Cardio

TRIFECTA FITNESS
By Rachel E. Murray

Whether you’re just starting a fitness program for the first time, or you’re a veteran gym junkie, there are three simple aspects everyone should keep in their routine.

This trifecta of basics, and I’m talking general ‘take-care-of-your-body’ rules, consist of cardiovascular conditioning, resistance training, and flexibility training. Each equally important separately, but together they are essential in building a foundation for an active and healthy lifestyle.

Jump-roping is one of the best cardio vascular workouts you could ever do. It focuses on so many different part of your body. It helps to increase your agility, balance, coordination, and muscular endurance. It is also great for strengthening your upper body. One of the best things about jump-roping is that it can done anywhere. It can be done in a gym or outside a gym. Jump-roping may be the best calorie burning exercise ever. If you jump rope for an hour, depending on your metabolism, you can burn up to 1000 calories. Imagine that: being able to burn up to a 1000 calories in one workout.

We all know that doing cardio is great for burning calories and is great for working the heart. But it is important to know that there is such a thing as doing too much cardio. In excess, it can become counterproductive. Any cardio that is performed for more than an hour will work against you, as you will start to dip into your lean muscle and start to burn that muscle. Unfortunately there are many women that fall to this trap. Some think they can burn off all their fat by just doing as much cardio as they can. Yes cardio is very important, but it is all within moderation.