Cardio workouts: the easiest way to improve your endurance
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Cardio workouts improve your immune system, help you stay fit and make you feel better every day.
With a cardio workout, you train your cardiovascular system (also known as circulatory system). Basically, it includes all activities that increase your heart rate, which causes you to burn calories and improve your endurance. These activities can be fitness exercises, performed in the gym or at home, but walking, running, cycling, spinning, cross-training and rowing also count as cardio workouts.
What are the benefits of cardio workouts?
Cardio workouts have many health benefits:
- Your heart functions more efficient by pumping more blood through your body in fewer beats per minute
- Your lungs can absorb more oxygen
- Your blood can transport more oxygen
- You can endure physical exertion for a longer period of time
- It is beneficial for your blood pressure
- It reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and bone decalcification
- It improves your immune system
- You feel better every day
Does cardio training help me to lose weight?
Cardio training is ideal to burn calories and to lose weight. Regular training sessions also improve your metabolism, causing you to burn fat instead of sugars and carbohydrates during everyday activities. This makes it easier to maintain a healthy weight. However, cardio training is not a prerequisite to lose weight. Nutrition is just as important. Always combine your training with the right food regimen to achieve the best results.
What is the best form of cardio training?
Sadly, there is no best form of cardio training. Each person is just too different. Your physique plays an important part in determining your workout, but other factors matter as well. For example your physical condition and how often you have been working out in the past. But most of all, it is important that you do something you like and something that suits you. You should be in it for the long run, literally and figuratively. If you want to achieve long term results, choose a workout that you can keep doing mentally and physically. Some people prefer to walk, others rather go for a run, cycle or swim.
Even with physical limitations, there are plenty of options to perform a cardio workout. For example, the recumbent bike is a great alternative for the exercise bike or regular bike and a treadmill with a REHA rail is ideal when you want to keep exercising during rehabilitation.
Does cardio training make you stronger?
Absolutely! Cardio training strengthens your muscles and improves your muscle endurance. For example, on an exercise bike you don’t just improve your endurance, you also train different muscle groups such as the quadriceps, calves, glutes and even the back and abdominal muscles. Cardio training doesn’t make you muscular, however. Strength training is required to get a muscular body, which is perfect to combine with cardio training.
From desk bike to sprinter bike
Be inspired by all possible options to work on your health and endurance from home. Walk, run, row, cycle, spin or cross-train in your living room or while working from home. Add an additional challenge to your workout by choosing a route from the other side of the world. There’s always something suited to your preferences.
