In this article, we are going to talk about cardio benefits.
what is cardio?
Cardio is exercise that raise your heart rate. These exercises are performed as intervals or endurance. Exercises such as cycling, running, swimming, jumping rope, etc. are some examples of cardio exercises. These exercises have many benefits that will be discussed further.
Burns significant calories
The first cardio benefits is burning significant calories. As we said in the article “how to lose weight fast“, in order to lose weight or prevent weight gain, the calories consumed during the day should be increased. One of the best choices is cardio. These exercises can burn significant calories in a short period of time.
For example, a 70 kg person burns about 400 calories in 30 minutes of running at a normal speed. If the running speed increases, the amount of calories burned becomes significant and can be great for those who want to lose fat. Here are some more examples of the amount of calories burned by cardio exercises:
- A 70 kg person burns about 300 calories in 30 minutes of cycling at a normal speed.
- Swimming can burn more than 300 calories every 30 minutes depending on the type of swimming and speed.
- Jumping rope can also burn at least 200 calories every 15 minutes. If the number of jumps per minute increases, this amount of calories burned will be much higher.
Helps weight loss
The second cardio benefit is to help with weight loss. All exercises are suitable for weight loss, but cardio exercises seem to be 100% effective. As we said, aerobic exercises burn a lot of calories and this helps a lot in weight loss. These types of exercises lead to increased blood circulation in the body, which can have a small effect on the fat burning process.
The researchers concluded that performing 6 to 12 months of endurance aerobic training has a significant effect on fat percentage. There is another type of aerobic exercise called interval, which can increase the amount of calories burned and fat burned. It seems that interval training can burn 28% more fat than endurance training.
Improves hormones function
Another cardio benefit is improving the function of hormones. Cardio can improve the sensitivity of body cells to insulin. One of the causes of obesity and diabetes is increased insulin resistance.
Bad eating habits and inactivity lead to a decrease in sensitivity to insulin. Aerobic exercises are a suitable and scientific solution to compensate for this.
Improves cardiovascular health
Frequent cardio exercise is robustly associated with a decrease in cardiovascular mortality as well as the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Reduces blood temperature
Another cardio benefit is lowering blood pressure. If your blood pressure is high and it is not yet in a critical condition, you can reduce your blood pressure by using cardio exercises without drugs.
Helps regulate blood sugar
Aerobic exercise can help regulate blood sugar. These exercises increase the sensitivity of body cells to insulin, and this will be very useful to prevent diabetes. Of course, resistance exercises have the same effect as aerobic exercises.
Relives back pain or knee pain
Some experts suggest aerobic exercises to improve back pain and knee pain. Swimming and water therapy is one of the best solutions for chronic back and knee pain. So, if you have such problems, do these sports after consulting your doctor.
Improves sleep quality
Another cardio benefit is improving sleep at night. These exercises help to sleep better at night by reducing stress, fatigue muscles and increasing blood circulation. Of course, using these exercises right before going to sleep will have a negative effect. The best time for these exercises is during the day.
Strengthens immune system
Regular exercise can strengthen the immune system. By performing cardio exercises, certain antibodies called immunoglobulin increase, and this leads to the strengthening of the body’s immune system.
Boosts mood
Another cardio benefit is mood improvement. In one study, those who took a 30-minute walk experienced fewer symptoms of depression after 10 days. So if you are not in a good mood, try 30 minutes of cardio exercise a day.
Cheap and Available
These types of exercises are cheap and do not require special facilities or high costs. They are also available. For example, running or cycling can be done most of the time and does not require special conditions.
Improves recovery
Another cardio benefit is faster recovery. Faster recovery is essential for athletes. Recovery means returning to the initial state before exercise. Athletes need to experience faster recovery to prevent injury and make further progress.
Researchers have proven that light cardio exercise like cycling can increase blood circulation and lead to faster recovery. So performing 10 minutes of light aerobic exercise after high pressure training will help a lot.
The best results for fat loss
After talking about cardio benefits, we need to talk about one more important point. Cardio exercises alone are good for burning fat, but if you want to get the best results, it is better to combine them with resistance exercises such as bodybuilding.
In this situation, you will experience more fat burning and you can build muscle. Another way to burn more fat is to use interval training. These exercises, which are in the group of high-pressure exercises, can increase metabolism and fat burning. It is better not to overuse interval training in one period and use it along with endurance training.
Examples of cardio
In the following, we provide some examples of cardio exercises that you can choose one or more according to your interest.
- Brisk walking
- Running
- Cycling
- Jumping rope
- Jumping jack
- High knees
- Swimming
- Playing soccer
- Burpee and etc.
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