The Best Cardio Exercise

Over the past several years I’ve had several patients asked me what is the best Cardio exercise they can do if I had to pick just one?. My background as a Sport’s Chiropractor in Utah and Strength and Conditioning Specialist gives me a little different perspective than most fitness experts.

  

The Late Bruce Lee said “Running is the king of all Exercise” While I agree Running is the fastest way to get in great shape it poses many obstacles for most people over 30. First running is very hard on the feet, knees, hips and low back. When a person runs every time their foot hits the ground it’s 4-5 times their bodyweight per foot strike. This high body impact can lead to many problems such as stress fractures, shin splints, plantar fasciitis etc. Second is running technique and running surface. Most people who run have poor technique and they chose to run on the asphalt instead of grass or dirt, and this magnifies the forces of impact on their body.

  

Walking seems to be an alternative to running, but there are some major drawbacks to this slower cousin of running. The biggest challenge is achieving a person’s training heart rate. Most people cannot reach their training heart rate unless their obese or severely de-conditioned.

As a chiropractor in Utah, I’ve found the best cardio exercises are whole body, low impact, cross crawl exercises like the Elliptical machines or Cross Country skiers.  Let’s take a look at some of these incredible activities and examine why they’re so effective. Most of these exercises are very easy on the joints and will not lead to impact type injuries. Individuals who are out of shape or overweight can do these exercises and have little soft tissue soreness. The next component is whole body. The Elliptical or Cross Country skiers or Versa climbers engage the entire body and this is most beneficial for time restricted people and for greater caloric expenditure. A stationary bike is a great tool, but it is mostly lower body and you’re seated for much of the time. The last factor is these exercises are cross-crawl exercises and this has a profound effect on our Central Nervous System. Cross Crawl is a term that describes the normal human movement patterns with one leg forward and the opposite arm forward. Individuals who don’t crawl as an infant and go straight to walking often have learning problems and motor impairments.  Rowing is a whole body exercise and low impact, but it does not use a cross crawl motor pattern and therefore is not as good as the other exercises I have mentioned.

Dr. David Bailey