Cardiovascular Exercise Examples

Many people wonder what the BEST cardiovascular exercise is. To put it simply, all of them are. The purpose of cardiovascular exercise is to improve oxygen consumption in the body and it offers a wealth of health benefits. The most significant differences you will find in choosing your cardio work out are whether it is a weight-bearing activity or a total body activity.

Weight-Bearing

This form of cardio is when you are exercising you are working your bones and muscles against your weight caused by gravity. These are going to be bone strengthening exercises where your legs and feet support your body weight. You stand a higher risk for injury with this form of cardio, but you prevent harmful diseases like osteoporosis because you are training your bones to become stronger. Popular examples of weight-bearing exercises are: walking, running, jogging, stair climbing, rope jumping, dancing, and hacky sack.

Non-Weight Bearing

This form of cardio basically means that your weight is being supported by something else while you are working out. These exercises are easier on your back, knees, and joints and offer a lower risk of injury. This form of cardio is targeted at obese and older people because you don’t have to carry your full body weight. The best examples of non-weight bearing cardio are; bicycling, swimming and rowing.

Total Body

The name can pretty much speak for itself; this cardio workout includes the entire body. This form of cardio focuses on basic, multi-joint movements. You work all of your major muscle groups and stimulate the entire body. The most popular exercises in this category would be: swimming, elliptical training, rowing, skiing and swimming.

An important thing to take note of in cardiovascular exercise is what level of physical intensity are you at: light, moderate or vigorous…

Light: This is the lowest end of training intensity around 60-70% with conversation.
Moderate: This is a mid intensity rate around 70-85% with increased breathing and light conversation.
Vigorous: This is the highest intensity starting at 85% with intense breathing and no conversation.

Popular Exercise and Sports Examples

Elliptical Trainer

This workout combines the natural stride or a treadmill with the ease of a step climber. It is a great cardio workout and reduces the weight you put on your joints and bones. You are standing upright so there is little to no strain on your back. This is a total body workout that allows you to burn more calories while feeling less physical exertion.

Treadmill

You can switch it up with running or walking on the treadmill. Running gives you a high impact, weight bearing work out that will strengthen your bones and give you a full cardio rush. This workout can wear on your knees so don’t over-exert yourself but with 20-30 minutes a day you can be on the road to weight loss. Walking is less impact then running but still has many rewards. Walking is best for people who can’t work at a high intensity.

Rowing

These provides a low impact, intensive fat burning workout but uses 80% of the bodies muscle groups. When used correctly the entire body works together in a gliding motion and limits the amount of stress on the joints.

Swimming

This is a full body workout with supreme cardiovascular fitness that is easy on the joints and the water supports you and provides natural resistance. With swimming you stand a chance to burn 700+ calories an hour in a workout. This is a non-weight bearing.

Bicycling

This builds your strength and agility and is one of the best cardiovascular exercises that you can do and it is non-weight bearing so it won’t hurt your bones and joints.

Skiing

This is a gravity sport guaranteed to build your endurance and strength. It is a high risk activity but a total body workout that burns an immense amount of calories

Basketball

This sport can be used to supplement and improve your cardio exercise routine. There are various ways of playing, you can incorporate 1, 2, 10 people if you like. The best thing is you can tailor it to fit your workout needs. You determine the pace and intensity of the game.