Beginners Cardio

Trying to reach and maintain your aerobic heart rate during an exercise workout might be too difficult, and even dangerous, if you’re a beginner. In addition to the cardiorespiratory stress aerobic exercise creates, many cardio workouts produce repetitive stress on your joints and muscles. Starting with moderate-intensity, low-impact exercise routines will help you get into shape and put you on a path to long-term workout success.

Intensity Levels

As a beginner, you should find the exercise heart rate that will let you keep exercising for 10 minutes or longer without having to stop. Find the maximum intensity you can maintain for the duration of your workout without having to stop. Try a brisk walk instead of a run, walk stairs instead of jumping rope or use resistance bands instead of trying aerobic dancing. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of exercise each week at this pace. If you can’t do five, 30-minute workouts each week, try multiple 10- to 15-minute workouts each day. Add five minutes to your workouts each week, then raise your heart rate once you can exercise for 30 minutes with only one or two short breaks.

Power Walking

Power walking is an effective method for getting into cardio exercise because it raises your heart rate and breathing and challenges your muscles, helping you build the stamina and endurance you’ll need for longer, more intense workouts later. Start with two minutes of regular walking to warm up, then walk at a brisk pace that gets you breathing hard. Finish with several minutes of slow walking to bring heart rate back to normal, then stretch before you end your workout. Use hand weights or light dumbbells to add resistance and build upper-body muscles. After your first week of power walking, add one-minute jogs every 10 minutes to help build cardio strength.

Exercise Machines

Exercise machines are easy to use and let you increase your heart rate and resistance as you get in better shape. Start with a slow warmup for several minutes, then exercise at a pace similar to brisk walking. Choose an elliptical with arm poles for more muscle recruitment and use dumbbells while you pedal an exercise bike or walk on a treadmill. Beginners can try a speed of 2.5 miles per hour to 3.5 miles per hour to start a treadmill program, or a speed of approximately 10 miles per hour on a bike. To improve your muscular endurance, use more than one machine each workout, or use a different machine each workout.

Resistance Training

Organizations such as the American College of Sports Medicine and Mayo Clinic strongly recommend adding resistance to cardio workouts to improve your overall fitness. Raise your heart rate using dumbbells or resistance bands, or by performing simple body weight exercises in a circuit-training workout. Perform an exercise for 30 to 60 seconds until your muscles begin to fatigue, then take a 10- to 15-second rest and start a different exercise. Try biceps curls, triceps extensions, chest presses, flyes, squats, jump squats, burpees, mountain climbers, pushups on your knees, situps, crunches, jogging in place and jumping jacks.