If you find yourself taking a break during a particularly tough workout, “OK, so how much aerobic exercise do you need to do a week?” You are definitely not alone. This very sweaty form of exercise is tiring to say the least. But it’s worth coming back several times a week to experience its many benefits.
Cardio stands for “cardiovascular” and is a general term for aerobic exercise that raises your heart rate, says Melissa Boyd, a NASM-certified personal trainer and tempo coach. The goal of aerobic exercise is to prepare your heart and lungs for endurance, but there are many other benefits as well. According to Boyd, aerobic exercise improves mood and promotes circulation to improve skin, prevent memory loss and other brain-related health concerns, reduce joint pain, improve cholesterol, and It helps to make you feel better overall. “Good workouts can give you an endorphin rush, and a strong body can also make you feel energetic all day long.”
To get the right aerobic exercise for you, consider your fitness level, what you’re having fun with, and the easiest thing to do over and over again. It’s not just about running. “If you’re just getting started, try increasing your pace and adding a few walks a day, or enrolling in a dance class of interest,” Boyd suggests.
What are other examples of aerobic exercise? Take group fitness classes such as skipping rope, exercise bike pedaling, rowing, swimming, cycling, dancing and kickboxing. Of course, running and walking. How much should I do each week? This is what the experts say.
How much aerobic exercise do you need to do each week?
To get the most out of your heart’s health benefits from aerobic exercise, it’s a good idea to aim for 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of intense exercise each week. Ideally, aim for aerobic exercise 3-5 times a week and spread it over multiple days. As an example, consider a 30-minute jogging on Tuesday, a 60-minute dance class on Thursday, and a 60-minute fast-paced walk on Saturday.
To determine if your workout falls into the “moderate” or “active” category, look at your heart rate. The easiest way to track it is to wear a smartwatch or heart rate monitor. Check with your doctor about your recommended target heart rate and ask how long you need to keep it, especially if you are taking medications for your heart. “Heart rate zones vary from person to person, but for most people who are working on overall fitness and aren’t too interested in peak performance, the general zones based on age and biological gender work well.” Adds Void. A general guideline by the American Heart Association is 50-70% of your maximum heart rate during moderate exercise and 70-85% for strenuous exercise (subtract your age from your maximum heart rate of 220).
You can also use RPE to measure how intense your workout is in the old-fashioned way, or the percentage of perceived exercise. “This scale puts exercise intensity on a rating scale of 1 to 10, one is very light and 10 is the absolute limit,” says Boyd. To see where you are standing, try talking while exercising. Training may be moderate if you can complete the sentence even if you are out of breath. If you can’t breathe out and speak, it will be active. “Your 150 minutes must live from 3 to 5 and be active with a rating of 6 to 9,” explains Boyd.
There’s one more thing to keep in mind: doing aerobic exercise is always better than doing nothing. “Doing what you can do in the time you have will still bring great health benefits, so don’t be discouraged by these numbers and instead focus on building a consistent habit. “Void says. “If you think 30 minutes a day is too long, try walking 10 minutes a day three times to increase your pace a little more than usual.” Was it helpful again? If you’re just starting out with a fitness regimen, Void recommends slowly adding strength to advance your workout level. That way, it won’t get too hard and burn out too quickly.
How about strength training?
For a complete training routine, Void suggests switching between aerobic exercise and strength training throughout the week. “Your schedule and goals determine what you can stick to,” she adds. As an example, you might travel 4-5 days a week and use the remaining 1-2 days as rest days or active recovery days. Rest and recovery days are important because they help you ease your new fitness routine without stressing yourself (or your body) until you give up.
According to Boyd, many people choose to do strength training on a different day than aerobic exercise, but that depends on their personal taste. If you do both in one training session, doing aerobic exercise or weighting first has its own advantages (first aerobic exercise usually improves endurance, but first. If you lift it up, your muscles won’t get tired from aerobic exercise.)
But stick them together, choose your favorite training modality (or two or three!) And give them enough time to gain cardio-respiratory endurance and strength. That way you can get off to a great start.
Referenced studies:
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Owens C, Konahan PG. Improvement of joint pain and function in osteoarthritis. practitioner. December 2016; 260 (1799): 17-20. PMID: 29020716.
Sharma, A., Madaan, V. , And Petty, FD (2006). Exercise for mental health. Journal of Clinical psychiatry primary care companion, 8(2), 106. https: //doi.org/10.4088/pcc.v08n0208a.
