5 Biggest Benefits of Cardio Worth Sweating For
"Cardio" is short for cardiovascular exercise, which is any type of physical activity that raises your heart rate and works your cardiovascular system.
This type of exercise is important for maintaining good health and reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other chronic illnesses.
Cardiovascular exercises can include activities such as running, cycling, swimming, brisk walking, dancing, and many others. These exercises require the use of large muscle groups and can be done for an extended period of time, typically 20-30 minutes or more, to increase heart rate and oxygen consumption.
These are 5 benefits of adding cardio to your workout routine.
Increase Cardiovascular Health
Cardio workouts strengthen your heart and also reduce your risk of heart disease. When you’re doing cardio, you’re:
Increasing your HDL cholesterol – the good cholesterol
Lowering LDL cholesterol – the bad cholesterol
Over time, cardio will improve your heart strength and make it easier for your heart to pump blood through your body. If you engage in 40 minutes of aerobic exercise, you can also lower your blood pressure without needing medication.
Reduce Chronic Pains
If you’re focusing on preventing injury, you’ll find that cardio can also help reduce chronic pain if you engage in the correct type of cardio. In addition, low-impact cardio, such as rowing or using an elliptical, won’t put stress on the joints and can help you lose weight.
Maintaining a healthy weight reduces chronic pain, especially in the back, knees and ankles.
Aids in Sleep
Do you toss and turn in bed? Unfortunately, recovery is one of the most neglected parts of fitness. Seattle is a fast-paced city, and people are trying to fit as much as possible into a single day. As a result, sleep is often put on the backburner as people stay up later to make the most of their 24 hours.
Studies show that cardio sessions can help improve sleep, treat insomnia and improve wakefulness.
A challenging cardio session can leave you exhausted, making it much easier to sleep at night.
Helps Regulate Weight
Are you trying to lose weight? Many members focus on their nutrition, but they’re not trying to maximize calories burned per day. Cardio can help regulate your weight, with a session burning 300 to 600 calories depending on the intensity and other factors.
If you want to burn more calories, add cardio sessions to your workout routine.
Boosts Immune System
A sedentary lifestyle does impact your immune system negatively. For example, one study found that 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity per day led to:
Increase in antibodies
Stronger immune system
Reduction in cortisol levels
You can do cardio on your days off of weight training, or you can add it to the beginning or end of your workout session.
Cardio has many benefits (you’ve read about them above), but it doesn’t need to be boring. For example, you don’t need to run if it’s something you dislike. Instead, you can cycle, swim, go for a fast walk, play tennis or soccer or even engage in an exercise class.