What is Cardio - Tone Exercise and Why should I do it?
What Is Cardio
-Tone ?
A great workout to music to burn fat, tone up and improve Fitness.
What is involved?
The class
lasts 1 hour. We start with a 5 min warm up followed by 25 min of
cardio, 25 min toning/core work, and 5 minutes stretching.
The purpose of the warm up is to slowly warm up the muscles, increase
body temperature, heart rate and mobilize joints to prevent injury.
The 25 minute cardio session is extremely effective in burning fat,
increasing muscle tone an improving cardiovascular fitness. It consists
of cardio moves – jogging, skipping, side steps, hops, grapevines … to
name but a few, all put together into fun routines to music. These
routines constantly change so you will never get bored.
And don’t worry, if you are not coordinated, we take it slowly to start
and keep adding to the routines until you become an expert!
During the 25 minute toning/core session we do exercises that tone every
part of your body - legs, butt, tummy, back, shoulders, arms and core.
We use hand weights, dyna bands, ankle weights and mats. There are a
large range of weights (0.5 kg pairs up to 5 kg pairs) allowing for
continual progression.
We finish the session with 5 minutes of stretching. This returns the
muscles to their pre-exercise length thus preventing injury. At this
stage you will feel so energized, you could take on the world !
Body fat and weight monitoring is provided free after class.
Benefits of an Cardio - Tone workout:
It’s a fun and very effective workout that will: -
√
Burn fat
√
Tone the entire body
√
Increase cardiovascular fitness (see below
for more details)
√
Increase resistance to fatigue
√
Decrease tension and aid in
sleeping
√
Increase general stamina
√ Increase bone strength
√ Improve
mood, reduce depression and anxiety
What if I am a
beginner?
You can take the class at your pace. You can do moves at low or high
intensity. Make it easier by taking smaller steps, keeping your feet
closer to the ground, not bringing your arms as high over head or
leaving them out all together. There are opportunities for water breaks.
You can take breaks as you wish.
Cardiovascular
Benefits
Cardiovascular
exercise conditions the heart and lungs by increasing the oxygen
available to the body and by enabling the heart to use oxygen more
efficiently. Exercise alone cannot prevent or cure heart disease. It is
only one factor in a total program of risk reduction; examples of other
factors are high blood pressure, cigarette smoking and high cholesterol
level.
Definition of Cardio-Tone:
Cardiovascular exercise in the aerobic zone: Using the same large muscle
group, rhythmically, for a period of 15 to 20 minutes or longer while
maintaining 60-80% of your maximum heart rate.
Think of aerobic activity as being long in duration yet medium in
intensity. Aerobic activities include: walking, biking, jogging,
swimming, aerobic classes and cross-country skiing. Anaerobic activity
is short in duration and high in intensity. Anaerobic activities
include: racquetball, downhill skiing, weight lifting, sprinting,
softball, soccer and football.
Aerobic means with air or oxygen. You should be able to carry on a short
conversation while doing cardio-tone exercise. If you are gasping for
air while talking, you are probably working anaerobically. When you work
anaerobically, you will tire faster and are more likely to experience
sore muscles after exercise is over.
Avoid the
Aerobic Curve
The aerobic curve occurs when you begin exercising, increase your
intensity level, hit the high point and gradually decrease your
intensity level. The goal when exercising aerobically is to hit your
target heart rate and maintain it for the entire exercise session. This
works the heart muscle more effectively and burns more calories. Think
of riding a bike, running or swimming - you start, hit your pace (or
target zone), then you maintain your pace until the cool down. As your
heart becomes conditioned, you will have to work harder to reach the
target zone. Less conditioned athletes will reach their target zones
quickly because their heart muscle isn't used to the workload.
Exercise Frequency
Fitness is
an ongoing process and requires consistent reinforcement. The world
healthy organization advises we do 1 hour of exercise every day to
maintain health benefits. This can be accumulated throughout the day
e.g. walking ot work, taking the stairs instead of the lift, talking a
lunch walk, etc.
To maintain your current level of fitness you should do aerobic exercise
at least 2 times a week. To increase your level of fitness, you should
be exercising 3-4 times per week. Try to combine aerobic, resistance
(using weights or body weight) and stretching during your workout for
maximal benefits.
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