Don’t know that much about cardio? Don’t know how to fit it into a schedule? Tired from your stressful day? Let me help you out. All you need is a measly twenty minutes set aside to get in a good workout, and you don’t have to do it everyday.
First of all, join a gym like 24 Hour Fitness! If your hectic schedule involves kids, you might really benefit from a membership at 24 Hour Fitness because a good portion of them have an area for children to play while you squeeze in your “me” time.
It is important to vary up your workouts, but if you’re really interested in increasing endurance, raising your heart rate, and losing weight, you have to do cardio.
If you like cardio machines, interval training is the most effective program you can do, and if you want to stick with a routine, pick a machine you don’t despise. Place yourself in front of a TV with a show you like, and do an interval program for 20 minutes. Increasing resistance and the ramp’s degree can also intensify your workout and challenge more muscles.
If you want the best results, you should try running. It burns the most calories per minute, and you can do it anywhere. However, running can be hard on your joints. The Stairmaster also packs a huge punch, and you can burn 88 calories every ten minutes on it. Swimming is a fantastic calorie killer that works every muscle in your body and is low impact for those who have achy joints. 24 Hour Fitness often has lap pools available.
The next options are not as effective but tend to be a lot easier on your joints (aside from swimming). The elliptical, cross country trainer, and bicycles are good, but it really depends on how you approach them intensity-wise. If you take it too easy, then you will not maximize your time.
Work up your time from 5 minutes and increase your intensity as you develop your workout schedule. If you want to see results, it’s really important to create a routine that you enjoy. In addition to possibly losing weight, your mood will improve, you’ll have more energy, and you’ll sleep better! Enjoy your twenty minutes of me time now!