For those of you looking to lose fat and work on building stamina and endurance, steady state cardiovascular exercises are a good starting point. With steady state cardiovascular training you can expect to:
- Warm up for about 5-10 minutes at a light and easy pace
- Perform the main exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes
- Cool down for an additional 5-10 minutes
Part of steady state endurance training is knowing your own individual body. Heart rate comes into play during these types of training so recording and tracking your heart rate will be essential for being successful. To get a good feel for where you can start think about it like this:
- During your warm up, talking should be challenging, but not overwhelmingly difficult to do
- Speaking during your 30 minute exercise should be limited to only being able to get about 1 (maybe 2) words out while exercising
- Your cool down should bring you back to the challenging stage similar to the warm up.
During your cardiovascular exercise, keep track of your heart rate for at least 5 minutes and find a good rhythm that you can settle into to keep your heart in that range. If you find that you are unable to complete the 30 minutes of exercise, you might be starting out too fast. The goal is to be able to sustain a certain pace for the amount of time you have set aside for this specific training.
Most of the time when we think about cardiovascular endurance training, running comes to mind. This specific method of cardio training can be extremely taxing and most times almost impossible for new gym goers and those who are deconditioned. Some other options include:
- Walking on an incline
- Biking
- Rowing
- Elliptical
Modify these exercises to your specific needs and incorporate methods that you can enjoy.
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Rachel Palepale
Author Bio
Rachel Palepale has been part of the First Capital Gym team since November 2021. She has been coaching since August 2021. She has a B.A. in Professional Writing.