Advertisement
It can certainly feel like your heart is pounding out of your chest during a session, but is running cardio exercise? We know it’s important to get in a range of cardio, strength, and flexibility exercises during an average week, but sometimes it’s difficult to know which sports and activities fall into which category.
Around 50 million Americans are fans of running, jogging, or running, and if you’re looking to improve your cardio, we’ve got good news: running is a fantastic form of cardio exercise. Not only that, it’s one of the best cardio exercises you can do when it comes to reducing your risk of cardiovascular disease, improving your sleep quality, and boosting your cognitive function.
In addition to the many benefits of running (opens in new tab)it’s also a relatively inexpensive way to get your daily dose of exercise. You can certainly invest in one of the best treadmills (opens in new tab) To help you exercise from the comfort of your own home, as long as you have a decent pair of sneakers, you can lace up and start running anytime, anywhere.
What is cardio training?
“What sets cardio apart from other forms of exercise is its reliance on your body’s ability to use oxygen during exercise,” explains Jack McNamara, strength coach and lecturer in clinical exercise physiology. “This use of oxygen, also called aerobic metabolism, helps our body extract energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) from amino acids, carbohydrates, and fatty acids to fuel our muscles, typically for prolonged activity. Cardio is often considered aerobic exercise.” called – i.e. with oxygen.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) defines aerobic exercise as “any activity that engages large muscle groups, can be sustained continuously, and is rhythmic in nature.” So technically, all types of physical activity count as aerobic exercise, regardless of intensity: biking, dancing, hiking, swimming, and even walking.”
Jack McNamara (opens in new tab) is a highly experienced strength coach and lecturer in clinical exercise physiology. Since beginning his career in 2005, McNamara has coached numerous athletes, served as a clinical exercise physiologist and taught graduate level exercise science courses. His extensive expertise was recognized last year when he became the first person to receive Master Trainer (Europe) and Chartered Practitioner (UK) status.
Most experts agree that for the maximum benefits of cardio, you should aim to exercise at a moderate intensity or higher – you can gauge whether or not you’ve reached a “moderate” intensity by being able are able to speak during training, but not to sing.
Benefits of cardio exercise include improving heart health, helping prevent or treat cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes, and reducing symptoms of mental health issues like depression and anxiety—plus, the runner’s high sure isn’t to surpass!
Is cardio running?
Yes, running definitely counts as cardio exercise.
“Running not only engages large muscle groups in a continuous and rhythmic manner, but it also makes our heart work harder and requires us to use more oxygen to keep it going,” says McNamara.
“Unless you’re working at a very high intensity, such as like sprinting, running usually challenges our heart and lungs more or at least as much as our muscles – at least at the beginning of a run!”
How to improve cardio fitness
Working on your technique is one of the best ways to work harder and safer during a run.
“For most of us, running is something we’ve ‘just done’ since we were kids, so we don’t actively pay attention to our posture, technique or pace,” says McNamara.
“By shortening our strides and increasing our cadence — the total number of steps taken each minute — we can not only benefit from improved cardiovascular fitness, but also from a reduced risk of injury and more efficient running technique, which leads to improved performance .”
Sprinting and anaerobic training
You can add some short, quick exercises like sprints to do anaerobic exercise (opens in new tab).
“Anaerobic exercise is a physical activity that causes the body to convert glucose into energy without oxygen,” says McNamara. “This usually happens in the body when the demand for oxygen exceeds the supply. Generally, these activities are of short duration and high intensity.”
It can be a great way to gear your running towards strengthening your bones, as well as increasing your lactate threshold (which allows you to work harder for longer) and improving overall strength.
To increase the intensity of your workout, McNamara recommends:
- Increasing the number of sprint intervals
- Decrease in active recovery/rest times
- Increase the duration of the hard part of your intervals
- Change your terrain or add inclines
- Increase your speed
