There are many ways to increase your heart rate and integrate cardio into your routine, without necessarily going for a run.
While Fluidform focuses on building strength, flexibility, length and tone – we integrate cardio by increasing the speed and repetition of sequences. Skipping and barre workouts never fail to boost your heart rate, along with walking and boxing. All effective forms of cardio that work to increase your heart rate, energy levels and release positive endorphins – without causing strain or too much impact on the body.
Other forms of cardio such as running or high intensity training are both popular and effective, when done correctly and in moderation. However these high impact movements can be tough on the body and often lead to injury when not balanced with an effective stretching regime.
BENEFITS OF CARDIO & FLUIDFORM
There are numerous benefits to integrating cardio into your routine, as they offer different forms of exercise and complement each other to achieve your overall health and fitness goals.
Cardio is an aerobic exercise that increases your heart rate and strengthens your heart function, improving blood flow around the body and reducing the risk of several diseases.
On the other side of the spectrum, Fluidform is a movement principle that focuses on strength, flexibility and muscle endurance. Finding a balanced combination of the two helps to improve your overall health and wellbeing – reaping the benefits of cardio while building strength across your entire body, improving your posture and reducing your risk of injury.
One of the main Fluidform principles is breathing – finding a deep, controlled breath. This helps to increase your lung capacity, improve flexibility through your ribcage, and engage your deep abdominals. Without understanding how to activate your core muscles, your breath becomes shorter and shallow – reducing the amount of oxygenated air to your lungs. More simply, this is the stressed, breathless feeling you may experience when performing a cardio workout.
Beyond this, Fluidform teaches correct muscle recruitment patterns and focuses on strengthening muscles that help us to perform better. For example, strong glutes and pelvic stability will improve your walking and running stride. Not only will your performance improve, but you reduce your risk of over-active muscles and injuries.
A balanced and effective workout routine will integrate cardio with strength, balance and flexibility. Although the thought of ‘cardio’ is not for everyone (think sweaty, out of breath), so we teach ways of increasing our heart rate and reaping the benefits of cardio without having to do a HIIT workout.
Try this five minute cardio boost for when skipping is not for you:
- 30 x second plank
- 30 x mountain climbers
- 30 x plank to pyramid
(Repeat sequence 3 x through)
OR try this cardio-focused workout to drive your heart rate. Mini Barre 5 is my go-to for a low impact, effective cardio workout, for when I don’t feel like doing cardio! This one is part of our Pegs Challenge, with a particular focus on your lower body.
Ready for the challenge?
FIT with Fluidform is a barre-focused, cardio challenge combining fast paced, high energy movements with the Fluidform fundamentals for a complete mind and body challenge. Build strength, flexibility and tone while reaping the benefits of cardio on your heart, body and mood.
