Time for Exercise

Exercise is important. You probably wouldn’t be here if you didn’t believe that. But why is there so much emphasis on cardio exercise?

Cardiovascular exercise strengthens the entire body. It gets the heart pumping, the lungs working harder and involves all your muscles.

Cardio is generally done at a moderate level. Its goal is to improve overall fitness, rather than targeting individual muscle groups. It is a pretty decent calorie burner too.

The benefits go beyond calorie burning. Cardiovascular exercise tones your muscles, improves blood flow and reduces blood pressure. It can help your heart to pump more efficiently. It helps your respiratory system work more efficiently. It helps improve oxygen transport throughout your body.

All this means that you are decreasing your chances of cardiovascular disease. No guarantees, of course, since there is a lot more to your chances of cardiovascular disease than just your fitness level.

You don’t have to join a gym to get cardiovascular exercise. There are plenty of options you can do just about anywhere.

Walking is the simplest one. You walk a little bit every day, no matter what you do, but if you walk for longer periods you will see more of a benefit. Even walking a half hour a day is good.

If you’d like to pick up the pace literally, try running or jogging. If you have knee troubles, as run in my family, this isn’t so good a choice, but for many people it is excellent exercise.

Aerobic dance is another popular option. You can do it at home or at a gym. The wonderful thing is that you can do it with or without extra equipment. Some people like having steps to use while others do aerobic dance on their own.

Swimming is great cardiovascular exercise too. You can be practical and swim laps, do aerobic dance in the pool or even just play with the kids. Water provides a natural resistance. It’s also much easier on the joints since it provides some support to your body.

Cardio exercise is a natural addition to your fitness routine. It’s relatively easy to fit into your day even without a gym membership. Just get started and keep it up.