Cat's Lair

Getting good, consistent cardiovascular exercise is important for everyone's body. There are plenty of highly detailed analyses of the many functions of our heart and lungs as well as discussions of oxygen use and metabolism at the cellular level which can explain why cardio is so important but let's keep it real.

You may have heard it a hundred times, so this will be one hundred and one. Cardiovascular exercise simply improves the way we live our lives. Training our heart and lungs aerobically allows us to carry out daily activities more easily. A strong heart and healthy lungs can transport oxygen more efficiently and with less effort i.e. less huffing and puffing. Most of us have recognized the difference in our daily lives when we haven't been getting regular cardio. With regular cardio the stairs don't feel like Mount Everest and the walk to the grocery store doesn't feel like a marathon.

Last but not least, cardiovascular exercise burns calories and fat. Strength training and diet are also very important concepts to a healthy lifestyle but in this world obsessed with unreasonably small celebrity body types, some people have come to believe that if they just stopped or started eating certain foods and did one million sit-ups every day, then they would instantly have a rock hard body.

You cannot spot-reduce. Period.
In order to acheive that "cut", "rock-hard" look, many of the "beautiful" people you see in movies and television have forced themselves down to 3% body fat or less which is a contraindicated (UNHEALTHY) level.
When it comes to maintaining a healthy, strong and fit body, Cardio, Strength Training and Nutrition are EQUALLY IMPORTANT. No weight loss program or fitness program is sucessful or long lasting without these three components.

For the average person who has not made a career out of body building, you must do some cardiovascular exercise consistently in order to significantly burn fat and calories and maintain healthy circulatory and respiratory systems. I believe it is safe to say that most body builders do cardiovascular exercise but I have read some interviews with competitive body builders who believe that their strength training is so intense that it becomes a cardio workout and that they try to avoid too much cardio for fear of metabolizing too much muscle. Let's just keep in mind that those concepts really don't apply to us unless we spend 7 hours in a gym every day.

And for the million dollar question....."HOW OFTEN DO I HAVE TO DO IT??" The answer depends upon your goals. Doing cardio 3 times a week at a minimum of 20 minutes each session tends to maintain your weight. When doing 4 or more sessions per week and increasing to 40 or 60 minutes per session tends folks tend to lose weight. This is a general guideline. To find out what is best for YOU and YOU ALONE, talk to your doctor and/or personal trainer. These professionals can evaluate YOUR current fitness level, YOUR special needs and integrate them with YOUR goals to decide what frequency, duration and intensity are best for you. Losing weight doesn't always mean you're losing the weight you should be losing. If you were losing significant numbers of pounds but not noticing ANY change in the way your clothes fit or the way you look, you could be losing muscle and water and would need to incorporate strength training and toning exercises. But without a doctor, a group fitness instructor or a personal trainer, you wouldn't have necessarily figured that out on your own.

"So how can I get started? What's out there??"

There are a lot of fun and effective aerobic activities available indoors. In addition to your classic indoor sports like handball or b-ball or racquet ball, there are also some great options available in the form of machines and group classes. These options are great if you're on a tight schedule, don't always have a game partner or if you feel that your neighborhood just doesn't have a lot of outdoor opportunities for safe, effective exercise.

Group Fitness Classes
Activity	Impact on joints?	Availability
Step Aerobics	Mid-High	****
Hi/Lo Aerobics	Low-High	***
Funk/Hip-Hop Dance	Low-Mid	***
Boxing/Cardio Kickbox	Low-High	***
Cycling/Spinning	None	***
Slide	None	**
Water Fitness/Aquaerobics	None	**

Tips for the Group Fitness Newbie. Things to know before your first class.

Proper Attire. Find some comfortable shorts, t-shirts and/or sweat clothes. "Comfortable" means a number of things. Comfortable clothes should "breath" like cotton because ventilation is important for your skin's health. Consider the full range of motion through which you will be putting your body and make sure that the clothes accomodate the motions. Ultimately, you should feel mentally and physically confident and free in the clothes you choose. I find aerobic dance classes to be physically jarring on my skin so I like to wear spandex bike shorts. But spandex is not for everyone and some people are quite content wearing plain old gym shorts or sweatpants. Think about what you wish you were wearing when you were climbing up four flights of stairs in formal wear and run with it!!
Necessary Equipment. Water bottle, towel, well-built aerobic shoes. These three items are important to bring with you to class. With the water bottle, you should rehydrate yourself regularly throughout the class. The towel not only makes you feel better by drying you off but it can also help keep your floor area dry. Be aware of sweat from yourself and others dripping on the floor. I have seen instructors take a fall because the floor had sweat on it in the wrong place at the wrong time. Finally, invest in good aerobic shoes. Using running shoes can be dangerous as some of them do not provide ankle support and most of them tend to be built to help propel you forward which can be awkward on a step or slide. Know the needs of your feet and make sure that the shoes have adequate support for your personal quirks be it fallen arches, weak ankles etc. Remember, your feet will be taking a lot of impact no matter what kind of class you take so be good to them!
Talk to the Instructor. Some instructors may start the class by introducing themselves and asking if anyone has never taken the class before. Unfortunately, not all instructors begin class this way as they might be running late or they have forgotten that the exact same people don't come to every class. You should make an effort either way to approach the instructor to let them know that you have never taken the class before. This effort will benefit you and the instructor. He/she can show you the basic moves to follow in case you get lost. They will also help you set up any of the equipment (step, slide, bike seat etc.) safely and in the correct way. Classes that come with equipment often have beginning and advanced settings that the instructor can show you.
Talking to the instructor will help you avoid the frustration of being confused and help the instructor avoid the frustration of not knowing why their student can't keep up despite the instructor's encouragement. The instructors want to help you and want you to feel comfortable in their class so if you have questions or concerns, then by all means, calmly discuss them with the instructor. Instructors at a good gym have invested a lot of time and effort into knowing how to help and train you and they deserve as much respect as you do.
Class Format. Cardio classes can range in length from an hour to an hour and a half. Classes going beyond an hour are generally cardio and sculpt or muscle toning classes. This does not mean that you will be cardio training for 60 minutes or more straight from the beginning of the class. The class should start with 5-10 minutes of stretching and warm-up. The class will continue with 30 to 45 minutes of cardiovascular training. The last 10-15 minutes of the class will be devoted to more stretching, cool-down and possibly abdominal training. Cycling classes usually don't include abdominal training as there isn't any space in the room with all of the stationary bikes.
Due to busy schedules, we are sometimes tempted to arrive to class a few minutes late or leave the class before stretching and cool-down. I'm human too and I understand that if you gotta go, then you gotta go. But please try to make up for the lost time. If you're a few minutes late, jog in place a little and try to stretch out the hamstrings, quads, shoulders and trunk. Then catch up to the class. If you absolutely have to leave early, then start cooling yourself down by marching in place or slowing your movements until your heart is comfortable. If you can stretch at that moment, great but if you can't try to stretch at home. Your heart needs to be prepared for sudden increases and reductions. Your muscles need to be prepared for the rigors of cardio training and for the inevitable soreness stemming from the microscopic tears in our muscle fibers which happen when we use our muscles for intensive work. Don't underestimate the importance of those 5-10 minutes before and after the workout.

Cardio Workout Machines
Activity	Impact on joints?	Availability
Stairmaster	None-Low	****
Treadmill	Low-High	****
Stationary Bike	None	****
Elliptical Trainer	None	***
Nordic Track	None	*
Speed Skater	None	*

Tips for the Cardio Machine Newbie. Things to know before you step onto your first machine.

Proper Attire. Find some comfortable shorts, t-shirts and/or sweat clothes. "Comfortable" means a number of things. Comfortable clothes should "breath" like cotton because ventilation is important for your skin's health. Consider the full range of motion through which you will be putting your body and make sure that the clothes accomodate the motions. Ultimately, you should feel mentally and physically confident and free in the clothes you choose. I find aerobic dance classes to be physically jarring on my skin so I like to wear spandex bike shorts. But spandex is not for everyone and some people are quite content wearing plain old gym shorts or sweatpants. Think about what you wish you were wearing when you were climbing up four flights of stairs in formal wear and run with it!!
Necessary Equipment. Water bottle, towel, well-built aerobic shoes. These three items are important to bring with you to the gym. With the water bottle, you should rehydrate yourself regularly throughout the workout. The towel not only makes you feel better by drying you off but it can also help keep your area dry. Be aware of sweat from yourself and others dripping on the machine. It is common courtesy to wipe down the machine on which you were working before you leave it. Finally, invest in good aerobic shoes. Cross-training shoes tend to be a good type of shoe to "cover all your bases" whether you're on a treadmill or a stairmaster. Know the needs of your feet and make sure that the shoes have adequate support for your personal quirks be it fallen arches, weak ankles etc. Remember, your feet will be taking a lot of impact simply by supporting your body weight during the strenuous workout so be good to them!
Talking to the Gym Staff. Familiar machines like the treadmill and the stationary bike have enough instructions printed on their programming board that you can probably feel comfortable figuring out how to program the machines on your own. Newer machines like the Elliptical Trainer or the Speed Skater do have instructions on them but may not have things to keep in mind about hand and body position. A good gym staff will be thoroughly knowledgeable about all the cardio equipment in the gym and should be able to give you accurate instructions on machine use, programming goals and positioning. Cardio equipment, like any piece of machinery, must be used correctly and these folks are here to help you. Don't feel like you should just intuitively know exactly how the machine works the first time you step on it. If you don't feel completely confident about what you're doing on the machine and just blindly guess, you're asking for an incomplete workout and possible injury.