What is good cardio?

What is "good cardio"?  Thats of the most frequent questions I get asked.  People are always asking if some specific machine or activity is good cardio or not.  Before we go into what IS good cardio, lets review WHY cardio is so important

• #1 lose fat! - want 6-pack abs?  Only way is to lose fat thru cardio and nutrition.
• #2 Cardio can improve your mood and significantly reduce depression.  Its been prooven by study after study, cardio can make you happier! 
• #3 Perform better at school or work!  Daily cardio reduces mental fatigue and gives you more energy. A recent study from the U of G showed that daily cardio reduces fatigue by 65%!
• #4 Tons of other health reasons -
• reduce risk of heart disease
• reduce blood pressure
• reduce risk of diabetes
• live longer - 2hrs longer for every 1hr of exercise

You've heard me say this before and I will repeat it again - cardio is much more important than lifting weights and if you only have 20min a day for fitness, you should spend the whole time doing cardio.

Its clear that there is a lot of confusion about cardio, its really quite simple.  In this video I'm going to tell you how to know what is good cardio and how to tell at a glance if a piece of cardio equipment is good or not.  Lets start with the basics.  The purpose of cardio is to elevate your heart rate and keep it target zone for at least 20 minutes.   How elevated does your heart rate need to be?  Depends on your goal, your age, and your health.  If you have medical conditions, ask your doctor what is appropriate for you.  If you are in good health, you can use these charts from the American Heart Association:

Age	Target HR Zone 50–85 %	Average Maximum Heart Rate 100 %
20 years	100–170 beats per minute	200 beats per minute
25 years	98–166 beats per minute	195 beats per minute
30 years	95–162 beats per minute	190 beats per minute
35 years	93–157 beats per minute	185 beats per minute
40 years	90–153 beats per minute	180 beats per minute
45 years	88–149 beats per minute	175 beats per minute
50 years	85–145 beats per minute	170 beats per minute
55 years	83–140 beats per minute	165 beats per minute
60 years	80–136 beats per minute	160 beats per minute
65 years	78–132 beats per minute	155 beats per minute
70 years	75–128 beats per minute	150 beats per minute

 

  http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4736

So if you are wondering if a particular activity is good cardio, its simple to find out.  Do it for a minimum of 20 minutes then measure your heartrate (15sx4) and compare it to the above chart.  If your heartrate is in the target zone, then its good cardio - simple as that!   With many forms of cardio, like cycling or walking, its easy to get lazy and just lolli-gag along.  Its important that you monitor your heartrate during the cardio to make sure that you are not slacking off.  Just a note, walking has the lowest dropout rate of all forms of cardio - probably because its so enjoyable.

OK, now lets talk about cardio equipment. I get lots of questions asking if a particular kind of cardio equipment is good.   First of all, I dont recommend buying ANY equipment.  I'd much rather see you get exercise outdoors by cycling, jogging, or playing soccer, its cheaper and more enjoyable.  If you have to workout in your home, I would recommend a cheap jumprope.  Having said that, if you are determined to spend money on equipment for indoor use, here is how you can tell if a piece of equipment is good.   First of all, good cardio equipment is very expensive and typically costs over a thousand dollars  and has three main characteristics

• If the equipment elevates your heart rate into the target zone, then its good cardio - simple as that.
• adjustable speed, very impt
• sturdy = heavy, never seeen anything sturdy under 50lbs most well over a hundred
• sufficient adjustable resistance

OK, some common questions I get about cardio.  Many people seem to be looking for shortcuts to cardio.  What if I sprint, can I just do 1 mile?  NO! You must do your cardio a MINIMUM of 20min, preferably 40-60min.  What if I do interval training, can I just do 15min - NO!  You must do your cardio a MINIMUM of 20min, preferably 40-60min.  I get questions about interval training all the time so lets talk about that a moment.  Interval training is alternating bursts of speed followed by short rests, for example in running you might sprint for 60s and walk for 30s.  Studies have shown that exercising in this fashion can burn off more calories than steady cardio.  If you want to do interval training:

1. you still need to do it for a min of 20min daily
2. dont rest so long that your heartrate drops below the target heart rate zone (purple)
3. Be mindful of injuries, make sure to stretch - you are much more likely to get injured sprinting than

Wow, I'm really groggy myself.  Time for me to do cardio before I fall asleep.