What’s the Best Form of Cardio?

Last year my movement blogs focused on strength training and I shared a move for each part of the body every month. A well rounded fitness routine has not just strength but cardio as well.
In this week’s blog I’ll answer these questions.

What’s the best form of cardio?
How long should a person do it for?
How does cardio benefit a person?

There are different types of cardio one can do. Let’s explore some.

Cardio can be described as any activity that raises the heart rate high enough for the exerciser to be working and carry on conversation or be challenged to carry on conversation. It can also be described as exercise that uses large muscles groups and can be done in 30 – 60 minutes. This traditional definition of type of cardio is called moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT). MICT is great for all kinds of individuals because it’s not super intense and does not stress the body out. Examples are walking, jogging, swimming and biking. It’s recommended to do 150 minutes per week of MICT. That breaks down to about 20 minutes a day.

Metabolic Training is a bit more intense but has more options. Metabolic training refers to high-intensity exercise (verse MICT, which focuses on moderate intensity). This includes interval training, Zone 3 workouts and resistance training. The benefits lead to an increase in recovery metabolism.

Interval Training is my favorite way to train though I have seasons of breaking from it. Simply put, interval training is alternating between intense effort and periods of rest or lower intensity exercise. Most of the time when a fitness trainer is talking about metabolic training, they are referring to different types of interval training. Some Of the benefits include improved heart rate and decrease in body fat. Studies show HIIT is the effective form of cardio because it’s efficient by giving great results in the least amount of time. HIIT is effective enough to incorporate 2 days a week for 20 minutes.

So how does all of this work together?

In an ideal world, it’s most beneficial to incorporate all three; 20 minutes of walking, jogging, swimming or biking 7 days a week (MICT), 30 to 45 minutes of resistance training or another type of metabolic training 2-3 days a week, and 20 minutes of HIIT 2 days a week. When you add in 15 minutes of stretching, that is a well rounded plan.

However, most people do not have an hour to give to structured exercise 5 days a week. If that’s you, shoot to incorporate a variety a few times a week. Something is better than nothing and if you can be consistent each week with 3 to 4 days a week, that is far more beneficial than 5 days for 2 weeks at a time and then 4 weeks off.