Cardio: Why It’s Crucial for Your Workout Regimen

It’s all too easy to get caught up in your reps at the gym and never make time for cardio. We’ve all been there! While strength-building exercises target one or two muscle groups at a time, cardio challenges your entire body, making it an exhausting way to exercise. But, that’s certainly no reason to skip out on it altogether.

In fact, cardio is critical to not just physical fitness, but overall well-being. Everyone needs at least a weekly dose of cardio in their workout schedule, and here’s why:

Heart Health

We all need to maintain a healthy heart, especially as we age. Consistently doing cardio exercise will lower your resting heart rate, meaning that your heart will become more efficient at pumping blood throughout your body with each beat. Over time, just a few sessions of cardio per week will improve your cardiovascular health and minimize the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Stamina

Cardio builds stamina and will help you endure long workouts without becoming exhausted quickly. When you can withstand intense gym sessions, you’ll get stronger, faster–and who wouldn’t want that? Biking, swimming, and running are all great examples of cardio workouts that will build endurance and boost your overall fitness level.

Weight Management

As a general rule of thumb, cardio burns more calories than weight lifting and strength exercises. That’s because cardio, such as running or biking, is aerobic exercise that lifts your heart rate. So, when it comes to managing the number on the scale and burning off the calories you consume, there’s no substitute for cardio.

Being in amazing shape requires so much more than repetitions of the same strength exercise, over and over again. Cardio is a critical component of all athletes’ fitness regimens, and it should be included in your workout schedule, too. Trust me, you’ll feel better, look better, and be healthier than ever.