Cardiovascular exercise is any exercise that raises your heart rate. One myth in today’s fitness world is that increasing cardio can only be achieved through lengthy steady state activities such as running or using an elliptical machine for extended periods of time. If you ONLY run or use the elliptical in that slow, steady state, you are ignoring your anaerobic system. You could run faster for short bouts to access this system or you could do some metabolic resistance training. It’s a more efficient and effective way to target both your anaerobic and aerobic systems and you can challenge all of your muscles, not just those in your lower body. Using your preferred method of resistance (weights, bands, bodyweight) will target both systems and increase metabolic conditioning in a fraction of the time compared to the traditional “cardio” methods.