+ 1 Week Getting Started with Cardio Challenge
How many times have you tried cardio and spent an unbearably long time gasping for breath, then called it quits because of that nasty stitch in your side? How many times have you forced yourself to suffer through half an hour of boring cardio because you felt bad that you hadn’t been exercising? And how many times have you pushed yourself until you wanted to throw up because you thought that’s what you needed to get fit and healthy?
Cardio DOES NOT have to be like that.
In fact, you will never be healthy, fit, or have a positive relationship with yourself if you come at it with that mindset.
I promise, there’s a better way.
Here’s everything you need to know to start doing enjoyable cardio. The trick: you have to start by listening to your body. Using this approach, you will get to know and appreciate your body more than ever while improving your health and fitness. Make sure you sign up for the 1 Week Getting Started with Cardio Challenge where I will walk you through each day of your first week of cardio. I’ll show you how to put everything from this article into practice and successfully create a long-term healthy and enjoyable habit. And it’s totally free!
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First, you need to find your why. Why are you going to commit to doing cardio? Here’s what cardio does for you:
Cardio is about training to improve your cardiovascular fitness and improve your overall health. The ultimate goal of cardio is to get your heart strong so you can live a long, disease-free life. However, you cannot achieve any of the benefits of cardio training unless you do it regularly – as in at least 3 times per week; daily is ideal – AND you choose cardio that is appropriate for your fitness level.
Regular cardiovascular training is associated with TONS of health benefits.
Your heart health improves by:
- Decreasing your resting heart rate (HR) and blood pressure
- Increasing your exercise capacity – how high your HR can comfortably go
- Decreasing HR recovery time – meaning your heart returns to its resting HR faster after exercise.
- Decreasing your blood lipids profile
You’ll have a decreased risk of chronic diseases like:
- Heart Disease
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
- Stroke
- Cancer
Your mental health will improve:
- Depression and anxiety symptoms become more manageable
- Improved sense of well-being
- Greater quality of life
- Increased cognitive abilities
- Decreased risk of mental decline and dementia
And your overall health will improve:
- Increased insulin sensitivity
- Maintenance of a healthy weight
- More overall energy
I should note that while cardio absolutely plays a big role in helping you reach and maintain a healthy weight, your body will experience dramatic improvements in the other health factors I just listed before you ever notice an outward change. That means your health starts improving as soon as you start doing cardio regularly.
If you’re ready to get started, sign up for the 1 Week Getting Started with Cardio Challenge!
Don’t Kill Yourself – Care for Yourself
If cardio is something that will only improve from regular practice, do you really want to make a habit of KILLING yourself just to say you did your cardio? Do you think you could even keep a habit like that up long-term? I didn’t think so!
Instead, you’re going to make cardio enjoyable and treat it as an opportunity for self-care because that is what it is. When you find a way to make it enjoyable, you’ll be more willing to commit to your cardio (and your health!) plus you’ll be more successful at creating a long-term habit. Taking this approach will also create an awesome opportunity to get to know your body better and learn to really appreciate what it can do!
So, what is your why? Out of everything I just talked about, what speaks to you most?
Next, start with a fresh mindset
You can’t effectively, efficiently, or enjoyably create this cardio habit if you start out with unrealistic goals for yourself. In fact, you need to start without any expectations of “how much,” or “how far,” or “how fast,” you’re going to go. You have to lay some groundwork first and make cardio a regular habit that you actually look forward to. Then when you’re ready, you can step up your cardio to challenge yourself more – if that’s what you want to do – not what you think you should do.
I know what you’re thinking. What am I supposed to do for cardio if I don’t have a goal of how much to do??? Don’t worry, in the 1 Week Getting Started with Cardio Challenge I’m giving you new goals each day. Instead of setting external goals like distance, intensity, calories, etc., you’re going to be focusing on YOU.
Here’s the breakdown of what you’ll learn:
- Breathe properly while moving.
- Let your breath dictate your intensity and pace instead of the other way around.
- Coordinate your movement and breathing to find your rhythm.
- Tune in to the rest of your body to really understand how it’s moving and responding to the exercise.
- Change how you move to find what feels best for you.
- Try different types of cardio to find what you really enjoy.
- Challenge yourself on your terms.
- Choose your next steps to continue your new cardio habit!
The 10 Minute Goal
The one external goal you will have is to make each cardio session last for 10 minutes. You can always do more if you want, but 10 minutes should be your minimum. There are several reasons.
First, 10 minutes is pretty short, and the workouts are not going to be that hard on you physically, so you shouldn’t have any issue working it into your day. Second, you really can’t do any less because you need to give your brain and body enough time to practice what you’re learning. I’ve been doing cardio like this for months and I still have days where it takes me a solid 5 minutes to find my rhythm. And third, 10 minutes is a small and very attainable goal that will set you up for success, while giving you enough active time to start seeing improvements.
A Fun Little Tangent:
It is generally recommended that you aim to get 150 minutes of cardio activity in each week which is roughly 30 minutes of activity over 5 days. Theoretically, this should be enough to help you achieve all those health benefits I listed earlier. But here’s the thing: People who meet these guidelines yet spend long periods of time sitting, driving, watching tv, and using a computer/phone/tablet, STILL HAVE AN INCREASED RISK OF HEALTH ISSUES. So, what’s more important than doing one long, boring cardio session is moving periodically throughout the day. And the bonus: studies have found that three 10-minute bouts of cardio are just as effective as one 30-minute bout.
This is why you’re starting with 10-minute-long cardio sessions. If you can create a 10-minute cardio habit, you can easily work up to three 10-minute sessions, and let me tell you: you will be amazed at how quickly your health and fitness can improve from that little 10-minute habit!
Set yourself up for success
Especially when you’re just starting out, there are a few things you can do from day one to set yourself up for success. I’ll go over all of these in the 1 Week Getting Started with Cardio Challenge, including providing you with a planner for your workouts!
Plan ahead
Schedule your workouts – the days and times – so you never have to guess when you’re going to exercise. Remember: you only need 10 minutes!
Lay out your clothes and gear the night before so you have one less hurdle between you and your workout.
Know where you’re going to go and what you’re going to do
This is another hurdle – especially if you get gym-timidated. Trust me, it’s a real thing that happens to the best of us.
Find a nice trail you can walk or a gym with a variety of cardio equipment. I personally do ok on a treadmill and appreciate the ability to limit the external factors that I’d run in to (literally) by going outside. For my clumsy self, it’s nice to just focus on putting one foot in front of the other at a regular pace.
Do less than you think you can or should
Don’t worry about the intensity of your workout. You need to establish a daily habit of moving before you challenge yourself, and to do that, you need to stop when you’re still feeling good so you will have the motivation to do it again the next day.
Listen to music (or not)
If listening to music is your thing, go for it. Personally, I prefer to ditch the earbuds and focus completely on finding my own rhythm and pace. I find music can really throw me off, especially if each song has a different beat.
Learn to listen to your intuition
If you want to increase difficulty and think you’re up for it – try it!
If you think you need to slow your pace, or even stop for the day, do it. No guilt.
Don’t you dare watch the numbers WHILE you’re exercising
Just set a timer and get moving. While you’re learning the foundational skills in the first two weeks, you really do not need to know any of the information your FitBit or the cardio machine will throw at you. Only when you get to the point of starting to challenge yourself will those numbers matter.
Even then, ONLY check out your statistics when you’re done with your workout – it’s good to know what you accomplished so you know if your workouts are paying off! But when you fixate on those numbers during your workout (how many minutes, how many tenths of a mile, the number associated with your pace, calories burned) it’s entirely too easy to disconnect from your body and force yourself to achieve the numbers you think you ought to. That’s missing the entire point and will definitely make your cardio way less enjoyable.
Celebrate!
Every single day that you do your workout, find your rhythm, listen to your body, or move is a day to celebrate! Give yourself credit – even for the little things – instead of critiquing what you’ve done, haven’t done, should have done. You should be proud of every step you take toward health, fitness, and loving yourself!
When you can make your cardio workout a study in learning to listen to your body and getting to know and appreciate your body in a deeper way, I promise cardio will become so much more enjoyable. How can you be bored when you’re practicing working withyour breathing, exploring your own rhythm, learning what different sensations mean for you? This is your one and only body for your entire life! Why not learn more about what you were built to do?
Ready? Sign up for the 1 Week Getting Started with Cardio Challenge!
Or are you ready to take on your first 5K? Join the New to 5K Program here!
Disclaimer: Before starting any workout program, get clearance from your doctor and use common sense to reduce and avoid injury. The information shared by Jess Roe Fitness and StudyInFitness.com is for educational purposes only. By performing any fitness exercises, you are performing them at your own risk. Jess Roe Health & Fitness and StudyInFitness.com will not be responsible or liable for any injury or harm you sustain as a result of any program, online videos, or information shared on our website. Use of any of the information shared on our site does not constitute the creation of a client contract. This includes emails, videos and text. Thanks for your understanding. View my full Disclaimer here.