Benefits of Cardio Workouts
May 14, 2010 by Daily Health
Filed under Fitness, Health, Weight Loss
Being fit and healthy is the single most important thing you can do for you and your body. Your body is the most valuable asset you will ever have in your lifetime so it is extremely important that you take good care of it. Give it the proper attention and fuel it needs.
When it comes to ensuring and maintaining health cardio training is valuable.
Cardio training involves any activity that requires the use of the large muscle groups of the body on a regular basis. It elevates the heart rate between 60 to 85 percent of its maximum capacity and should be maintained for at least twenty minutes. If you’re out of shape, this is something you will have to work up to. Five minutes is good for the first week or two with gradual increases in the next few weeks.
Cardio exercises include; walking, jogging, running, aerobics, cycling, tae bo, swimming and rowing.
What Are the Benefits of Training?
1. Increase energy in the body
2. Disease prevention
You lower your risks of heart disease with regular cardio training. It can also be helpful in preventing diseases like diabetes, obesity and even high cholesterol. Cardiovascular training strengthens the heart and lungs.
3. Weight control
Cardio training allows you to burn up extra calories the body doesn’t need. It will also help you lose extra weight. But don’t expect it to happen overnight. You didn’t get in this shape overnight and getting out of it may seem to take a lot longer. Be patient.
4. Lower body fat
Some people don’t have problem with their weight, but for the rest of us, its something we need to stay on top of. Taking in more calories than the body can use and not burning the extra calories off leads to the body creating fat from the extra calories.
5. Boredom buster
Cardio training can be a lot of fun if you choose exercises that you like. But it should be said that not everyone who keeps fit actually enjoy the work–they just enjoy the benefits.
Recommendations:
For beginners who are extremely out of shape, adding five minutes of cardio a day can be very beneficial. Even those five minutes will be tough in the beginning. Don’t give up. Just stick with it each day until you can do 30-45 minutes for at least 3 to 5 days per week.
Start now. Simple things you can do is to start walking or do aerobics. The only equipment required is a pair of good shoes. Set yourself some goals and stick with them.
Make better food choices. It’s impossible to completely change your diet and not revert back to old eating habits. Take it one food at a time, but no more than three at a time. Start making healthier choices and you’ll soon discover that your body actually likes nutritious food and those sugar and high carb cravings will disappear.
As you get used to adding minutes to your daily routine don’t forget about adding intensity once in awhile. If you’ve worked your way up to twenty minutes of exercise and it feels easy, add someting more intense and drop the minutes back down to fifteen until that feels easy. Work your way up to thirty minutes and then add more intensity. Remember, until you get in really good shape, it’s a good idea to drop some minutes off your routine when you add intensity.
Image courtesy: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3652/3665216111_f2c85d0838.jpg
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