What counts as cardio?

lollie1285
lollie1285 Posts: 239 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have a question that I should probably know the answer to already but eh, I figured I would ask anyway. What do you guys classify as cardio? I know treadmill, elliptical, kickboxing, HIIT, etc but what about like..a fast paced metabolic resistance workout or a bootcamp style workout that keeps your heart rate in the 180ish range for some time? Would that count more as weightlifting? Or more as cardio? Or both? It’s light weight, like 5-15 lbs and fast paced moving from one move to the next. Heart rate elevated the entire time. Do I even need to do cardio separately when I do resistance workouts like this several times a week?

Replies

  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Any exercise that elevates and keeps your heart rate elevated will confer benefits in terms of cardiovasular health. Whether or not you need to do seperate cardio workouts depends entirely on your goals, if you want to improve cardiovacular endurance then the answer would be yes, you'd want to do some longer steady state workouts in a lower zone. If it's just good health you're after probably not.
  • lollie1285
    lollie1285 Posts: 239 Member
    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    Any exercise that elevates and keeps your heart rate elevated will confer benefits in terms of cardiovasular health. Whether or not you need to do seperate cardio workouts depends entirely on your goals, if you want to improve cardiovacular endurance then the answer would be yes, you'd want to do some longer steady state workouts in a lower zone. If it's just good health you're after probably not.

    It’s a mixture of things that I’m after - enhanced endurance, good health, and lower body fat. Im looking a little skinny fat right now and want to lean out, so I figured extra cardio wouldn’t hurt as long as my protein was high and I was still getting resistance training in there - but I’m sure there’s more to it than that.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Since I see the direction you are talking now, I'll classify cardio as elevated HR for reasons of required oxygen to metabolize energy source.

    You can get a elevated HR on more strength training type workouts, and if the break is brief it'll stay high.
    But it is staying high just because it takes a bit for the HR to response to the fact the intensity level just dropped.

    It's why HR-based calculations of calorie burn are worthless on interval type workouts.

    If skinny fat then you really need to have something under the fat to show - not lose more fat.

    In which case skip the diet, and if open to many types of workouts - keep a good progressive overload lifting routine.

    The extra cardio is only going to either cause a bigger deficit because you won't correctly eat more when doing more - or you will eat more and adhere to the diet better. And diet in this sense is way of eating - at maintenance if skinny fat.

    Extra intense cardio could also cause problems with recovery from, and having energy for - a good lifting workout which is what will really transform your body.

    Anything that slows that process down isn't good if that needs to be the focus. Kind of sounds like you want that to be the focus.

    Gentle recovery level cardio that is still good for heart health would be great.
  • lollie1285
    lollie1285 Posts: 239 Member
    heybales wrote: »
    Since I see the direction you are talking now, I'll classify cardio as elevated HR for reasons of required oxygen to metabolize energy source.

    You can get a elevated HR on more strength training type workouts, and if the break is brief it'll stay high.
    But it is staying high just because it takes a bit for the HR to response to the fact the intensity level just dropped.

    It's why HR-based calculations of calorie burn are worthless on interval type workouts.

    If skinny fat then you really need to have something under the fat to show - not lose more fat.

    In which case skip the diet, and if open to many types of workouts - keep a good progressive overload lifting routine.

    The extra cardio is only going to either cause a bigger deficit because you won't correctly eat more when doing more - or you will eat more and adhere to the diet better. And diet in this sense is way of eating - at maintenance if skinny fat.

    Extra intense cardio could also cause problems with recovery from, and having energy for - a good lifting workout which is what will really transform your body.

    Anything that slows that process down isn't good if that needs to be the focus. Kind of sounds like you want that to be the focus.

    Gentle recovery level cardio that is still good for heart health would be great.

    Good info, thank you!
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    Cardio has a specific definition. It has to raise your heart rate, involve large muscle groups, and be rhythmic.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,269 Member
    edited May 2020
    MostlyWater wrote: »
    Cardio has a specific definition. It has to raise your heart rate, involve large muscle groups, and be rhythmic.

    So classic slow-ish rep/set weight lifting is cardio (raises heart rate, though mostly due to pressure/strain effects, not oxygen uptake; involves large muscle groups; is rhythmic)?

    And things that raise heart rate because of oxygen demand for energy production (which I admit will usually involve large muscles), but are not rhythmic, are not cardio?

    I dunno. Exaggerating a little, that seems to suggest that dancing skillfully counts, but dancing abysmally doesn't.

    Or, for a more realistic example, if I am a volunteer in a community library shelving books, working away energetically at it, pushing a book cart (not straining, just adding a little effort), bending, standing, climbing on a stool, lifting books, getting books down . . . that doesn't have cardiovascular benfits?

    I think the definition ought to be something more like any activity that raises heart rate by increasing demand for oxygen in order to meet energy needs, as Heybales suggests. (But mostly, I think "cardio" is kind of a dumb term. In common use, it encompasses way too many extremely varied activities, and makes it tough to say anything that's sensible about "cardio" overall.)

    OP, I'm also with Heybales that some non-fatiguing activity that raises your heart rate (via oxygen demand ;) ), and doesn't impair strength training recovery, would be a good plan for your goals, for heart health. There are lots of options: Walking, recreational cycling, easy dancing, in-line skating, canoeing/kayaking, playing VR games or real-life games (table tennis, disc golf, whatever), swimming . . . I could go on and on. And, since you mention wanting to increase endurance, you'd want to increase the activity's/activities' effect over time, by gradually increasing intensity, duration, or frequency (still avoiding fatigue that would cause recovery issues).

    Pick something you find fun, as a bonus. :)

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