Importance of Strength Training for Runners & Non Runners

The Benefits of a Cardio Workout

aerobics

Put simply, Cardio (cardiovascular) exercise is anything that elevates or increases your heart rate. Cardio exercise increases your circulation and blood flow throughout your body. Cardio exercise is an important component of any balanced exercise routine. There are SO many health benefits of doing cardio exercise.

Here are just a few:

1. It improves your fitness

Cardio (or aerobic) exercise like powerwalking, jogging, swimming, riding – improves your body’s ability to deliver oxygen to your muscles. It also helps your muscles become more efficient at using that oxygen. The more you exercise your heart, the better and more efficient it becomes, which in turn reduces your risk of having a heart attack.

2. It helps with weight loss

Combining cardio exercise(the more intense the better), eating right and doing regular strength training you will lose weight.

3. Can help to reduce your blood pressure

When you improve your fitness, you can reduce high blood pressure, which is a one of the major factors that contributes to heart attack or stroke.

4. It can increase your levels of good HDL cholesterol

The good cholesterol (HDL), removes deposits of bad (LDL) cholesterol from your blood and sends it to the liver to be excreted from your body. Having excess LDL cholesterol is linked with heart disease, because it blocks the flow of blood to your heart. By improving your cardio fitness, you boost the levels of HDL cholesterol in your body.

5. Helps build strong, healthy bones

When you do weight bearing exercise, like jogging, you put your bones under stress. In response to this, your body increases your bone mineral density to make your bones stronger – this is great for keeping osteoporosis at bay.

6. Helps to make your immune system stronger

Taking part in regular exercise, including cardio you are stimulating the production of cells in your blood, that helps to fight off bugs (bacteria and viruses), therefore helping to build a strong immune system.

7. Gives you the feel good hormones

Doing cardio exercise can lead to the release of the feel good hormones, otherwise known as endorphins – this is the chemicals in the brain that produce a sense of happiness and wellbeing. As an off shoot of this, cardio exercise can also help relieve stress, improve self-confidence and self-esteem.

8. Helps you sleep better

Doing cardio activity, especially in the morning, helps to set your body clock so that you are wide awake during the day and sleepy at night.

9. It will increase your stamina & gives you more energy

When you are doing cardio exercise, you might feel tired while doing it, or right after the activity, but in the long term, you will be increasing your stamina and reduce fatigue, but also giving you more energy!

But don’t forget, eating right and doing conditioning and strength work is just as important as cardio. Doing all three of these, will ensure you are as fit and healthy as possible – while making you tone up and lose weight as well. Bonuses all round really!

If you want some cardio exercise ideas, here are some for you:

  • Power walking
  • Jogging/running/sprinting
  • Bike riding
  • Swimming
  • Skipping
  • Jumping, hopping
  • Step ups
  • Aerobics
  • Boxing
  • Rowing
  • Bush walking
  • Skiing
  • Roller blading

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Importance of Strength Training for Runners & Non Runners