Correct cardio training
Exercise can be broken up into many components including resistance training and cardiovascular work.
Cardiovascular work is aimed at training the most important muscle in your body… your heart! Exercise that raises your heart rate for a continuous period of time is called "cardio" because the proper name for the muscle of the heart is myocardium (myo- muscle, cadium- heart).
Working muscles need fuel to contract and relax and that fuel comes to the muscle mostly in the form of carbohydrates and fats. The more fuel burnt, the more weight lost! So doing more activity equals a healthy weight.
In fact the recommended guide lines for activity of Australians is 5 times a week a block of 30 minutes of continuous exercise at an intensity where you are just sweating, at a level where you could be exercising and talking but not singing!
That is 150 minutes of exercise in a 168 hour week! Not too much considering you can classify any continuous period even walking to the shops as one of your blocks.
We must get out of the notion that the only exercise that counts has to be in a gym or on the playing field. There are lots of exercise opportunities in normal every day life. Walking to the bus stop or shops, getting off the train or the bus one stop early, taking the stairs at work (up or down), walking the dog and even playing with the kids in the back yard!
For general health moderate exercise is fine but if you have specific goals with your cardio training it is important to train in the right heart rate zones. The heart rate is like the speedometer on a car. The faster the wheels move the higher the number on the dial. The same with the heart, the higher the heart rate the faster the arms and legs are moving and the more fuel they are burning. The higher heart rates reflect a higher calorie burning session.
The best way to increase fitness and energy expenditure of a work out is to have periods of high intensity followed by lower intensity rest periods, this is know as interval training!