One of the components for a healthy and fit lifestyle is cardiovascular workout. A cardio workout (if done right) keeps your heart healthy, reduces fat, and can keep you in better shape which will help in life.
You can diet all you want to, but it will only get you so far when it comes to removing that stubborn body fat. That’s why cardio is absolutely crucial when you’re looking to loose weight . You have to get the heart pumping to help lose those excess pounds.
Cardiovascular exercise is any type of exercise that increases the work of the heart and lungs; it keeps your heart and respiratory system in good working condition. Oxygenated blood pumps through your system, flushing out lactic acid. Lactic acid builds up in muscle tissue over time due to life’s everyday stresses. You may have noticed knots of tension in the back of your neck, shoulders and upper back. Cardio helps loosens up those knots of tension and flushes them out of your system. The result is pain relief, reduced tension and renewed freedom of movement. Cardio can even help your body build more capillaries!
Cardiovascular exercise is a great stress relief; for your mental and your physical health.
A good cardio workout not only burns fat, but tones muscles throughout your entire body! It’s definitely a two-for-one bonus! There’s no sense in burning fat if you’re not toning what you’re uncovering. Besides looking great, here are some of the added health bonuses from integrating cardio as part of your active lifestyle:
- Improving circulation
- Lowering blood pressure
- Increasing lung capacity
- Strengthening the heart
- Increasing red blood cell count to mobilize oxygen throughout the entire body
- Increasing endurance
- Reducing the risk of death from cardiovascular problems
What are common mistakes of cardiovascular exercise:
- Always doing the same exercise for cardio. There are dozens of ways and machines to integrate cardio in your life; bicycling, walking, elyptical trainer, swimming, step aerobics, running, rowing, walking. Most people choose one form and stick with it.
- Never changing intensity.
- Holding onto the machine (i.e. treadmill)
- Carrying weights around
- Go with a cardio exercise that doesn’t fit your body (overweight people who run; nonathletic people who run)