What is cardio training?
Already by the name, you can understand which organ is directed to the physical load that a person receives during such physical exercises. Cardio means heart, so cardio training must somehow affect the heart. Any physical activity contributes to the strengthening of the heart muscle, if they are given in reasonable amounts. But on what basis were some of them singled out in a separate group?
Concern about the problem of weight loss in the world’s population is great. And to achieve this goal, all means are good. From food experiments on yourself in the form of various diets to active physical activity. But, as it turned out, not all types of physical exercises give the same result. Research in this direction has helped to identify those that give the best effect, and collect them into a separate training system. As a result, the term cardio training for weight loss appeared, under which the loads with the best results are combined. What kind of training is needed?
Anaerobic and aerobic exercise
All loads are divided into two types.
- In the first group, they are aerobic, receiving energy from glycen and oxygen.
- In the second, anaerobic, in which the body receives energy nutrition by burning fat accumulated in the body.
From this explanation, it is already clear that cardio training, the ultimate goal of which is weight loss, should include a set of physical activities of the second group.
What types of physical exercises are included in the first and second groups? Aerobic exercises include exercises that give a smooth entry into the load. If we talk about sports, then it will be long-distance running, in which the increase in load occurs gradually.
Aerobic exercises, or as they are also called explosive, give a quick rise in load without a smooth entry. In this case, energy begins to be produced with a lack of oxygen, and therefore the second type of energy production due to the burning of fats immediately turns on. If again to draw an analogy with running, then these are sprint races for short distances.
Do you need a gym and equipment?
If you do not plan to engage in strength sports with lifting weights or barbells, then cardio training for weight loss at home will also give a good result. You can spend it indoors and outdoors, in the company of like-minded people or in splendid isolation. But consultation with a trainer for the selection of exercises and drawing up a training program is required. Only he will be able to tell where to start, how long the training should last, how many times a week to do certain exercises.
Why is fat-burning cardio done at the gym better than the same exercises done at home? All exercises are performed under the supervision of a trainer who will monitor the state of the pulse and will be able to reduce or increase the load in time. For beginners, such control will be very useful. In addition, modern simulators can be programmed to control that the training takes place exactly in the zone specified for the cardio load.
What does heart rate control mean? The pulsation frequency during exercises for training the heart muscle should not exceed the heart rate of 40-60% of the maximum allowable. Where HR is the heart rate. The maximum allowable values are also easy to calculate. For men, this is: “220 – age \u003d heart rate”, and for women “214 – age \u003d heart rate”. If you use training for weight loss, then the heart rate during cardio training should be different, the total heart rate is 60-70%. On the question of what should be your pulse, it is best to consult a doctor. Here are the average values, and the real ones depend not only on age, but also on the state of the body, the presence of certain diseases.
There is another psychological point when choosing a place for exercise. Cardio training for weight loss at home for women makes it possible to approach relatively normal dimensions without prying eyes. And only when you can not be embarrassed by your awkward movements and numerous folds on the sides and stomach, you can move on to training in the gym.
Fear of the mocking glances of outsiders stops not only women from attending joint classes. Cardio training at home for men can also be the first step towards subsequent close communication with like-minded people or even on the way to a big sport.
What physical exercises are included in training sessions
What exercises are included in the complex, the intensity of the loads depends on what tasks the training solves. The result of the lessons can be:
- improving the functioning of the heart and lungs;
- strengthening the walls of blood vessels and improving the blood supply to all internal organs and tissues;
- reduced risk of manifestation of signs of hypertension;
- the disappearance of problems with certain diseases, for example, vegetovascular dystonia;
- increased tone of skeletal muscles;
- decreased sensitivity to changes in the percentage of sugar in the blood and a decrease in the likelihood of diabetes;
- victory in the long-term struggle with excess weight;
- increase stress resistance, release from frequent negative emotions.
As you can see, no matter what types of cardio training are used, there will be a positive effect in any case. And you can understand how training is useful for you, in addition to weight loss, soon enough.
What relates to cardio training can be listed for a long time, we give only a short list:
- walking with a gradual increase in speed and an increase in training time;
- running and not only with intensive training and participation in competitions, but also regular jogging in the park;
- a ride on the bicycle:
- swimming:
- jumping rope;
- tennis and team sports such as hockey or football;
- dancing and gymnastics.
Here you can make another argument in favor of training not at home, but in a special group – cardio training in the hall in a special group usually includes both types of exercises. Aerobics can serve as an example of combining anaerobic and aerobic loads. Cardio training at home for women in this case most often takes place with a repetition of the same exercises that are given in the coaching courses recorded on the disk.
There is no monotony in the classroom. It’s been verified. In aerobics, instructors do not tolerate tedious repetitions and are constantly looking for new combinations of exercises, select interesting musical accompaniment. Therefore, the minimum that you will get is a lot of positive emotions, even if not everything will immediately turn out to be as perfect as that of an instructor.
Myths and opinions about the benefits or harms of cardio training
You cannot find such a sport or complexes of health-improving physical exercises around which many opposing opinions would not be born. The myth that cardio training to burn fat at home can bring great harm to the body and lead to irreparable consequences was born as soon as the training itself appeared.
Let’s try to consider the issue in a little more detail. What does cardio training give besides the main result with weight loss? As mentioned above, the blood supply to all organs and tissues improves, the metabolic process normalizes. Considering these two facts alone, its positive influence cannot be denied.
Improved blood supply, in turn, leads to tissue repair and normalization of organs. That is, with the help of training, we return the body to its original state, violated by us with the help of an unbalanced diet, unhealthy lifestyle and other factors. At this point I want to ask: and where is the harm? There is no obvious harm if you start the process of restoring the normal state of the body after consulting a doctor and under the supervision of a trainer. They will also decide whether to do the exercises every day or limit themselves to one or two workouts per week. According to experts, on average, you need 2-3 workouts per week for 15-20 minutes. Why not a few hours? The answer is simple, after an hour of training, protein begins to be actively absorbed. It will not be enough even to maintain the muscles in the state where they are currently. Frequent and long workouts will lead to muscle flabbiness instead of the expected result.
And yet, what is cardio training for? This is the return of your body to the state that nature gave it initially. But someone may have more modest requests, and he will answer that he is training only for weight loss.
About contraindications
Above, we figured out that cardio training in relatively good health cannot be harmful. But there are some categories of people to whom they are contraindicated. However, like any intense physical activity.
The first risk group are people with cardiovascular diseases. Someone may object that even in hospital cardiology departments, patients during the rehabilitation period are prescribed such training. First, the exercises are not like that at all. A maximum walk at low speed along the track on the simulator or the lightest exercises from the morning gymnastics complex. Secondly, all classes begin with a minimum volume of loads under the watchful eye of a doctor.
The second risk group includes people with diseases of the musculoskeletal system. They can start exercising with low intensity loads only with the permission of a doctor and under constant supervision. There are diseases in which a sharp improvement in blood supply can lead to an exacerbation of chronic diseases.
The third risk group, patients with respiratory problems. Earlier it was said that the work of these organs is improving, but the limitations of training here relate only to the lack of control of classes. However, if we talk about the uncontrollability of cardio training for weight loss, then you need to start them with a medical consultation, an ECG and contact with a trainer for everyone without exception. It is possible that in addition to metabolic disorders and excess weight in the body, you have other problems that you are not even aware of. And after a sharp increase in physical activity, they will appear in all their glory, bringing a deterioration in health, and not the expected effect with weight loss.