Truth and myths about cardio training
Cardio workouts are such loads that affect the development of endurance of the heart and blood vessels. Some myths are associated with them, which are explained in the article.
A little about human physiology: in fact, cardio exercises improve the ability of the heart, lungs and blood cells to deliver oxygen-enriched blood to the working muscles, and muscles train this oxygen to effectively absorb and convert into energy for movement. It is also known that the heart is a fibro-muscular organ that can contract, and we know very well: if there is a Winstrol for Sale, then it can be trained.
Unfortunately, among fitness enthusiasts, losing weight or wanting to lose weight, and even among instructors, some myths about aerobic exercise are common. Some of them are harmless and only make training useless, others can even affect the health of the heart and blood vessels. Let’s figure out who needs cardio and why, which theses are true, and which are myths. Let’s start with the myths.
- “Running, walking, cycling and aerobics are 100% cardio.” Not quite so, because cardio training is closely related to the pulse, more precisely, to its defined boundaries. The fact is that training can be called such loads under which growth occurs. The growth of muscle mass, speed or strength. Exactly the same thing exists in cardio: endurance increases in a certain zone of heart rate (HR).
The lower and upper boundaries of the training zone can be determined on a special apparatus – a gas analyzer, but for a person 30-40 years old it is 125-155 beats per minute. It is in such a zone that development and pumping of the body’s transport system takes place, below this zone, workouts turn into general recovery akin to walks, above into violence over the body and heart in particular.
- “Cardio burns excess fat best; if you want to lose weight, do cardio. ” It is also not true, since strength training is no less, and sometimes more effective. Yes, walking at a calm pace, indeed, allows you to lose weight, but any sport gives this effect. Some believe that cardiac loads, they say, drown fat without touching carbohydrates and glycogen. This is a myth, because it comes to fat 20 minutes after the start of training.
Strength loads significantly increase muscle mass, and the more muscles, the more energy they need, and therefore more fat will “burn”. In addition, during the rest period after training, the body continues to “heat the stove” to saturate the muscles, so cardio is not the most effective way to lose weight.
- “Cardio and strength should be strictly separated.” False, as well as the opposite statement: “cardio with power should be combined.” Here it is all about the individual approach, the characteristics of the body and the goals that the visitor of the fitness club sets himself. If you want to gain weight, then aerobic exercise is more likely to hinder you, but if you do strength training to lose weight, cardio will speed up the process.
Best of all in this matter you will be helped not by articles and pulse tables, but by your trainer. Even if you plan to do it yourself in the future, it’s still worth getting a consultation from an instructor: tell him about your goals and together draw up a training program in which there is a place for both strength and cardio loads (or not).
- “The more I do cardio, the faster I lose weight.” The myth follows from the second paragraph. The body, as a rule, quickly adapts to the loads, and it needs more and more. This is true for training the heart, lungs, blood vessels: over time, you can train at a low heart rate, run a marathon and generally become tireless and hardy.
However, at some point, the process of losing weight will simply stop – the body will learn to consume its reserves more efficiently with increased loads. Compare: to increase the load in strength training, you just need to take a lot more weight, and with the same run you will have to wind up more and more kilometers. Few people will be able to allocate 4-5 hours a day to run another marathon.
But the undoubted truth is the need to develop endurance. It doesn’t matter what kind of fitness you do, even sports dancing – in any one you need to be able to stand on your feet for a long time and not faint from the duration of your workouts. Exercises for the development of the heart and blood vessels contribute to the ability to not get tired.
In addition, light aerobic exercise is a “breath of air” for your body, it is an excellent warm-up, recovery and hitch. They are useful at any age, and work at any age, which is why Nordic walking and other activities are so popular among older people who continue to keep the circulatory system in good shape.
Cardio is not difficult, pleasant and interesting, because in the process of training there is a process of recognizing yourself. You will understand that there are certain zones of the pulse that you did not even know about, learn to be persistent and resilient, and also to listen to your heart – literally.
Sources: Zo Werkt Het Lichaam, Interventions for promoting physical activity.