more Cardio Fun Facts

At the Arena District Athletic Club members love their cardio!   On a treadmill, elliptical, Spin Class or one of our numerous group fitness class there are plenty of options to get your cardio fix.

  In my last blog I pointed out how cardio alone is not an effective form of exercise to promote weight loss.  Now I am not anti cardio, so if you enjoy it by all means cardio on but if you have specific body shaping goals, and for overall conditioning, circuit training is the way to go!!  

Here are some facts to help you make your cardiovascular training more efficient and effective!

Cardio Fun Facts

• Frequently running long distances may actually encourage your body to hold onto excess weight. The more you train to run long distances, the more efficient your body becomes at doing this, so you end up burning less energy when you’re running.
• By the time you have reached 50 years of age, you will have walkedapproximately 75,000 miles.
• You can judge whether you are exercising at too high of an intensity by seeing if you can speak a few words without needing to take a breath. If you can’t, you may want to back off the intensity just a little until you can.
• Too much cardio can actually prevent fat loss because your body will actually burn muscle for fuel.
• No wonder your feet hurt – running puts three to four times your body weight in pressure on your feet.
• Dancing is a terrific and fun form of exercise that can improve cardiovascular fitness just like any other more formal type of exercise.
• Some key factors that determine whether or not you will stick to your exercise routine include having support and accountability, setting a goal that is realistic, and not pushing yourself too fast. If you push yourself harder than you are ready for, or set an unrealistic goal, you will get frustrated and burn out. Your recipe for fitness success just may be keeping careful track of your progress – such as going from being able to run a quarter mile without stopping to a half mile – while working out with a friend.
• Being dehydrated reduces exercise performance. Make sure you hydrate for peak performance during a workout.
• Visualization can help to improve your workout. By visualizing yourself completing the exercise before you actually perform it, then you will be able to perform the exercise with more intensity and effectiveness.
• Don’t work out on an empty stomach! If you run out of energy during your workout, your body will start burning your muscle tissue, not your stored body fat.