The Need to Knows About... CARDIO

In this article I want to help you have a better understanding of cardio by answering these common questions:

1) Why is cardio so important?

2) How much cardio should I do to reach my goal?

3) How do I calculate my Target Heart Rate to reach my goals?

4) When should I do cardio?

LET’S GET TO IT 

HOW MUCH CARDIO SHOULD YOU DO?

When trying to determine exactly how much cardio to do to burn extra calories and lose weight, it's good to have a game plan in mind. However, if you're trying to figure out exactly how many minutes it’ll take you on the stair stepper before seeing a difference on the scale, keep in mind that there are a bunch of factors that go into that.

It’s important to always remember that in order to reach your fat-loss or weightless goals, there needs to be a sufficient CALORIE DEFICIT. This deficit can be met by decreasing your daily calorie intake or by DOING ENOUGH CARDIO.

I personally, LOVE TO EAT, so for me i’d rather add in a few extra minutes of cardio per day to keep my calories up then take food away.

However, if you’d like to have a more tangible figure of how much cardio to do per day, the National Institutes of Health recommends at least 30 to 45 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise three to five days a week for weight loss and general health.

If 30-45 minutes per day seems a little excessive, no worries! This just means you’ll have to ramp up your sessions and instead of doing moderate intensity workouts you’ll need to do high-intensity workouts incorporating intervals. This will help you burn more calories in a shorter amount of time.

You can determine if your cardio session is moderate or high intensity, based off of how you feel and based on your heart rate.

HOW DO I CALCULATE MY TARGET HEART RATE TO REACH MY GOALS?

When doing cardio it’s important to determine if you’re working hard or hardly working. You make this determination by checking in with your heart rate during exercise and based upon how you feel.

• How you Feel: Exercise intensity is a subjective measure of how hard physical activity feels to you while you're doing it — your perceived exertion. Your perceived exertion level may be different from what someone else feels doing the same exercise. For example, what feels to you like a hard run can feel like an easy workout to someone who's more fit.

• Your Heart Rate. Your heart rate offers a more objective look at exercise intensity. In general, the higher your heart rate during physical activity, the higher the exercise intensity.

You can use either way of gauging exercise intensity. If you like technology, you can check your heart rate with an activity tracker that includes a heart rate monitor. If you feel you're in tune with your body and your exertion level, you'll likely do fine without a monitor.

GAUGING INTENSITY USING YOUR HEART RATE

In order to determine your target heart rate you first need to figure out your MAXIMUM HEART RATE.

You can calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. For example, if you're 25 years old, subtract 25 from 220 to get a maximum heart rate of 195. This is the average maximum number of times your heart should beat per minute during exercise.

Once you know your maximum heart rate, you can calculate your desired target heart rate zone — the level at which your heart is being exercised and conditioned but not overworked.

The American Heart Association generally recommends a target heart rate of:

• Moderate exercise intensity: 50% to about 70% of your maximum heart rate

• Vigorous exercise intensity: 70% to about 85% of your maximum heart rate

If you're not fit or you're just beginning an exercise program, aim for the lower end of your target heart rate zone. Then, gradually build up the intensity. If you're healthy and want to exercise at a vigorous intensity, opt for the higher end of the zone.

HOW TO DETERMINE YOUR TARGET HEART RATE ZONE

You can use an online calculator to determine your desired target heart rate zone. CLICK HERE FOR AN ONLINE CALCULATOR

Or, here's a simple way to do the math yourself. If you're aiming for a target heart rate in the vigorous range of 70% to 85%, you can use the heart rate reserve (HRR) method to calculate it like this:

• Subtract your age from 220 to get your maximum heart rate.

• Calculate your resting heart rate by counting how many times your heart beats per minute when you are at rest, such as first thing in the morning. It's usually somewhere between 60 and 100 beats per minute for the average adult.

• Calculate your heart rate reserve (HRR) by subtracting your resting heart rate from your maximum heart rate.

• Multiply your HRR by 0.7 (70%). Add your resting heart rate to this number.

• Multiply your HRR by 0.85 (85%). Add your resting heart rate to this number.

• These two numbers are your average target heart rate zone for vigorous exercise intensity when using the HRR to calculate your heart rate. Your heart rate during vigorous exercise should generally be between these two numbers.

For example, say your age is 25 and you want to figure out your target heart rate zone for vigorous exercise using the HRR method. Follow these steps:

• First, subtract 25 from 220 to get 195 — this is your maximum heart rate.

• Next, check your resting heart rate first thing in the morning. Say it's 80 beats per minute. Calculate your HRR by subtracting 80 from 195. Your HRR is 115.

• Multiply 115 by 0.7 (70%) to get 80.5, then add your resting heart rate of 80 to get 160.5.

• Now multiply 115 by 0.85 (85%) to get 97.75, then add your resting heart rate of 80 to get 177.75.

• Your target heart rate zone for vigorous exercise is 160.5 to 177.75 beats per minute.

TARGET HEART RATE FACTORS

It's important to note that maximum heart rate is only a guide. You may have a higher or lower maximum heart rate, sometimes by as much as 15 to 20 beats per minute. If you want a more specific range, consider discussing your target heart rate zone with an exercise physiologist or a personal trainer.

Also note that several types of medications, including some medications to lower blood pressure, can lower your maximum heart rate, and then lower your target heart rate zone. Ask your doctor if you need to use a lower target heart rate zone because of any of your medications or medical conditions.

Also, research shows that interval training, which includes short bouts (around 15 to 60 seconds) of higher intensity exercise alternated with longer, less strenuous exercise throughout your workout, it highly effective in burning calories at a quicker rate.

You'll get the most from your workouts if you're exercising at the proper exercise intensity for your health and fitness goals. If you're not feeling any exertion or your heart rate is too low, pick up the pace. If you're worried that you're pushing yourself too hard or your heart rate is too high, back off a bit.

REMEMBER: Before starting a vigorous exercise program, you may want to talk with your doctor. He or she may suggest that you have certain tests first. This may be the case for people who have diabetes or more than one risk factor for heart disease, and for men over age 45 and women over age 55.

As you can see, there’s a lot more to cardio than meets the eye. As a general rule of thumb, I recommend shooting for at least 30min of cardio 5 time per week. Do what you enjoy! Make it fun and don’t stress about it! Just be as active as you can!

PRO TIP: If doing cardio is boring to you, try listening to a podcast, audio book or use a tool like the nike running app with guided and motivational running coaches. If you typically do cardio on a machine, watch Netflix, youtube or whatever else will help you pass the time.

With Love,

Elise Borelli