HOW MUCH CARDIO DO YOU ACTUALLY NEED? YOUR FULL GUIDE ON CARDIO

When you’re first getting into a fitness routine, it’s essential to learn the different types of workouts to include in your programming, as well as how each will benefit you. You’ve likely heard of cardiovascular (also known as aerobic or cardio) workouts, such as running, cycling or swimming - in essence, it's any activity that raises your heart and breathing rate aimed to improve the body’s ability to deliver oxygen-rich blood to working muscles and the muscles ability to use that oxygen-rich blood for energy production.

We've all heard of cardiovascular exercise, but why is cardio important and how much do we actually need? We’ll explore the answers here. 

What we'll go over in this article:

• The benefits of cardio
• How much you need
• How to gauge your intensity (what is moderate intensity?)
• If strength training counts as cardio
• Why dosage matters: what happens with too much cardio
• Sneaky ways to incorporate cardio into your day to day

WHY IS CARDIO IMPORTANT

According to the American Heart Association, there are a ton of significant benefits that come with regular and consistent cardio training, including: 

• "Lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, dementia and Alzheimer’s, several types of cancer, and some complications of pregnancy"
• "Better sleep, including improvements in insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea"
• "Improved cognition, including memory, attention and processing speed"
• "Less weight gain, obesity and related chronic health conditions"
• "Better bone health and balance, with less risk of injury from falls"
• "Fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety"
• "Better quality of life and sense of overall well-being"

These are massive benefits!

CARDIO AND WEIGHT-LOSS

I would like to add a ⚠️disclaimer⚠️ to using cardio for weight-loss. When we correlate exercise to weight-loss instead of focusing on our nutrition, not only can this create a negative relationship with exercise but we may also have the tendency to overdo it. Exercise is a tool to build ourselves up 💪 and if weight-loss is a goal of yours, then it's very important to look into your nutrition.   

HOW MUCH CARDIO DO I NEED? 

The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise. If that number sounds overwhelming to you, well don't you worry because I'm going to help break it down so it's less intimidating and actionable! 

There's different ways we can look at this number. Firstly, you can think of it as 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week (already sounds way less intimidating 😅).

If we break this number down even more, you don't have to do the full 30 minutes in a single session, you can spread it out! For example, you can do 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes on your lunch break and 10 minutes after dinner. All of it counts and even in the most recent guidelines, all physical exertion throughout the day contributes to your goal, even if it's only a few minutes at a time. 

WHAT DOES 'MODERATE INTENSITY' EVEN MEAN?

A simple way to gauge the intensity of your workout without having to rely on a heart rate monitor and to help better understand how physical activity affects heart rate and breathing is using the talk test.

During your workouts, you should be able to have a conversation but not necessarily sing a song.

Here's a simple way to measure the intensity of your workouts:

• Low Intensity Activity: You can easily talk in full sentences or sing.
• Moderate Intensity: You can speak in full sentences, but not sing. 
• Vigorous intensity: You are too breathless to speak in full sentences.

Do I have to achieve 150 minutes weekly to be healthy?

While the 150 minutes per week guideline for moderate-intensity cardio is a useful benchmark, it's not a one-size-fits-all prescription. Feeling good and being in tune with your body should always be a priority. If you're consistently active, eat well, manage stress, and prioritize sleep, you're already on the right track to overall health and wellbeing. Remember, it's about finding a balance that works for you, not just hitting a specific number of minutes on the treadmill. Listen to your body, enjoy the movement you do, and focus on holistic health rather than meeting a strict quota of exercise minutes. 

MOVEHAPPY classes you can include to put towards your goal:

☑ Low Impact Cardio & Core [15 min]

☑ Full Body Fit [25 min]

☑ Strength & Tabata [20-30 min]

☑ HIIT & Stretch [20 min]

☑ MOVEHAPPY Mini Cardio Bursts [10-15 min] - these are great to sprinkle into your week! 

and many other of our classes incorporate low-impact cardio moves in addition to strength training. Long, drawn out cardio sessions tend to be unsustainable and more importantly, unenjoyable! But when we do it in small doses throughout our week, it's much more manageable and for many...enjoyable 😊

In addition, our classes coordinates joint-friendly and low-impact movements to elevate your heart rate. Since all of our classes are circuit styled, this allows you to exercise at the intensity you are comfortable working at. Having a low energy day? Well you can choose to work at a light-intensity. Full of energy? The sky's the limit! 

WHAT IS TABATA?

Tabata is a unique form of high-intensity cardiovascular training that is suitable for all fitness levels and comes loaded with an array of health benefits.

Each round consists of 20 seconds of intense activity followed by 10 seconds of rest and as I always say in our Strength & Tabata classes, "anything is possible for 20 seconds!". Tabata is an efficient and effective way to help strengthen your heart within a short period of time - i.e., there's a whole lot of bang for your buck!

DOES STRENGTH TRAINING COUNT AS CARDIO?

At MOVEHAPPY, we believe that strength training should be the cornerstone to everyone's fitness routine (to read more about the benefits, click here) and to make a long story short, the answer is yes - a strength training session could count as a cardio workout if it raises your heart rate enough.

There's a lot of research that shows "resistance training is at least as effective as aerobic training in reducing some major cardiovascular disease risk factors" and there are many benefits similar to cardiovascular training, including: "improved body composition, reduced resting blood pressure, improved lipoprotein-lipid profiles, and enhanced glycemic control."

Okay so without getting too nerdy over here, what you need to know is that there's basically a ton of benefits that are similar to the cardiovascular ones, so keep lifting those weights my friends!

WHY DOES PROPER DOSAGE MATTER?

Quite simply, if we're getting too little, then we won't reap the benefits associated with cardiovascular exercise. But what happens when we get too much?

2 main factors to consider:

1. Too much cardio or stress on your system can leave your body in a constant state of fight or flight, which is not ideal for optimal recovery and building muscle. In fact, you can start losing muscle and slow your metabolism. 
2. Excess cardio training can lead to an increase in cortisol levels in the bloodstream and heightened symptoms of physical stress, such as chronic fatigue, muscle fatigue, changes in sleep patterns and changes in mood.

What do I suggest?

No matter what, listening to your body is always number one! 

Here's what I recommend:

• Daily, low-intensity and low-impact cardio, such as walking, light bike ride, low-impact cardio class or a movement mini cardio burst class). 
• 1-3 short HIIT classes per week IF your body and joints feel great and you enjoy doing cardio!

Non-MOVEHAPPY activities you can include to put towards your cardio goal:

☑ Walking - one of the simplest ways to start moving towards your goals - it's free, gentle and it can be done pretty much anywhere

☑ Swimming

☑ Faster paced yoga flows

☑ Bike rides

☑ Stair-climbing

☑ Swimming

☑ Dancing

☑ House work - this counts as long as your heart rate is elevated!

One of my favourite ways to get more cardio is to see how I can incorporate it into the activities that we already do! 

For example, picking up the pace at the grocery store. Parking further away from your destination. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Going for a walk to catch up with friends.

Remember, every little bit counts and can really help to achieving your cardio goal! When we make a goal doable and achievable, we are able to be more consistent and our self-confidence increases - and you know how I feel about confidence - it's the secret ingredient to lifelong success!! Come join us at MOVEHAPPY for your dose of feel good and joint-friendly fitness today by clicking here!