Do Cardio During the Week for a Better Heart Rate
If your goal is to improve your heart rate, then you should perform exercises commonly known as “cardio”. Find out which ones exist and how to do cardio during the week for a better heart rate. Discover the advantages of cardio exercises in the following article.
Why you should do cardio during the week for a better heart rate
No matter what your goal is, what kind of life you lead, or how busy your schedule is, you should do cardio during the week for a better heart rate. We recommend that you do these exercises twice a week, to improve your heart rate, have greater physical endurance, and lose weight.
Cardiovascular exercises have more advantages besides the ones that are commonly known, such as burning calories or losing weight. The belief that weightlifters or those who work out with machines at the gym shouldn’t do cardio is a myth.
This kind of physical activity goes beyond losing fat as it brings with it other advantages that are well worth the effort. For example:
- If you do cardio during the week, you’ll improve your heart rate.
- Prevents you from being overweight, fights diabetes, cholesterol, and hypertension.
- Helps you to fall asleep and rest well.
- Reduces stress since it produces endorphins, which are known as the “happy” hormones.
- Strengthens your immune system.
- Improves your body’s breathing and oxygenation.
Even though this is a recommended exercise, the truth is that we must be careful when practicing it. For instance, running is quite popular, but not everyone is prepared to do it. You are more likely to suffer an injury while running than doing any other physical activity.
How to have a better heart rate with cardio
If your doctor tells you that you should do cardio exercises because you’re overweight or you’re at risk of heart disease due to your family history or bad habits, you don’t need to spend all day in the gym to rectify this. In fact, that’s not good either.
Professionals perform different tests to determine our cardiorespiratory capacity. For example, there are stress tests, submaximal performance tests, walking 1.5 miles, or climbing (stairs or a ladder) for three minutes.
All of these tests will tell you how well your heart is functioning and give you your average heart rate, at rest and in movement. This information is essential to know whether you’re doing an activity that’s too light or too intense for your condition.
It’s important to establish the number of weekly sessions based on your physical condition and your particular characteristics. It’s normal to do cardio three times a week, on alternating days: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, or Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
The important point about having a day of rest between each session is that the muscles must recover from the effort. Intensity is also crucial; even if your goal is to improve your heart rate or burn calories, you can’t expect to run a marathon if you’ve never left your seat.
It could be said that the effort must be inversely proportional to the duration of the session. That means that if the routine lasts for one hour, the intensity must be low. On the other hand, if it’s only 20 minutes long, then give it all you’ve got.
Choose the activity that you enjoy the most
If you still don’t know what kind of cardio to do during the week for a better heart rate, we recommend that you try different disciplines until you find the one you like most. There are many options to choose from: walking, running, jogging, biking, swimming, dancing, hiking, practicing recreational boxing, jumping rope, skiing, rowing, or climbing stairs.
To improve your heart rate, we also advise that you intensify your routine every few weeks. This way, your body won’t become used to the exercise and won’t perform it out of habit.
Talk to a trainer to increase the amount of exercise or to make it more difficult as you gain experience. For instance, if you start with a walk, switch from a gentle stroll to running.
Likewise, if you ride a bike, start with a couple of laps around the block. Then, add several miles to the route and look for sites with elevations, such as hills or steep streets.
By having a better heart rate, you’ll notice a resounding change in your daily life. You’ll be able to climb stairs, run effortlessly to catch a bus or play with your children without becoming tired, among other improvements.
However, you should have a consultation with a doctor every few months to monitor your general health and your heart in particular.
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- García-Hermoso, A., Cerrillo-Urbina, A. J., Herrera-Valenzuela, T., Cristi-Montero, C., Saavedra, J. M., & Martínez-Vizcaíno, V. (2016). Is high-intensity interval training more effective on improving cardiometabolic risk and aerobic capacity than other forms of exercise in overweight and obese youth? A meta-analysis. Obesity Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12395
