So we know that cardiovascular fitness is our heart and lung's ability to send oxygen rich blood to the muscles in our body. There are many different examples of this such going for a run, different workout classes such as Zumba or many other types of fitness out there. It is important to work on our cardiovascular fitness because it helps to keep your heart healthy, helps to prevent many different disease and illness, helps to burn fat, along with a ton of other benefits.
Throughout this personal fitness unit we will have two cardiovascular focused classes. However, because of what is going on in the world right now and not being able to be in class or go to a gym it could be a lot harder to do fitness activities. However the activities from the first class require no equipment at all, so you can do it at your home. The activities from the second class require very minimal equipment and there can be options to modify the activities.
For the first class we have two separate cardiovascular activities planned, however before we get into those we need to make sure that we get our bodies warmed up so we can prevent injury. There are many different ways to warm-up however the goals of the warm-up should be to raise your heart rate and your body temperature, then get your muscles and joints loosened up through dynamic stretching and movements. After the warm-up we are going to get into a Zumba routine, Zumba is a type of cardiovascular fitness that incorporates different types of dance moves. It is becoming very popular and once gyms open up again after the pandemic you could go try a class at one of them. The Zumba routine that we will be doing is 30 minutes, this can be a long time and if you feel at any point that it is becoming too hard don't worry and take a break to get water or catch your breath then get back at it. After this we were going to take a short break for everyone to catch their breath and get some water then get into another cardio activity which is a short 10 minute circuit. Again when doing this if you find it too difficult, you are more than welcome to take a break. VERY IMPORTANT to remember it is your own fitness do not compare yourself to others in the class. Below are the links to the Zumba routine and cardio circuit, give them a try if you want to.
Zumba Routine
Cardio Circuit
For the second class we will doing cardio circuit training, which is doing different exercises back to with little rest in between each exercise. For our circuit we will be doing the exercises for 60 seconds then resting for 60 second once you finish the exercise. The equipment that you is recommenced for these circuits is jumping ropes, steppers (could use your couch at home or anything you can step up on), mats and a timer.
Circuit 1: Circuit 2: Modified at Home Circuit:
Jog in place Jumping jacks Jog in place
Jump rope Step-ups Jumping jacks Butt kicks Bicycles Burpees Burpees Skaters Bicycles V-sit ups High knees Butt kicks Squat jumps Scissor kicks Scissor kicks Step-ups Burpees High knees Mountain climbers Alternating lunges Skaters Jumping jacks Jump rope Mountain climbers Extra rest Extra rest Extra rest