Best Cardio Workout Tips and Types

This Q&A session has been created to provide more information about 'Cardio Workouts'. Although the layout is a Q&A please be as descriptive in the answers as possible because the more content provided the better. The questions are designed as a guide so please feel free to expand on the topic in your answers in order to get more content into the discussion.

• Cardio workouts are great for health and fitness and weight loss too. Adding an element of cardio to a daily workout routine can help people in Dubai get and stay in shape. As a personal trainer who specializes in cardio fitness what are your preferred methods of cardio workouts?

I like to vary my cardio workouts. Equipment wise I also vary so I don’t feel like I’m being overly repetitive. When I’m having a day where my energy is low I stick with LISS (Low-Intensity Steady State) cardio and just gently cycle or go on the cross trainer for 45minutes. Something without too high exertion. On more energetic days or days where I’m short on time I do some shorter bursts with little rest between to work with a higher heart rate. Getting your heart rate around 85% of your max is an ideal way to improve your cardiovascular capabilities. This can be done in drills like 10 rounds of 30second bursts and 30second rest on different pieces of equipment. Making the excuse of not having enough time also invalid as it’s a short effective style of training.

• For your personal training clients in the UAE with little or no exercise experience what basic cardio workouts would you incorporate into their PT plan and how do these workouts benefit the client?

Having greater cardiovascular abilities benefits everyone. You feel more energized and capable of enduring a full workout so it is truly a real benefit. For beginners, I would tend to start with lower intensity to test their capabilities. For instance, speed walking instead of jogging with some incline variance or some cycling with varying resistance as it is easier to control and conduct.

• Weight loss and fat burning are almost always associated with cardio workouts. As well as proper nutrition do you think cardio based workouts is the best method for burning fat?

This is a widely debated subject of the ‘best’ way. Using weights, circuits, cardio equipment…it can all benefit people looking to burn fat. I more look to utilize a client PREFERRED style of training for burning fat and build a workout from there. At the end of the day, a client who is happy training and enjoying their workouts will continue this lifestyle change and hard work over a longer time frame.

• What are the best cardio workouts for helping to sculpt and tone the body?

This depends on what type of body you are looking for. The best example in my eyes is to compare sprinters and marathon runners. Sprinters use more HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) to boost cardio and get in shape and tend to have a larger more muscular build. Marathon runners are more used to long distance LISS training where they can hold a steady state for great periods of time. They are more seen with slimmer builds than muscular.

• Senior fitness is a specialized area and precautions need to be followed when developing training plans for seniors and the elderly in the UAE. What are the best practices to follow when considering cardio exercise plans for seniors?

Controlling intensity is one. It is not recommended to push the heart rate and boundaries of a senior clients abilities as much as other groups. Also using more resistance based cardio exercises like cycling over running to save the joints during the striking part of the run is also more recommended. This, of course, varies depending on the client and their capabilities.

• To summarise, can you provide a list of basic cardio exercises and also describe how each is of benefit?

Your main cardio machines found in the gym are your treadmills, rowing machines, bikes, cross trainers, assault bikes, stair masters and hand bikes. They can all benefit your cardiovascular abilities to become fitter, healthier and burn fat and calories. Treadmills, stair masters, and bikes target more the lower body, hand bikes the upper body muscles and the cross trainer, assault bike and rowing machines are more full body focused.