As the years have rolled by; our culture, society and our lifestyle has undergone a gradual but drastic change. It has also made us lazier and more lethargic, fitness has become a central concern in our lives and unfortunately the lack of it is something that we are constantly grappling with.
Staying healthy is by far one of the biggest challenges these days, with our lives shrinking indoors, we are falling prey to sedentary lifestyle. Studies after studies warn us against the debilitating effects of prolonged sitting and sedentary lifestyle. What do we do in turn? We make minuscule changes and expect miraculous results.
The need of the hour is to make a commitment to ourselves, to make realistic fitness goals and achieve them. We won’t begin by giving a lecture about joining a gym or taking up a hardcore, extensive fitness regime. We will share our insights on basic fitness and how you can achieve it the simplest way – take up cardio.
Why is Cardio important?
Putting it in simpler words, we need your heart to race and beat faster to make it exercise. Initially it will help our body lose all the glycogen stored in our liver (glucose/energy) followed by fat. For those who just can’t drag themselves off that couch, a range of cardio activities can not only help you take a step towards better health but can also engage and interest you to take up something more challenging. Most fitness experts are of the opinion that cardio sessions should always go hand-in-hand with some weight or strength training to achieve best result, but to begin with just a twenty minute brisk walk or light jogging will pave way for building stamina, prepping you for high intensity training.
Benefits of Cardio For Better Health
When your heart beats faster it facilitates rapid blood circulation. Not only does your heart get some serious exercise, it enables optimum oxygen supply to each and every nook of your body. It prevents risks of cardiovascular and associated ailments.
Other than this some other noticeable benefits of regular cardio activity would include the following:
– Helps in building muscle mass and losing weight
– Helps in building stamina
– Prevents cholesterol and high blood pressure
– Helps in maintaining bone density and age-related bone-mineral loss
– Aids in preventing bone related ailments like osteoporosis
– Helps in better supply of oxygen to brain, thereby improving brain function
– Improves mood, fights stress and help alleviate depression
– Helps in improving sleep quality.
– Improves concentration
– Helps build metabolism, resistance, recovery ability
– Is beneficial for diabetics by equipping muscles with an ability to make better and efficient use of blood glucose.
