Workout Videos

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Home Fitness

Not all of us have the luxury of affording a gym membership. That doesn’t mean
you can’t have your own personal cardio workout trainer though. In the 1980s,
workout videos started becoming popular and now they have completely
revolutionized the way we stay in shape. One of the best ways to get a
cardiovascular workout is to find a great tape to follow.

It may seem a little odd at first following along with the video fitness
instructor (they always seem so corny!) but the truth is that these tapes work.
Anyone who has tried to do aerobic exercises on their own knows that it is hard
to keep up the intense pace required to maintain your target heart rate. Most
cardio workout videos divide up the exercises into different body groups and
steadily increase the pace over time or over a series of videos. It is very
common for those fitness instructors to remind you to breathe and give you
words of encouragement. You’d be surprised how much this helps especially once
you’ve broken a sweat! There are now all sorts of cardio workout videos like
kick boxing, step aerobics, dance and more. You will easily find a cardio
workout that suits your level and keeps you entertained- and at a much lesser
cost than a gym membership.

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Let’s Have SEX!

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Home Fitness

What gets your heart beating fast, makes you all sweaty and leaves you feeling great afterward but isn’t considered an exercise?

One answer to this question is sex and it can be a great cardio workout. There is a lot of debate as to whether sex is actually workout or not. Of course, not everybody has the same type of sexual relations and most of us aren’t stopping to measure are heart rates in the middle of a steamy session! However, there is no doubt that a vigorous amount of passionate naked time can get your body in shape. Just keep in mind that, just because you are being active, that doesn’t mean you are actually working out.

A good cardio workout should involve all your major muscles so that your heart rate increases. During sexual arousal, our hearts increase due to several factors including heightened hormones. Even though we are getting all sweaty, most sexual relations actually burn less calories than a brisk walk. However, if you are open to new ideas and have a sympathetic partner, there are ways to turn sex into a true cardio workout. Starting off with a strip tease and then leading into some new positions are great ways to burn calories during sex- it just takes a bit of creativity on your part!

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Home Cardio Machines

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Home Fitness

Some of us just hate exercising. Even though we know it’s good for us, we just won’t make it off the couch and out for a brisk jog. If this sounds like you, then you might want to think about combining your leisure time with exercise. There are countless workout machines you can buy and do while watching TV. First of all, be realistic when purchasing a cardio workout machine. There are no miracle machines and you will need to at least break a sweat to get to your target heart rate. Try to buy a cardio machine which you think will be
comfortable and maybe even fun to use.

When using cardio exercise machines at home, it is important to have a set schedule and clear goals. One great trick is to schedule your cardio workout during your favorite TV show. Set goals like, “I will work out my upper body until the first commercial break then take a pause to drink water. Once the show starts again, I will work out my lower body.”

Keep in mind that there is no one best cardio exercise. What is important is that you are getting your heart to its target rate for extended periods of time.

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Reach the Summit, Burn Calories!

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Home Fitness

photo by mariachily

Every day that goes by people are trying to find new ways to en joy cardio exercise. From step class to elliptical, rowing and running, the plethora of options are out there. The focus of this piece is to show how the adventurous sport of rock climbing can be a great way to toughen up your heart, and ultimately bring strength and change to your physique.

The best part about this form of exercise is that it’s FUN! And it’s also a complete full body workout. You might even be surprised that it is one of the rising methods of all-around workouts. This form of exercise develops the same muscles as marathon runners and tri-athletes and it leads to leaner muscles with more stamina. Aside from long distance running and ballet, this is the only complete cardio-vascular workout out there that achieves such results.

Long believed to be a “guys only” sport, this dynamic muscle exercise is good for both men and women. It is a common misnomer that you have to have highly developed upper body just to be able to attempt this but that is not true. It is a battle of wits and muscle that relies on techniques and agility. Rock climbing also requires a lot of leg strength but it doesn’t only work out that area of the body.

The benefits of rock climbing are largely physical but not limited to that. It also intensely works out the brain because scaling the side of a rock face works like a puzzle. You have to have logical skills to figure out where the foot and hand holds are and what the optimal route will be to get where you’re going. It is this combination of brain muscle and body muscle growth that makes this sport a reasonable and achievable method or bring your body back into healthy living.

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Join a Gym

Posted on February 4, 2011 by Home Fitness

The ideal cardio workout is actually to do several cardio exercises that work all parts of your body. You must work your major muscle groups hard in order to get your heart pumping oxygenated blood to them. Those muscles will need a break between workouts which is why it is so important to do different types of cardio exercises. This is known as cross training and is important for overall health. Unfortunately, most of us don’t have access to the equipment or resources necessary for true cross training. If you can afford it, a gym membership is really worth the extra money to give your body a good cardio cross training workout.

There are several benefits to cross training at a gym. First of all, training at a gym helps you stick to a schedule. Once you are there, you are not likely to slack off and go for a snack break. Just being around other people working out can be a great motivator. Of course, a good gym will also have many different machines which are designed to work out different parts of your body.

A good gym will also have cardio classes which you can join such as jazzercise or step aerobics. Not only will you be able to get a true cardio cross training workout, you are less likely to get bored with one type of exercise.There are also treadmills and ellipticals you can get for home use which are specially made for a home environment. Some fold up, most are smaller, they tend to be mobile and lightweight. I’ve listed a couple of the best providers to the right of this web page, but you can find lots of choices by googling the equipment you want.

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