Cardio Loco!

“More cardio, girls! Cardio Loco!” Ramses may have said it with a thick accent, but he said it right. Many of us need to be clocking in more cardio hours.

Ramses is the instructor of a class I take called “South Beach Sweat”. During Monday’s class last week, Ramses noticed that many of the participants were struggling to keep up, and he pointed out the obvious: we would better serve ourselves if we managed to only do more cardiovascular exercises.

He was right. The only problem is that so many of us neglect cardio and never see the results from our strength training. I’ve spent years improving my strength training routine to include heart-pumping moves so I wouldn’t have to be a slave to the treadmill/elliptical/other boring machines. But the truth is that no matter how much lean muscle you build, or how strong you get, you need the cardio.

I even read an article recently on Jessica Biel, and her trainer noted that her sleek physique doesn’t just come from the number of strength moves she performs, but from “leaning down with cardio”. Oh great. The coveted Jessica Biel bod comes from performing what is probably considered a crazy amount of cardio. Where does one find the time?!

Okay, don’t get discouraged just yet. The good news to all of this is that there are tricks to adding in cardio our lives without renting a room at the gym. You don’t have to put in hours and hours of cardio. And you don’t have to do the same routine over and over again; in fact, your body becomes adapted to the same exercises after a short period of time. The trick is making a plan for yourself, one that allows you to slowly build up the time and type of cardio you do (on top of your strength training).

What am I suggesting? To exercise smarter so cardio is a breeze; it seems fun and results show up quicker than you think! And much to my delight, five days of cardio for 30 minutes will be sufficient for most people to reap the wonderful benefits it provides. These benefits (on top of losing body fat) include improving mood and quality of sleep, increasing energy, lowering blood pressure, and so much more!

If you’re consistently exercising (or are looking to get started), and cardio is one the missing ingredients to your plan, read below for some tips to get on the right path to wellness.

1. Do I have a gym membership? Are there any machines I would be willing to use (the more, the better)? Does my gym offer any classes?
If yes, then pick one machine and get on it for 30 minutes a few times a week – or alternate between a few machines for the same time period. You could also try taking a few new classes at your gym. Spin is a great way to challenge yourself and burn maximum calories; step and aerobics classes are great, too; also try to see if there’s something exciting, like Zumba or a cardio kickboxing class!

If you don’t have a gym membership…or you hate going…
2. Do you have cable with any exercise channels? Do you own any exercise DVD’s/VHS’s? Do you have a video store you can rent from (netflix counts)?

If yes…Some cable services have an “On Demand” option, where you can access certain channels anytime (like Fit TV) – use this feature if you have it. Start alternating between one or two exercise DVD’s a week; make sure you’re doing at least 30 minutes. You can also rent exercise DVD’s; this is a smarter choice because you’ll save money and rarely get bored!

If you don’t like these options, or you want some more…
3. Do you enjoy being outdoors? Do you have a local track or beach path? Do you have a friend/spouse/significant other you can recruit to join you in your efforts?

If yes, then start walking/jogging/running/rollerblading/jump-roaping/skipping outdoors. The prettier the scenery, the more likely you’ll be to stick with it. Exercising with a friend also makes a mundane task (like exercise may seem to some) turn into something you’ll look forward to.

If you need anymore suggestions on incorporating more cardio into your life, write me and we’ll come up with a solution. Cardio Loco.