How Cardio Training Improves Your Overall Health
If you’re on a mission to jumpstart a healthier lifestyle, you know that fitness is one of the most important aspects of that. Any fitness journey should come with a plan. No matter what your goal is, whether it’s weight loss or muscle gain, if you don’t have a plan of action, you won’t see lasting results. Any end goal you have should include some form of cardio to reap some extra benefits from your workouts.
Increases Cardiovascular Health
As its name implies, including cardio work in your regular training plan benefits your cardiovascular system as a whole. If you run regularly, your chances of getting heart disease will decrease significantly. Because cardio burns more calories on average than regular strength training, including it in your workout can help you lose weight and excess fat, including fat in arteries surrounding your heart. This alone greatly reduces your risk of developing heart disease later in life and leaves you a stronger person overall.
On top of decreasing your overall fat level, adding running into your workout routine will also help build your endurance. As your heart gets stronger, it won’t need to work as hard to pump blood to every cell in your body. This will leave your energy levels higher for longer, allowing you to continue working out for a longer period without tiring. Building a running lifestyle can improve your energy levels even hours after you’re done, leaving you more able to conquer the day ahead of you. By improving your cardiovascular health with running, you can see improvements in many realms of your life.
Improves Sleep and Lowers Stress
In addition to improving your heart health, adding running to your fitness practice can also greatly improve your downtime. Running and other forms of cardio release endorphins, which reduce your overall stress level. Lowering your stress can help you relax after the tension you deal with during your daily life, making running a great stress reliever. This endorphin rush is commonly known as a “runner’s high,” and helps people across the world leave their stress at the door.
Not only does the flood of endorphins help to relieve stress but it also helps you sleep better. By putting your body into a much more relaxed state, falling and staying asleep will be much easier. Beyond that, studies have shown that running regularly increases the amount of deep sleep you get each night. This deep sleep stage is where your body heals and recuperates, so spending more time here will help you feel more energized the next morning. If you struggle with stress or insomnia, consider incorporating running into your regular fitness routine.
Slows Down Early Aging
Finally, training cardio in the form of running can even help prevent early-onset aging. By working out regularly, you can keep your joints healthy and prevent issues such as arthritis. These issues may never be completely unavoidable, but training regularly has proven to reduce your risk greatly. Keeping your body working no matter what age you’re at will have you feeling and moving at your best level.
Running can also help improve your memory, believe it or not. When you run, your brain tends to produce more brain cells on a regular basis, leading to quicker brain function and improved memory. Not only can these effects be short-term, but they can last for years to come. Studies have even shown that running regularly can help prevent dementia in your later years. Because of these effects, adding a regular run to your lifestyle is worth getting a little sweaty.
Conclusion
No matter what you’re chasing after in your fitness journey, whether you’re in a weightlifting competition or simply looking to increase your mobility, running is a huge benefit to you. Of course, you’ll see immediate effects in your training routine, but you’ll reap the rewards for years to come. Overall, if you’re wanting to level up your regular workouts, consider adding a run to the schedule.
