effort while exercising. |
What are some
good cardiovascular exercises?
The best exercise is one that you enjoy and are most likely to continue.
Below are some of the most common forms of cardiovascular (or aerobic)
exercise. It is not an all inclusive list but beginners may want to choose
a few to start until they feel comfortable.
| Walking | The most convenient and therefore the most popular, from leisurely walking to speed walking, this exercise can be performed at a variety of intensity levels. At the intermediate level, most people walk a 15 minute mile, or at a speed of 4 miles per hour which can be easily monitored on a treadmill, around a track, or on a marked course. |
| Calistenics | jumping jacks, jogging in place, jump rope, etc |
| Cycling | Can be done at any pace on or off-road |
| Dance Aerobics | Aerobic classes (without the step) or videos or even free-style dancing |
| Jogging | |
| Rowing | |
| Swimming | Especially good for people with joint problems or conditions. |
| Sports | Tennis, racketball, soccer, basketball (but not all sports - for example, riding in a golfcart for two hours may not be considered cardiovascular exercise) |
| Step Aerobics | Once you get the coordination down, can be very upbeat and motivating. |
| Exercise equipment | Stepper, skiier, rower, treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical, arm ergometer, etc. |
Other activities
that maintain an elevated heart rate for a sustained period of time
are also considered cardiovascular exercise.
For more information on this topic: |
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