What are some of the key benefits of doing cardio for your health?

WEIGHT LOSS:

Cardio is a great for weight loss! A 30 min session of cardio can burn a high number of calories,

which will aid greatly in losing weight! Keep in mind, the intensity of the training will obviously determine the amount of calories burnt!

LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE:

Regular cardio exercise will help to improve the health of your heart. A healthy heart pushes out more blood with each beat, enabling it to function more efficiently. This decreases the stress on the heart and surrounding arteries, potentially reducing blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, cardiovascular exercise may help lower it. If you don’t have high blood pressure, exercise has been shown to help prevent it from rising as you age.

IMPROVE BLOOD FLOW:

Regular cardio-based physical activity enables the heart to achieve improved blood flow in the

small vessels around it, where blockages of fatty deposits can build over time. Better circulation

in these areas may prevent heart attacks. Evidence even shows that exercise can cause the

body to create more physical connections between these small blood vessels, meaning the blood

has more ways to travel to where it needs to go.

IMPROVES LUNG CAPACITY:

Many people tend to shy away from cardio because it can be tough to breathe as you perform

the exercise. However, that heavy breathing you are experiencing is actually improving your

lungs. Cardio will increase your lung capacity as you push your breathing ability to the limit

during a tedious workout. This has a whole range of benefits, right down to just being able to breath more easily!

GREAT FOR MENTAL HEALTH:

This is a big one! Since cardio exercise releases endorphins, another benefit is that it simply makes you feel good afterward. Cardio is a healthy way to combat mental health issues like depression, anxiety, or stress. Many people have coined the feeling one experiences after physical conditioning as a “runners high.” While it has this name, you don’t just need to be running to get it, and a lot of people can even experience similar endorphin release through weights training! Aside from the endorphins, as you are doing cardio, you are challenging yourself mentally. There are bound to be many times throughout your workout when you feel like you may quit. Pushing through a tough workout and eventually finishing gives you a great sense of accomplishment and leads to a natural “high” you may feel afterward. When you get into the routine of doing cardio exercise, you will start to feel better about yourself overall and improve your confidence.

TYPES OF CARDIO YOU CAN DO (to list a few!):

Running, stair climbs, skipping, walking, boxing, ball slams, rowing, cycling, swimming, kettle bell swings and sprints, are just a few types of exercises you can do for your cardio fitness.

Keep in mind though, while cardo is an important aspect of training and staying healthy, it’s also just as important to include strength training into your workout regime, to make sure all muscles are activating correctly and to maintain good strength, mobility and posture!