Gyms are packed full of treadmills, stair masters, eliptical trainers and stationary bikes with supposed "science" backing the theory that one is better than the other. My views regarding ANY type of cardiovascular exercise, is that the best one is the one you will consistently perform. Consistency is vital, but getting good results is just as important. Who wants to walk on a treadmill like a hamster on a wheel for hours on end with nothing to show for it? Not me.

Here are some interesting facts about different forms of cardiovascular exercise and how they may impact your individual goals:

Swimming:
- Whole body exercise that demands great upper body strength and overall endurance. In order for your swim to be a workout, you should strive to keep your heart rate elevated throughout- even if you need to take short rest, keep moving as much as you can. Also make sure you learn a stroke such as freestyle that will help you get an efficient workout. To add more intensity to your swim, use hand paddles to build up your shoulder strength.

Plyometrics:
- Plyometrics training helps build overall power and strength. Repetitive jumping and landing puts tremendous stress on the neuromuscular system and is therefore an effective way to improve your endurance, power and stability. Add plyometrics exercises on leg day to increase the intensity of your workout.

Running:
- Most people believe that running all day every day will help them unveil that 6-pack they've always desired. Yet, months go by with no real body fat loss... and they are left frustrated and wondering why? Running is one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise because it gets the heart pumping and endorphins rushing like nothing else, which is great. But, the chances of overtraining increase quite a bit for dedicated runners.

Not only is the constant pounding a nightmare for the lower back and joints, but running demands a large amount of stored glycogen from the liver and muscle tissue. So basically, when you run your body skips over stored body fat for fuel and shoots straight for stored carbohydrates (glycogen). Since this stored energy is our body's primary source of brain and muscle fuel, giving it up usually results in giving up muscle tissue and holding onto body fat. Hence the reason competitive bodybuilders never run, but instead perform moderate intensity cardio or HIIT training (intervals).

So if you run and can't seem to see results in the fat loss department, try lower the intensity or use intervals where you walk for 1-2 minutes and run for 1-2 minutes throughout your cardio session. If you must run long distances, make sure you get adequate sleep each night and consume a well rounded diet with a conscious effort on lean protein and low glycemic complex carbs for adequate muscle repair as well as plenty of vitamin B and C.

"Other" forms of cardio:
- There's a reason the military uses exercises like jumping jacks, push ups and other calisthenic exercises to keep their soldiers in top shape- they work! You don't need to lock yourself onto a machine for hours on end, get creative and keep moving. You can challenge your body in different planes of motion on the agility ladder, break up the monotony of a typical workout with plyo- box jumps and have every other gym patron wondering what you're all about while you're doing burpees in the corner between sets of deadlifts.

Our bodies were made for exercise, so as long as you're moving consistently and getting results- there is no single perfect exercise out there, it's about what works for YOU!