Cardio Workout Plan

Learning how to think of and execute good cardio workout plans can really help your improve your fitness and health. Cardio is an important part of every workout plan, and it will help improve your cardiovascular endurance as well as increase your lean muscle. There are several different types of cardio, including walking, running, sprint workouts, biking, elliptical machine, and swimming.

1. Long distance running - Long distance running is generally done at a slow and easy pace but for a long period of time. The distance will depend upon your overall fitness level, but you want it to be a good deal longer than your faster paced running days. You should be able to talk fairly easily when running at this pace, and it is a good idea to run with a partner so you can do so and keep yourself entertained.
2. Sprint training - Sprint workouts are another very important part of a good cardio workout plan. You need to change up the type of workouts you do so that you can improve every part of your body and your fitness, including slow and fast twitch muscle fibers. Sprint workouts can consist of doing 400 meter or any similar short distance intervals at a hard running pace and taking breaks in between each interval. You want to take short breaks to let your heart rate come down between each interval.
3. Biking - If you do not enjoy running but still want to improve your cardiovascular endurance, then biking is an excellent addition to your cardio workout plan. You do similar biking workouts to the previously mentioned running workouts. The most important thing is to keep your body guessing. Do some long distance training, some short but hard workouts, and some medium distance exercises as well.
4. Swimming - Swimming is one of the best cardio workouts you can do. You use almost all of the muscles in your body when doing a swimming workout. You can also do long distance and short distance sprint training for swimming. Additionally, you can use flotation devices to focus specific areas of the body when working out. For example, you can hold onto a small raft and only use your legs or one half of your body to change up your workout.
5. Elliptical Machine - This machine is highly underestimated by most people. It is a great way to get a good cardio workout without putting much strain on your knees and joints. It can be as difficult as you want it to be since it has several different resistance setting. Try this workout if you do not like working out in the outdoors