Steady-State Cardiovascular:

Think of steady-state cardio as cross country. It’s continuous. Your body stays in one state the whole time, a constant state. There isn’t a much significant difference in heartbeats per minute over the period.

What are the benefits?

Steady-state cardio is excellent for those trying to shed pounds or build endurance. It is recommended to do this type of cardio if you are trying to cut down but not lose any muscle mass. This form is also great for the heart and even the respiratory system.

According to Medical News Today, they suggest to carry out cardio at 70-80% of heart rate reserve, which is calculated from resting heart subtracted from the maximum heart. This should be conducted for 30-45 minutes a day at a time, 4-5 days a week. This is, of course, for optimal muscle building.

How do you start a routine?

Steady-state cardio is the most straightforward cardio to do because most people can do it. It can range from a walk to a run over an extended period. It could even come in the form, from a bike to a treadmill, or even a stair climber, etc.

To start, I suggest starting off with a 15 minute 55% heart rate exercise until you feel comfortable. From there, bump it up to 70% for 20 minutes. Eventually, that turns to 30, and so on till you reach your goal. The point is, is to set a goal that’s attainable but encourages you to start. When that first is met, bump it and challenge yourself, until it becomes a hobby.

Interval Training Cardiovascular:

If steady-state cardio is cross country, consider interval training to be track. Its burst of high-intensity workouts over a given time. Your body rises in beats per minute and falls in beats per minute. It is more intense with some cool downtime in between sets.

What are the benefits?

Interval training is great for burning extra calories. In fact, intervals are more effective than slow endurance steady-state runs. The recovery period for interval workouts is where it really excels. Because of it us a higher intensity workout, the body must work harder to recover, and because of this, the body produces 450% more growth hormones.

Another benefit interval training has extra time. With the level of calories burned doing an hour and a half run, you can do in 30-45 minutes of interval training.

Lastly, interval training can help endurance and explosiveness. The uses lactic acid much more efficiently, thus pushing back the fatigue time window.

How do you start a routine?

Similarly, to steady-state cardio, it comes in many forms. If you can do it with steady-state cardio, you can do it with interval training. For beginners, I suggest walking for 2 minutes and jogging or running, whatever feels comfortable, for 1 minute. That walk period should be the recovery period, but the high-intensity period should defiantly push and be challenging. Do that 3 times to 5 times.

P.S. Here’s a fun little video that helps you decide which one is better for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhDRwU95Pbk