Trying to improve your overall physical performance and fitness? Working on cardio can be a major help. Improving cardio fitness is essential for maintaining heart health. Cardio fitness also supports long-term wellness. Whether you’re a professional athlete or just someone who is passionate about exercise, cardio is a must. If you’re looking for effective ways to improve your cardio fitness, physical therapy can be a great option. Physical therapy is a highly versatile field. Physical therapists don’t just address and prevent injuries; they’re also experts in fitness. Working with a physical therapist, you can take the next step to enhance your cardio.
How to improve your cardio fitness routine: 8 quick and effective strategies
- Personalized exercise plan — Everyone has a different fitness journey. As such, one-size-fits-all exercise plans are not typically effective. With physical therapy, you can benefit from personal training. Using a tailored exercise plan is a great strategy for improving your fitness in a quick and effective manner. With guidance and training from your physical therapist, you can learn new techniques, develop skills and train your body. Personalized plans also take into account your particular physical condition. If you have a chronic health condition or are recovering from a recent injury, your physical therapist will consider these factors while developing your fitness plan. This helps ensure that your regimen is safe and effective, improving your health without inadvertently causing complications.
- Strength training — Strength training is a key part of cardio fitness. While the best strengthening exercises and the best cardio exercises are not always the same, they can work well together. By building strength in your muscles, you can improve your ability to engage in intensive cardio workouts. For example, building muscle in your legs can improve your ability to do cycling, which is a great way to improve cardio fitness. Strength training can also improve your endurance, something crucial for cardio exercises. Your physical therapist can recommend a set of strength training exercises based on your physical capacity and wellness goals. Effective strengthening exercises include squats, planks and various weightlifting techniques.
- Flexibility exercises — Cardio exercises tend to revolve around motion. By getting your body moving, you can improve your blood circulation and heart rate. If your body is stiff, you might have some trouble keeping yourself in motion. By building flexibility, you can move more easily during cardio workouts. Your physical therapist can help you improve your range of motion through targeted stretches and other exercises intended to help enhance flexibility. Flexibility-centered exercises can also reduce your risk of injury, as flexible muscles and joints are less likely to be injured while exercising.
- Posture correction — Proper posture is key for effective cardio exercises. With physical therapy, you can learn how to maintain proper posture and running gait. Posture correction offers a range of benefits. A significant advantage is improved breathing: When you correct your posture, you can improve your lung capacity and breathing efficiency. This is important for endurance-focused cardio activities like running. Proper posture and gait can also help you stay comfortable while exercising. With correct posture, you can reduce the risk of back and neck pain. In addition to helping you maintain healthy posture and gait, your physical therapist can help ensure that you use proper form with all your cardio exercises.
- Balance training — Balance training stabilizes the body so you can perform your cardio exercises safely. When you’re working out, balance issues can lead to serious injuries. While running, for example, balance issues can cause you to stumble and fall. Remedying balance issues is especially important if you are recovering from an injury or vestibular condition. With functional rehabilitation, your physical therapist can help you regain your balance and physical capabilities so that you can take on a full cardio routine. Functional rehab programs typically integrate agility training designed to help you reach an optimal level of performance.
- Endurance training — Building endurance is important for cardio training. By building endurance, you can start working out for longer periods of time, allowing you to reap more benefits from your routine without overexerting yourself. Are you looking for ways to increase your stamina? Physical therapy can offer many different strategies. Working with your physical therapist, you can find new ways to build your energy reserves. Endurance training also tends to improve heart health and circulation, meaning it serves as additional cardio exercise.
- Breathing techniques — Do you feel like you can’t catch your breath whenever you do cardio exercises? With physical therapy breathing techniques, you can make sure you don’t run out of breath. Breathing techniques help optimize oxygen use in a variety of ways. With proper breathing techniques, you can maximize oxygen intake and enhance your athletic performance. Efficient breathing also helps to reduce fatigue as your workout progresses. By following recommended breathing techniques, you can sustain your cardio workouts for much longer periods.
- Functional training — Functional training is a personalized form of PT designed to help you achieve concrete, practical goals. With functional training or rehabilitation, you can work toward milestones that revolve around specific capabilities. The goals of functional training vary from person to person. For example, you might want to build endurance so that you can do a 5k run in half an hour. Functional training can help you get the physical conditioning and skills you need to accomplish this goal. Functional training is all about improving fitness in ways that can be applied directly to real-world situations. By participating in functional training, you can enhance your ability to complete everyday tasks while also improving your fitness. Because functional training is often focused on fairly complex tasks, it can also improve your physical coordination, an essential element of whole-body cardio workouts.
How long does it take to improve cardio fitness?
When considering how long it will take to improve your cardio fitness, you should consider a wide range of factors. First, what are your long-term goals? Cardio fitness has no end point. As long as you continue to exercise, you can continue to improve your cardio fitness. If you are trying to build a timeline, it is important to set concrete goals. It’s also important to consider how progress varies between different people. Age, fitness level and workout intensity can all factor into the speed of your progress. Physical therapy can help accelerate your progress, enabling you to meet your goals sooner.
While figures vary, people often see major improvements within the first four to six weeks of consistent cardio exercise. If you are trying to improve your cardio for a specific athletic or sports event, it’s best to start working out at least two months in advance. After the first six weeks, you will likely continue to see significant benefits for at least another four or five months. Do you want to optimize your continued progress? Physical therapy can help. Your physical therapist will regularly assess your progress, making adjustments as needed to make sure you stay on track. With help from an expert physical therapist, you can make rapid progress in improving your cardiovascular health.
SOL Physical Therapy can help improve your heart health
If you’re ready to take the next step in improving your cardio fitness, you can get tailored training at SOL Physical Therapy. Our team is committed to helping you overcome obstacles and achieve your wellness goals.
Call us or request an appointment today to learn more about how you can improve your cardio fitness with physical therapy.