Do you go to the gym to ‘work out’ but don’t know how to burn calories most effectively? Are you trying to lose weight? Her Campus Mount Holyoke is bringing you a series of exercise and health related articles to keep our readers in shape! This week’s article is about cardiovascular workouts. Cardio forces your heart and lungs to work harder and consequently can have great positive effects on your blood pressure, resting heartrate, and endurance. It is also one of the most effective calorie burning tools, making it great for weight-loss. But it needs to be done correctly. Too much cardio or poor form can cause damage to the body you’re working so hard to perfect! Check out these three simple ways to burn lots of calories and have fun doing it!
Running – If you’re not a runner to start, running can be the most daunting kind of cardio exercise. Start off slow at first, and work up to a higher speed and a longer distance. To make it a little more social and less intimidating, get a group of friends together. Running in pairs or groups is not only more safe, but also motivating. If you’re looking for a flat, easy run, try running to the Orchards Golf Course, which is a mile away from Mount Holyoke. You can run there, walk and rest a bit, and then run back, making your run two miles long. Each mile you run burns about 100 calories, depending on speed and incline! Be sure to wear supportive shoes and stretch well before and after your run.
Spinning – Like running, spinning is a great cardio workout if done right. It burns approximately 100 calories per hour, but again, this depends on your speed and the level or resistance on your bike. This is a great workout if you don’t want to brave the cold for a run or you’re bored with the treadmill. Simply set the resistance on the bike to medium, and spin for one minute slow, then 30 seconds fast. Then do two minutes slow, and one minute fast, and so on up to 5 minutes. This workout will last for 25 minutes and will burn about 250 calories! Fun Fact: cardio intervals are the most effective weight loss exercises!
Swimming – This is a great way to give your joints a rest if you’ve been doing more strenuous workouts like a sport or dancing. If you swim for a half an hour, you’ll burn 400 calories! Try swimming 50 meters at a time, alternating between freestyle (front stroke) and backstroke. Unlike other forms of cardio, you’ll feel the effects of swimming in your arms, shoulders, core, back, and legs! Swimming gives you a whole body workout! Again, be sure to stretch after a swim workout, or you could be feeling very stiff for the next few days.
Dancing/Aerobics – Classes like Zumba and kickboxing are another great way to get some serious cardio done and have a lot of fun doing it. Often you’re moving around so much and listening to such great, upbeat music, that you don’t even realize how hard your body is working! Invite a friend or two along so you have someone to laugh with and make faces at in the mirror. Throw on some spandex, bring a BIG water bottle, and get up and dancing! Calories for this type of cardio vary widely, depending on how long the class runs for, how intense the routines are, and how much you’re pushing yourself. But why count calories? Just have fun!
So MoHo’s, grab a friend and head to the streets, treadmill, gym or pool and get fit in the last weeks of the semester! Aim to exercise 3- 4 times a week.
Next week: Her Campus Mount Holyoke will talk about healthy eating and how to make the most out of every meal on campus.