What are cardio or cardiovascular exercises and good examples?

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Any exercise, activity or sport that increases your heart and respiration rate for a specific period is cardio (cardiovascular) exercise. There are different degrees from mild to intense. Intense cardio exercises include running, interval training, and graded exercise protocol. Those are not for beginners.

Beginners can begin with a mild cardio exercise and do it relatively frequently for a significant duration. An excellent one is brisk walking (outdoors or treadmill). Walking is easier on your body than jogging or running and it is sustainable. If unaccustomed to exercise, you may wish to seek the approval of your physician before changing exercise habits.

For a choice of free cardio exercise plans to get you started (one easier plan, one harder plan, one intense) or to advance you further, see the page links, further down this page, listed under Sources and Related Links.

Meanwhile, here are examples of cardio exercise:

• walking
• cross-country skiing
• jogging
• running
• trampolining
• minitrampolining
• nordic walking
• aerobic dancing
• treadmill walking
• treadmill jogging
• treadmill running
• rowing
• cycling
• stationary cycling.

It is important to do cardio exercise at the right intensity. This should be not too low and not too high.

So, for the free cardio plans and instructions to get you started:

• Cardio Walking Plan 1 (the easier plan)
• Cardio Walking Plan 2 (the harder plan)
• Intense Cardio and Exercise Plan 3 (running)

See the page links, further down this page, listed under Sources and Related Links.
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First answer by Keats. Last edit by Keats. Contributor trust: 4293 [recommend contributorrecommended]. Question popularity: 25 [recommend question].