We all know the saying “No pain, no gain,” but that kind of thinking can make it tough to recognize exactly when we should cut off our cardio-focused, calorie-burning workouts.
How long your cardio workout should be will depend on several factors which I have broken down into three different assessments. Once you complete the assessment, you should be able to gauge your ideal cardio workout time.
Determine Experience Level
Thanks to the endorphins released by a cardio workout, it can be easy to push yourself beyond your limits. It is important that you take the time to determine your overall experience level honestly. Because if you only exercise irregularly, less than once a week, then you aren’t ready for an intense workout course.
Take HIIT workouts for example. This type of intense, interval workout has become more popular in recent years in part due to the rise of Crossfit. Yet, beginners who jump into HIIT workouts have some of the highest injury rates of any exercise. However, you shouldn’t give up on HIIT altogether.
If you want to take advantage of the high, calorie burn and endurance boost which can be gained by incorporating HIIT workouts, start with beginner HIIT workouts. By doing so, you will more likely be able to avoid the injuries which plague those who aren’t ready for these intense exercises.
Examine Your Cardio Base
No matter how excellent your home gym equipment is, it can’t compensate for lack of a strong cardio base. Runners are the best example of why it is important to build a strong cardio base.
Say you are planning to run your first half marathon. Many novice half marathon training plans do not have you engage in a long run over 10-11 miles before your race day. Some people are concerned that by not running at least the length of a half marathon (13.1 miles), they will not be ready on race day.
Yet, if you add up your weekly mileage, you will see the steady improvement. In Hal Higdon’s Novice 1 half marathon plan, you will go from week one the mileage of 12 miles total the whole week to the week eleven mileage of 23 miles total. This slow building of your running base is far more essential than one single long run.
See How Your Body Handles Workouts
Lastly, listen to your body as you engage in cardio workouts. Some discomfort is expected as you push your body to perform at a higher level. If you are experiencing sharp pains or weakness in specific areas, you may need to take time to focus and strengthen your body.
To help prevent developing injuries or weaknesses, make sure you include different types of cardio and strength workouts for cross training. So, if your main sport is cycling, you may want to incorporate swimming and free weight lifting.
Both of those workouts will help engage your body in a completely different way than cycling does, helping to protect you from overuse injuries. Just remember, as you engage in your workouts, listen to how your body is feeling and slow down if needed. An injury will slow you down much more than just scaling back on your workouts.
I hope you can incorporate my advice into your cardio workouts in the future, and that you find the workout success you are looking to achieve.
