Benefits of Cardio Interval TrainingThe U.S. Public Health Service, in a long-term study of the health of the people of in the US, tracked the chances of developing heart disease among various groups in the population. It became apparent that long before the any symptoms appeared, research could identify high-risk groups.
If you are male, over 35, a smoker with high blood pressure and high levels of certain blood fats, and a family history of cardiovascular disorders, you have all of the highest risk factors.
Other researchers have added another risk factor to the list: the compulsive, hard-driving, highly anxious personality. The greater the number of factors you possess, the greater your overall risk.
These threats to the heart can be divided into two main categories: those beyond individual control, such as age, sex, and heredity, and those that can be controlled, avoided, or even eliminated. Among those in the second category are what cardiologists call the triple threat. These are the high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, and high cholesterol levels in the blood.
If you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, your risk of having a heart attack is twice that of a nonsmoker. If you smoke, have hypertension, and eat a diet high in fats without any exercise at all, your risk is five times greater than normal.
The Healthy Heart
If these risk factors endanger the hearts health, what enhances its well-being and improves its odds of working long and well?
Obviously, quitting cigarettes and eating a low-fat diet will help. The next best thing you can do for your hearts sake is to give it what it needs: regular exercise including complete cardio interval training.
The heart is a muscle, or, more accurately, a group or package of muscles, similar in many ways to the muscles of the arms and legs. And just as exercise strengthens and improves the muscles you use for movement, it enhances the health of the heart muscles as well.
Since World War II, several large-scale statistical studies have evaluated the relationship between physical activity and cardiovascular disease. One well-known survey compared 31,000 drivers and conductors of some bus companies. The more sedentary drivers had a significantly higher rate of heart disease than the conductors, who walked around the buses and climbed stairs to the upper level.
The why and how behind these statistics were best explained by classic experiments with dogs whose coronary arteries were surgically narrowed to resemble those of humans with arteriosclerosis. Dogs who were exercised using a form of cardio interval training had much better blood flow than those that did nothing.
The exercise seemed to stimulate the development of new connections between the impaired and the nearly normal blood vessels, so exercised dogs had a better blood supply to all the muscle tissue of the heart. The human heart reacts in the same way to provide blood to the portion that was damaged by the heart attack.
To enable the damaged heart muscle to heal, the heart relies on new small blood vessels for what is called collateral circulation. These new branches on the arterial tress can develop long before a heart attack and can prevent a heart attack if the new network takes on enough of the function of the narrowed vessels.
With all these facts, it is now boiled down to a single question: What can be done to prevent such conditions and to lengthen your life?
In all cases when you plan to try cardio interval training, you are advised to consult your doctor first. It is also a great idea to hire a personal trainer to get you started on the right path and help you change your program as you progress to keep it interesting and challenging.
Some studies showed that moderate exercise several times a week is more effective in building up these extra pathways than extremely vigorous exercise done less often.
The general rule is that exercise helps reduce the risk of harm to the heart. Some researchers further established the link between exercise and healthy heart based on the findings that the non-exercisers had a 49% greater risk of heart attack than the other people included in the study. The study attributed a third of that risk to sedentary lifestyle alone.
Hence, with employing the cardio interval training, you can absolutely expect positive results not only on areas that concerns your cardiovascular system but on the overall status of your health as well.
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So What is Cardio Interval Training?
Cardio interval training involves alternating high intensity exercise with low intensity recovery periods. This can be done on any cardio machine or outside, although the example below uses the treadmill.
Here is a sample workout:
5 Minutes: Warm Up (mid speed walking)
2 minutes: Increase speed and/or incline from warm-up to slightly higher than comfortable pace
2 minutes: Increase the incline 1% every 15 seconds
2 minutes: Decrease incline 1% every 15 seconds
1 minute: Increase speed to fast walk or run
2 minutes: Decrease speed to recover back to a medium intensity
2 minutes: Increase incline 1% every 15 seconds
2 minutes: Decrease incline 1% every 15 seconds
1 minute: Increase incline to 5-10%, work as hard as you can (don't kill yourself!)
2 minutes: Decrease incline to 0% to recover back to medium intensity
5 minutes: Cool down by walking at a comfortable pace
Total Workout Time: 26 minutes
*To do this workout outside, simply alternate speed walking, running or hills for 1 minute with 2 minutes of slow walking to recover.
The benefits of cardio interval training are:
1. The threats of heart attack are lessened, if not eliminated
2. Enhanced heart task
3. Increased metabolism, increased burning of calories, and therefore weight loss
4. Improved lung capacity
5. Helps lessen or eliminate stress
Indeed, cardio interval training is the modern way of creating a healthy, happy heart and body.
Hiring a Personal trainer for cardio interval training can be cheaper than you might think. Send an email to Chad Tackett and he will respond personally.
Or choose another top exercise and weight loss program.
