Cardiovascular exercise boosts your health in many ways. Regular aerobic activity makes everyday tasks like taking the stairs and playing with your kids a lot easier. You will also lower your risk of contracting diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Chances are you’ll have a lot of fun doing it as well.

CARDIO IMPROVES YOUR BODY

A Stronger Heart and Lungs

Your heart is a muscle. Like all muscles, it becomes stronger with exercise. Aerobic exercise strengthens your heart, lungs and blood vessels. Cardiovascular fitness is your body’s ability to take in and use oxygen. Being fit makes it easier for your heart to pump blood throughout your body.

Reduced Risk of Disease

Cardiovascular exercise reduces your risk of many diseases including heart disease and diabetes. 30 minutes or more of moderate aerobic exercise, five times (or more) a week is recommended for good health. If you are a beginner, you can work up to that gradually.

Stronger Immune System

Cardiovascular exercise strengthens your immune system and can help fight off infections. It reduces stress and inflammation, increases blood flow and strengthens antibodies. Cardio increases the activity of immune cells in the bloodstream looking for viruses.

CARDIO IMPROVES YOUR MIND

Reduce depression, anxiety and stress

Cardio can reduce the symptoms of depression. For many people, it works as well as antidepressants. It can also lower your risk of developing depression in the future.

Cardio releases endorphins which improve your sense of well-being and elevates your mood. This reduces stress and anxiety, and improves your self-esteem.

Improves Sleep

Aerobic exercise helps you fall asleep faster and improves the quality of your sleep. It’s important to complete your workout more than two hours before bedtime.

Improves Thinking Skills and Memory

A good cardio session improves your focus, clarity and positive outlook. Regular aerobic exercise boosts your memory and thinking skills.

CARDIO HELPS YOU MANAGE YOUR WEIGHT

Burn Lots of  Calories

You can burn a lot of calories doing cardio. Switching up short bouts of high intensity with longer steady-state workouts is the way to go.

Boost Your Metabolism

Aerobic exercise boosts your metabolism so you will burn more calories daily.

Reduce Belly Fat

Cardio is one of the best ways to reduce belly fat.

BEGINNING YOUR CARDIO REGIMEN

If you are new to exercise, you can start small and build up from there. A five minute walk, ideally first thing in the morning can do wonders for your mood. Gradually work up to a more brisk walk for a longer duration.

At home you can try cardio moves like mountain climbers, jumping jacks, jump roping or high knees.

BOOSTING YOUR CARDIO REGIMEN

The best way to get your cardio fix is to mix it up. You want to vary the frequency, duration and intensity of your workouts. This prevents boredom and overtraining certain muscles. Start with an activity that you enjoy, such as jogging, dancing, cycling or roller skating.

High Intensity Interval Training

On days you are super motivated and/or short on time you can try HIIT, or high intensity interval training. These workouts are for people who are already conditioned. You’re going to work out for close to maximum effort for short bursts, followed by periods of low intensity or rest.

If you want to try a Tabata workout, you will work hard for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds. Do this eight times through for 4 minutes, repeating for the desired number of cycles.

You could also do 30 seconds of intense activity followed by 30 seconds of easy activity. Once you’ve mastered that, work up to a 60/60 second split. If you are a well conditioned runner, cyclist or rower try a quarter mile hard, and then a quarter mile easy. You can work up to a mile hard, a mile easy.

Steady State Cardio

It's good to alternate high-intensity or interval days with steady state workouts. If you recently did sprints or HIIT, go for a long steady run at a moderate pace.

Working at a lower intensity for an extended period of time is also great for beginners. It releases endorphins and boosts your endurance while requiring less effort.

High Intensity Strength Training

You can get cardio benefits from your strength training workouts as well. In fact, if you want to lose fat fast, strength training with an elevated heart rate is your ticket. You need to have a good athletic foundation for this type of workout. Perform fast intense circuits, targeting different muscle groups back to back. You could also do short sets of heavy weights.

Better Body Conditioning

The ideal program to improve body composition includes both cardio and strength training.

This is exactly what I do in my Better Body Conditioning class on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:30am.

You can join us in the Golden Home Fitness studio at 30 School Street in North Andover.

The classes are also streamed live on YouTube. [search “Golden Home Fitness": Better Body Conditioning Class with Coach Laura”].

This is a fun, quick and simple way to get your cardio in!

RECOVERY

Regardless of how you incorporate cardio into your life, proper recovery is key. Listen to your body and take rest days when needed. Try to get seven to nine hours of quality sleep every night. Fortunately, doing lots of cardio can help you sleep like a baby!

TAKE AWAY

Cardio boosts your health. It lowers your risk of contracting many diseases, including heart disease and diabetes. Aerobic exercise makes your heart, lungs and blood vessels stronger. It also boosts your immune system.

Cardiovascular exercise lowers stress, anxiety and depression, and helps you sleep better. Fitting cardio into your days may also improve your thinking and memory.

Aerobic exercise is great for weight management. You will burn lots of calories, boost your metabolism and fight belly fat.

If you are new to exercise, start slow and build up your endurance gradually. Walking is a great place to begin.

For more seasoned athletes, mixing it up is ideal. Try High Intensity Interval Training and alternate it with some steady state cardio. You can train without overworking certain muscles, getting bored or getting injured.

Cardiovascular exercise is fun and exhilarating. It improves your physical and mental wellbeing in countless ways. But be forewarned – I know from personal experience, that aerobic exercise can be very habit forming!
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Military.com; health.harvard.edu; healthline.com; medicalnewstoday.com; wikihow.com; livestrong.com; xtremefitstpete.com; insider.com; runnersworld.com; dignityhealth.org; hopkinsmedicine.org