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Cardiovascular exercise is an unbelievable way to stop heart disease and obesity but how long are you supposed to exercise? The answer typically depends upon your goals and current level of fitness.

Exercising on a regular basis for a specific duration of time and then building that will provide you an opportunity to increase your speed and endurance in the long haul.

Every cardio exercise should start with a three-to-five minute warm up of low intensity cardio and finish with a three-to-five minute cool-down, where you bring your heart rate back down to normal.

Starters

If you are not in the best of shape, overweight, or have not tried cardiovascular exercise in the past, start with doing 10 to 20 minutes four or five days a week.

The speed is not crucial in the start: the goal is just to increase your heart rate consistently. Any amount of routine exercise will start to positively affect your metabolism and the body’s ability to process blood sugar.

Fat Burning

At times, weight loss, rather than heart health, is the ultimate goal of cardiovascular exercise. If that is your goal, make certain that you exercise for at least 15 minutes.

That is the average time it takes for the body to consume your sugar reservations and start burning fat.

Running burns about 100 calories a mile, walking burns off half that. There are on average 3,500 calories in 1 pound of fat, so it is possible to tailor a cardio program around your specific weekly weight loss goals.

Burning Muscle

Some individuals are concerned about losing muscle from exercising too much.

A high percentage of individuals don’t need to be concerned since the body does not begin to burn amino acids (proteins that sometimes come from muscles) before the conclusion of an intense endurance event, such as a marathon.

Suggested Cardio Length

For those who are not obese nor really out of shape, the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines call for a minimum of 30 minutes of aerobic physical activity performed at moderate intensity (60-80 percent maximum heart rate) either in one continuous period or in intervals of at least 20-minute durations on most days of the week.

To burn off fat and/or eliminate weight, you should try and increase the length of your cardio workout.

The Diet

What you eat will affect how long you can and ought to do cardiovascular exercise. A calorie-deficient, low-carbohydrate diet can make running for any length of time a little hard.

Eating a balanced diet that is high in healthy carbs, such as those found in whole grains, will provide you an opportunity to workout for your full goal period.

We recommend you avoid saturated fats and processed sugars that give you bursts of energy followed by exhausting and draining crashes.