photo originally on www.madelinetusler.co.uk
nourish-
ment and
help in
fighting
diseases,
stabilize
temperature
and pH, and
maintain
homeostasis. So
before we get
hung up on
making this all
about burning fat we
should really consider
the absolute necessity
of cardio in our daily
lives and make it about
making our body as strong
and as healthy as possible.
Cardio doesn’t have to be going for
long runs or spinning for hours although it could. Cardio is wrapped
around lots of other forms of daily activity which all adds up. It could also be body weight functional exercises and short blasts of heart rate increasing activities.
So apart from keeping us fighting fit it does help burn calories and elevate our mood. I have put together a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) programme that is cardio vascular in essence but will tone and sculpt your body and will burn more calories than just traditional cardio forms such as running cycling etc alone. They are all body weight exercises so you don’t need any equipment. This is useful as we deal with our own body weight on a daily basis. If you read my last article “Post Baby Body” and took a few weeks getting your core & glutes working you should be ready to go. These are more dynamic exercises so should be considered when you are feeling a bit stronger and definitely not attempted after 2nd trimester.
I coupled this with a jog around Dulwich Park on a freezing miserable grey day and came back beaming. This warmed me up for the day and my mood was certainly lifted. Remember you’ll never regret a workout but you’ll always regret missing one!
Happy New Year and Go get it!
Set a daily goal of 10,000 steps, which seems a lot but can easily be reached if you do your daily shop/errands on foot and get off a bus stop or train stop before your regular stop to stretch the time you are walking.
Small adjustments will start to create a healthier approach to upping your daily activity levels and improve your cardiovascular capacity.