Hi Joe- What’s your personal favorite form of cardio?
I’ve always enjoyed walking. It’s low-impact, elevates your heart rate smoothly and can get you from Point A to Point B, as opposed to stationary cardio equipment, which will leave you off right where you started.
Of course, walking isn’t as intensive as jogging, which is less so than running. Then there’s biking, skiing and swimming, each of which affect your body in different ways. I actually like them all and have to say that on the whole it’s hard to beat swimming as a form of low-impact, muscle-toning, cardio-intensive exercise.
Studies have shown that more muscles are recruited during swimming than just about any other form of exercise. It’s also great because it is virtually zero-impact, meaning it’s good for people with joint issues and because of the water’s buoyancy, you can receive cardiovascular benefit by something so simple as dogpaddling.
Between walking and swimming you’ve got a 1-2 combination of my favorite cardio exercises.