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"What Cardio Fitness Is All About"

By Rodney Golden

What Cardio Fitness Is All About

What is cardio fitness? You would be surprised then answers that you get when you ask people this question. Most of the time I just get blank stares. Maybe a guess or two. But really no definite answer.

If I could compare it to something it would be like asking someone randomly on the street about who the Grand Canyon was created. It’s just not something that the everyday person knows. Unless you’ve studied exercise science extensively most people only have a very brief explanation of cardio and cardio fitness. Like, “Sure cardio is when I get on the treadmill.” Well, while this is true. There’s a lot more to it.

Yet most people hop up on the treadmill, elliptical, and cardio bike day in and day out without giving their efforts a though t. They just know to get on the machine and turn it on. I admire these people for their efforts. But, I see it as my moral obligation to shatter the cardio fitness myths. To do this a have to start with the problem and then deliver hard with the solution.

I see people in the gym that go for long periods of wasted time day in and day out and a year later they still look the same. How about the lady who focuses on step aerobics or spin class and has been going for years and hasn’t lost a pound in five long years? What is it with that? It’s the hard working cardio goers that work out for multiple hours a day and never see any real changes after the first true plateau. Why is this?

There are some fitness myths that I would like to clear up and then give you a better understanding of cardio and the true benefits of using cardio fitness. You’ll know when and where to use this fat burning tool when it’s appropriate and where it will most benefit you and your cardio fitness program. You’ve got to understand that being truly fit does not happen by the magic bullet theory. When trying to get fit and healthy, you need to remember that you need to use multiple fitness tools to keep things working for you.

While, this articles primary focus is to spend time on cardio fitness, it’s important that I tell the truth. The only way you’ll ever have the body you desire you’ve got to use multiple tools to get the job done. Cardio fitness is just one of the important.

What is cardio fitness?

Well, cardio is short for cardiovascular which is another word for the cardiovascular system that you’re body uses to transport oxygen via blood to the rest of the body. So doing cardio has a primary benefit more than just burning fat. A well tuned cardiovascular system delivers many rewards like better oxygen transport, healthy blood vessels, healthy arterial walls, a good pair of lungs, and most of all a strong and steady heart. So a good cardio fitness program will challenge and improve the function of the cardiovascular system. This will allow you to improve in many areas.

Although these are great benefits, I’ve got to believe that unless you’re a recovering heart attack patient or competing in the “Tour de France,” your main goal is not arterial elasticity or better oxygen transport. Right?

The truth is people are doing cardio for one main thing. They hope it will shrink their waistline, butt, arms, and thighs. I say hope because that is what it is. It’s not a guaranteed fat loss procedure.

If you do it right it can do wonders. Don’t get me wrong here. I’ve just got to really hammer this one home. Cardio fitness is crucial. But, it’s doomed to fail you if this is the only tool you use. Ok, enough of the soapbox.

When is cardio fitness appropriate?

Cardio is very useful for a full body warm-up, to get the body ready for more intense exercise. It may be a good warm up for an intense cardio session or working with weights. A great warm up is light and usually needs to last between 12-15 minutes.

I have all my clients warm-up 15 minutes before every workout. This helps to decrease the risk of injury, speeds recovery, and improves their aerobic capacity in the workout. In other words cardio improves your weight training without even touching the weights because you become a more efficient body.

Cardio can also be used as interval training with weights. This offsets the resistance training on targeted muscles with full body aerobic movement. I usually will perform cardio two times in the middle of a full body resistance training routine. This allows me to keep my heat rate up and really challenge the full body. This is one of the toughest workouts ever completed.

Cardio can also be done post resistance training. I’ve seen clients really drop fat weight and burn a lot of extra calories by performing cardio post workout. You’ve already turned up the metabolism with the weights and now you can really add power to the punch.

Another great and very respected way of performing cardio is by doing short, moderate to high intensity cardio sessions on opposite weight training days. For example, if you lift weight M, W, F, then you would perform your cardio sessions on opposing days such as T,Th,S. This allows the body to fully recover and burn some serious calories quickly. The goal is moderate to high intensity for about 12-20 minutes. This should be challenging.

What cardio fitness routine should I use?

There are lots of good cardio routines out there. But, the truth is you can make cardio fitness simple or complicated. Cardio fitness is anytime you move your body in a rhythmic motion for a steady length of time. This movement requires oxygen.

Here’s the kicker, fat is burned when oxygen is present. This would be what I call an aerobic state. You are in an aerobic state about 95% of your day. So, remember that cardio is aerobic. When you do aerobics, you use oxygen to deliver energy to your muscles and the energy that you burn in an aerobic state is fat!

So, strap on your running shoes or and get to walking, jogging, or biking outdoors. You can also hit the treadmill, elliptical, or stationary bike. Choose whichever you prefer. It doesn’t matter. Just get in an aerobic state. This is what true cardio fitness is all about. Just getting your heart rate up.

About the Author:

Article written by Rodney Golden. A certified personal trainer and owner of two Fitness Together Personal Training Studios in Hoover, AL. He can be reached concerning personal training programs and fitness seminars at 988-8580 or email me.