Do Your Cardio

Cardio isn't for everyone.  Some people love it, but many don't.  Until fairly recently, I was definitely is the latter category.  Cardio can fall into many variations, but basically it is any activity that raises your heart rate and keeps it up for an extended amount of time.  Some of the more common forms of cardio are jogging, swimming, jumping rope, aerobics classes, and even power walking.  If you're doing a program like TurboFire of Insanity, you know what cardio is all about.  If you're doing something like P90x, you are doing some cardio but it's limited to Kenpo and to a lesser degree Plyometrics.  I eventually decided that if I wanted to get fitter and wanted to lose weight, I would have to learn to like cardio, and that's when I chose Insanity.

The Best Cardio

The idea behind cardio is to get your heart rate up.  The higher your heart rate, the better your metabolism will burn goo.  In my opinion, the best cardio to burn off fat is high-intensity interval training or HIIT.  The idea behind HIIT training is to get your heart rate up high, maybe up to over 80% of your max rate for 30 seconds to 2 minutes and then slow down for about 30 seconds, just to get your heart rate down a little bit before getting it back up again.  The net effect is that it raises your metabolism and keeps it elevated for hours after your workout.  That means that you burn off more goo, and that's why you want to do cardio.  One of the easiest ways to do HIIT training is with sprint, either on the treadmill or on the road.  Sprint as hard as you can for 30 to 60 seconds and then jog lightly for 30 seconds then start over.  Another good way is to take on a program like TurboFire or Insanity.  They give you the routines, the method, and the motivation.

Top 5 Reasons to Do Your Cardio

Guys don't always like cardio. You've heard myths that it makes you lose muscle.  But, you have to incorporate cardio to get the most out of your fitness.

1. Strengthens your heart and lungs.  You heart and lungs are muscles just like your biceps.  The more you work them out in your cardio workouts, the stronger they will become.
2. Pumps up your metabolism. The higher your metabolism runs, the more calories you burn.  The more calories you burn, the more goo you burn.
3. Increases your energy.  This, again, relates back to higher metabolism.  As your body is running hotter, there is more energy coursing through your body.
4. Helps you sleep better.  The more energy you burn throughout the day, the more tired you will be.  You will get one of the most restful sleeps after a good bout of cardio. 
5. Helps you do better in everything.  As you increase your cardiovascular strength, you will have more to give in everything you do.  You can lift harder and stronger.  You can play with your kids.  You can play sports with your friends.  You'll have more in you to do more and keep getting better.

Now you know why you need cardio.  Now get out there Do Your CARDIO and burn off that goo!!!