What’s up, fitness fans?
In today’s article, we’re putting down the dumbbells, stepping away from the squat rack, lacing up our running shoes, and talking cardio.
To be precise, we’re going to be talking about the many benefits of cardio exercises that people can enjoy.
In the last decade, health experts and officials have become increasingly concerned about an epidemic.
No, this isn’t the epidemic you’re thinking of, this one came a long way, way before 2020.
The epidemic in question is obesity.
Years ago, statistics revealed that as a nation, we are simply becoming fatter.
There are no two ways around it, we’re getting fatter, our waistlines are expanding, our BMIs are increasing, and our life expectancies are shrinking.
In a world where we have access to superior nutrition, science, technology, modern medicine, and fitness equipment, that simply should not be happening.
As many of you know, if you are looking to lose weight and shed a few pounds, one of the first things you should do is cardio.
Cardiovascular exercise is beneficial regardless of your weight, gender, age, shape, size, creed, color, or circumstance, yet not enough of us do it on a regular basis.
We want to change that.
What Are The Benefits Of Cardio Exercises?
Here’s a look at several benefits that will have your pulse racing.
1. Strengthen Your Immune System
If there’s a year that highlighted the importance of a strong and healthy immune system, that year was 2020, and the more we can do for our immune systems, the better.
One of the main benefits is the fact that cardio has been shown to significantly boost the immune system.
Aerobic exercise helps to strengthen your body’s natural defenses, helping to protect you against illness and disease.
2. Cardio Can Be Done Quickly
Want to do cardio but don’t have a spare hour to spend on the treadmill?
No problem, just try a high-intensity cardio workout instead.
High-intensity cardio workouts such as HIIT training, will burn off hundreds of calories and take just 20 minutes on average to complete.
3. Burn Excess Body Fat
If you could stand to lose a few pounds, as well as clean eating and a moderate caloric deficit, ideally you should make an effort to do more cardiovascular exercise.
Cardio exercise is a great way of burning calories, and one of the main benefits is the harder you work, the greater your fat loss rewards will be.
A moderately high-intensity cardio workout could easily burn off 400 – 600 calories in an hour, if not more.
Take part in several of these workouts each week, and providing your diet is clean, the weight will fall off.
4. Cardio Costs Nothing
If you want to do your cardio on an expensive treadmill, a Concept 2 rowing machine, exercise bike, elliptical machine, or anything else, then that’s absolutely fine.
If however, you want to do your cardio for absolutely no cost whatsoever, another of the great benefits is that you can.
Cardio doesn’t have to cost you a single cent as you can go walking around the neighborhood, you can go jogging in the park, hiking, and much more besides.
If your budget is tight, cardio can be done for free.
5. Cardio Can Be Done Anywhere
Another one of the many benefits that we can’t overlook is the fact that cardio can be done anywhere, at any time.
If you don’t like gyms or don’t have access to a gym, no problem, you can still do cardio virtually anywhere.
You can go for a jog, go hiking, cycling, swimming, and heaps more besides.
6. Cardio Is Easy To Master
There are some exercises and workouts out there that require heaps of research due to the fact that they are so technical and that it is so tough to get the form and technique right.
With cardio, however, there’s little to master.
Often, something as simple as walking, or jogging, is all that is needed when it comes to a cardio workout which is yet another reason why it’s so great.
7. Cardio Is Fantastic For Your Heart
The word cardio is actually derived from the ancient Greek word for heart, so that right there shows you just how amazing the heart cardio really is.
Cardiovascular exercise is beneficial for your heart and cardiovascular system and could therefore help to one day save your life.
Cardio lowers your risk of stroke, heart disease, heart attack, and heaps more besides, and is so simple to do.
Heat disease is the world’s biggest killer, so if you can look after your heart, you should look after your heart.
8. Cardio Workouts Can Be Fun
Okay, plodding along on treadmills for 45 minutes at a time probably isn’t everybody’s idea of fun, but the great thing about cardio is that it doesn’t have to be that way.
If you want to make your cardio workouts fun, you can.
You can try HIIT workouts, you can try cardio circuit training, you could go cycling, play racquetball, play any other sport, go swimming, whatever you enjoy.
As long as it’s physically active, it will count as cardio.
9. Cardio Improves Your General Health And Wellbeing
When people mention the many benefits, one benefit that pops up again, and again, and again, is that cardiovascular exercise is fantastic for improving all-around health and wellness.
Cardio manages a wide variety of chronic health issues from diabetes and obesity, to hypertension and heart disease.
10. Cardio Improves Your Mental Health
When it comes to the benefits, it isn’t just the physical benefits that we should focus on.
It has been found that cardio exercise is also incredibly beneficial for a person’s mental health as well.
With mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and stress at an all-time high at the moment, managing our mental health has been found to be of paramount importance,
Cardio helps to promote the release of endorphins in the body that are responsible for feelings of happiness and good mental health in general.
11. Cardio Promotes Sleep
Sticking somewhat with the mental health theme, another very important benefit of cardio that we shouldn’t overlook is the fact that cardio also promotes a good night’s sleep.
A lack of sleep can drain your energy and your mood and can leave you feeling fatigued and down.
Because cardio tires you out, while also promoting the release of endorphins and neurotransmitters such as melatonin which is a chemical released that is responsible for sleep if you do suffer from insomnia, a good cardio workout will soon put that right.
12. So Many Different Options
Another awesome benefit that we need to focus on is the fact that cardio offers participants so many different options to choose from.
Of course, there is running, but you have cycling, swimming, playing games, athletics, dancing, boot camps, fitness classes, and heaps more besides.
With so many different choices out there, you’ll never run out of cardio options.
13. Great Way To Socialize
If you are feeling isolated and want to get out there and socialize again after 2020 and being stuck at home for so long, cardio is a great way to do that.
Because there are so many different fitness groups and classes for you to take part in, you’ll find it easier than ever to socialize with other people, make new friends, and perhaps strike up new relationships and workout buddies.
14. Reduce Your Blood Pressure
We’ve already touched upon how cardio can reduce blood pressure, but now we’ll expand upon that and explain why it’s so important.
High blood pressure is known technically as ‘hypertension’.
It is a condition that is very tough to diagnose and it is one that could potentially lead to a heart attack, stroke, renal failure, and plenty more possibly fatal conditions.
Cardio exercise helps to reduce blood pressure, making it a safe and effective way to lower a person’s blood pressure without prescription drugs.
15. Cardio Can Control Your Blood Sugar Levels
If you’re concerned about diabetes, or if you just want to keep your blood glucose levels under control, cardio is the perfect way of doing exactly that.
Cardio regulates insulin levels, improves insulin sensitivity, lowers insulin resistance, and it helps to control blood sugar levels in general.
16. Cardio Can Reduce Back Pain
People in general, are spending too much time sitting down, hunched over at their desks looking at a screen and their posture is paying the price.
If you suffer from back pain through bad posture, cardio is beneficial because most cardio activities require the back muscles to become engaged slightly, without putting too much pressure on them.
This over time, promotes improvements in mobility and flexibility while easing muscle pain and stiffness.
17. Cardio Can Improve Cognitive Function
One of the lesser-known benefits is the fact that cardio has been found to improve cognitive function.
Cardio exercise can help you to feel more mentally alert, it can improve concentration, speed up reaction times, promote mental clarity, and a whole lot more on top of that.
There is even evidence that links regular cardiovascular exercise with a reduced risk of dementia or similar degenerative mental health disease later on in life.
18. Good For The Arteries
Okay, technically this next example of the benefits could be applied to the fact that cardio is great for the heart, but as it’s such an important benefit it deserves its own section, so here we are.
Cardio is great for your arteries as it helps to keep them clear by increasing good cholesterol in the form of HDL and lowering bad cholesterol in the form of LDL cholesterol.
LDL cholesterol causes fatty blockages and build-ups in the arteries that can eventually lead to blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes.
Cardio helps to lower LDL cholesterol and boost HDL cholesterol, making it perfect for the arteries.
19. Promote Longevity And Quality Of Life
The simple fact of the matter is that cardio on a regular basis will increase your chances of living longer, while also improving your quality of life.
Cardio will help to keep your weight down which will be better for your joints, you’ll be fitter, you’ll look better, you’ll be happier, and you’ll be healthier.
20. Promotes Mobility
As we just mentioned, another of the many benefits is the fact that cardio has been found to promote mobility and flexibility.
Cardio on a regular basis will make you more agile, you’ll find it easier to bend and stretch, you’ll be more mobile, your joints will be healthier, and you’ll be more flexible.
21. Boosts Circulation
Cardio not only lowers blood pressure but has also been found to boost your circulation and help improve blood flow.
Having good circulation is great for your cells, it’s good for the immune system, and it’s good for your energy levels as more blood flow means more oxygen being transported to the cells for energy.
Final Thoughts On Cardio:
So, as you can see, there are heaps upon heaps of benefits of cardio exercises to be enjoyed, so is cardio really as great as experts believe?
Well, as you can see from the list of benefits – absolutely.
Cardio is great for losing weight and getting fit, but it is great for so much more as well.
Cardio helps to promote good mental health, it heals your body, and it can improve your quality of life too.
For those reasons, and many more besides, we strongly recommend you do more of it.
