It is a common trend these days in the fitness community that cardio is not required, and that resistance training and forms of exercise such as yoga alone is enough to live a healthy and fulfilling life.

While it’s important to understand that any exercise is good exercise, to say that cardio exercise can’t play a role is simply not true.

Cardiovascular exercise training has multiple health benefits that you simply cannot find anywhere else.

Health Benefits Of Cardio Fitness Training

1. Improved eyesight

Something that wasn’t even considered until recent studies is that improved circulation extends to the eyes and the blood flow to the retina and may potentially lead to improved vision.

2. Improved cognition/memory

The improved blood flow to your eyes also extends to your entire head, including your brain. Without goign all science-ey on you, increased cerebral blood flow improves the efficiency of its neurons, which drastically improves their performance and general cognitively ability. Checks out.

3. Improved recovery times from physical activity

The more you exercise, the more efficient your body becomes at the uptake and utilisation of oxygen, which is the foundation of fitness – how fast can your body use the oxygen and get rid of the carbon dioxide.

Weightlifters often skip cardio due to a fear of not seeing the benefits for muscle growth; however the improved recovery time alone that comes from improved fitness, can help to perform weight training with more intensity. This ultimately leads to better muscle growth over time!

4. Improved breathing control and quality

For people who are frequently out of breath, suffer from asthma or other breathing disorders can significantly improve their symptoms by incorporating some regular cardio exercise into their weekly routine. This is due to the fact your lungs require blood flow to perform gaseous exchange at the lungs (in the alveoli).

Cardio fitness is all about helping your body to become more efficient – at the way it moves blood around, can uptake and utilise oxygen, and get rid of waster product. The more you do, the better your lung become!

5. Improved mental health

Most cardio activity is linked with the release of feel-good hormones, known as endorphins. The endorphins released during exercise help alleviate symptoms of depression, anxiety and grief. It shares the #1 spot with meditation for ways to improve your mental health without the use of prescription medication.

Conclusion:

The research for these benefits have been thoroughly investigated and therefore can be trusted. A fitter body is able to operate smoother and more efficiently and the key to getting there is cardio exercise!

When starting any new diet or nutritional program, we recommend that you seek the advice and support of a qualified professional to ensure that it is suitable for you and your individual circumstances.