Cardio endurance exercise, such as running, cycling, swimming or rowing, is known for improving your overall health and fitness while building stamina and endurance. While there are numerous benefits associated with cardio endurance exercise, there are also several safety concerns and dangers that you must be aware of. Knowing the potential safety and dangers ensures your cardio endurance exercise will improve your overall health instead of end with an injury or medical problem.
Contraindications
The first step before starting a cardio endurance exercise routine is to consult your doctor. Your doctor can determine any potential contraindicated exercises and can suggest a recommended intensity level. For example, if you are pregnant, have high blood pressure or take specific medications, you may not want to participate in high intensity endurance exercise. There are also several contraindications with cardio endurance exercise and supplements that may result in serious medical concerns such as a stroke or heart attack.
Heart Rate
There is a recommended training-intensity zone for cardio endurance exercise that is associated with your heart rate. This target training zone gives you a range based on your age, gender and fitness level. To find this heart rate training zone, start by determining your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. After that, a suggested target heart rate zone is about 50 to 75 percent of your maximum heart rate. You can watch your heart rate with a heart rate monitor or by randomly taking your pulse rate during the exercise.
Intensity
Your overall intensity of cardio endurance exercise is associated with the frequency of the workouts and total duration of each workout. Every workout should start with a warm-up routine to prepare the body for the workout and finish with a cooldown that includes total body stretches and flexibility exercises. A general guideline is to participate in at least two hours and 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity.
Injuries
With the long distance and extended time component of cardio endurance exercise, the potential for overtraining is increased. Over time, overtraining can potentially lead to injuries and decreased performance. You can prevent overtraining and overuse injuries, however, by following a specific workout schedule that includes time for rest and recovery. Combining the cardio endurance exercise with strength training, nutrition and sleep can also decrease the potential for overtraining.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Performance-enhancing Drugs: Know the Risks; Mayo Clinic staff; December 2010
- Personal Health Zone; Cardiovascular Exercise Safety; February 2009
- "The New York Times"; Recommended Exercise Methods; Harvey Simon; May 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Fitness Training: 5 Elements of a Rounded Routine; Mayo Clinic staff; September 2009
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