How do you like to incorporate cardiovascular exercise into your workouts? That practice of movement that causes your heart to pound, your sweat to drip, and your breath to become a struggle. ….That makes you want to keel over dead… but maybe that’s just me. Do you love it or hate it? Do you like to run, jump rope, cycle, walk, swim? Are you a fan of HIIT (high intensity interval training) classes? Or do you prefer slow and steady for long distances?
A lifetime ago, I trained for the Houston Marathon and ran that sucker in the cold of January. It was 26.1 miles of pavement pounding fun. Or at least that’s how it’s advertised. To achieve 26.1 miles you have to train by incorporating long runs at different mileages over weeks of planning. That kind of training is referred to as Long Distance Training or LDS if you’re cool. Benefits include increased respiratory rate, increased capillary density in muscles and it gives you the ability to withstand fatigue. You can choose many different kinds of movement for LDS, the key is 60 minutes or more of low intensity training. You can be a runner, a biker, a walker, a hiker, a swimmer, the options are many. Maybe you’ve taken up ballroom dancing or some other fun activity that gets you moving for a long time.
Perhaps long distance has zero interest for you. If that’s the case, you could look into repetition training. Which we refer to as the strength training of the cardio world. It’s a short burst of explosive energy, like a sprint, followed by a rest. One way to do this would be to sprint the straightaways on a track and walk the curves. Benefits include increasing the amount of oxygen the body can use and increasing your power outlet (increased fat breakdown).
Another way to play with cardio, is interval training. A great technique is using the Tabata method. I like this because it’s 20s of max effort followed by 10s of rest. You continue this for 8 rounds and you’re done! It has great effect on muscle building and fat burning. I use this in training all the time. 20s of high knees with 10s of rest 8 times will have your heart pounding and still give you time to hit the weights. The key here is max effort for those 20 seconds of being “ON.”
Cardiovascular exercise has so many benefits. We can go through even more ways and more benefits but the key is to not get caught up in the formality of it. When I was training for that marathon, I had this mentality of all or nothing. I would write out my plan but if one thing didn’t work out perfectly, well, then there wouldn’t be a run at all. There wasn’t room in my head to tell myself, “Oh, well, you don’t have time for that 6 mile run today, why don’t you go for the 30 minutes that you do have!” Instead, I didn’t train at all that day. If I hadn’t been so focused on the formal plan, or the perfection, I would have done so much better on race day. And, I would have helped myself along the way so much more.
Turns out, I don’t even like to run. Ha! After three full and half marathons. I finally let that dream go. I like to dance and do yoga and hit the stationary bike and walk with friends and do quick, short workouts. In fact, I’m about to go learn a tik tok dance that will probably get my heart rate up and result in lots of laughter with my friends. For me, that sounds so much more appealing than running. Find something you enjoy, and make it work for you!
Go in grace and God bless,
Colleen
