7 Reasons Why You Need Cardio Today
1. Cardio keeps muscles in good shape
Cardio exercises will not help you bulk up, but if you do them often enough and intensively, you can keep your muscles in good shape and increase their volume a little. Review of Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy after Aerobic Exercise Training 14 scientific studies have shown that if a person performs cardio at moderate to high intensity for 45 minutes four days a week, leg muscles increase by 5-6%.
2. Aerobic exercise improves heart and lung health
Aerobic exercise, especially swimming, helps your body use oxygen more efficiently. Cardio reduces your resting heart rate and breathing rate, which is an indication of cardiovascular health.
3. Cardio reduces the stiffness of the muscles of the heart
With age, many people move less, which increases the stiffness of the heart muscles, including the left chamber, a muscle that plays a key role in supplying the body with fresh, oxygenated blood.
Erin J. Howden's 2017 study Reversing the Cardiac Effects of Sedentary Aging in Middle Age —A Randomized Controlled Trial: Implications For Heart Failure Prevention found that regular cardio can help prevent and even reverse heart stiffness.
The study participants were divided into two groups. One group under the supervision of scientists engaged in cardio exercises for 4-5 days a week, and the other performed asanas and exercises to develop balance. Two years later, people from the first group noted significant improvements in heart function.
4. Cardio has a positive effect on bowel function
A small 2017 study, Exercise changes gut microbial composition independent of diet, team reports, found that cardio exercise can change gut microbial composition independent of diet and other factors. The subjects exercised 3-5 times a week for six weeks, after which they increased the amount of butyric acid, which reduces inflammation and oxidative stress, and increases local immunity.
5. Cardio Lowers Bad Cholesterol
Differential Effects of Aerobic Exercise, Resistance Training and Combined Exercise Modalities on Cholesterol and the Lipid Profile: Review, Synthesis and Recommendations 13 scientific studies have shown that aerobic exercise is associated with lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), also known as bad cholesterol. LDL directly affect the occurrence of atherosclerotic plaques on the walls of blood vessels, which increases the risk of a heart attack.
6. Aerobic exercise protects against diabetes
Chinese study Effects of diet and exercise in preventing NIDDM in people with impaired glucose tolerance. The Da Qing IGT and Diabetes Study found that even small amounts of cardio (20 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, 10 minutes of vigorous exercise, or 5 minutes of very intense exercise once or twice a day) almost halved the risk of diabetes.
7. Cardio improves skin condition
The Younger Skin Through Exercise study by researchers at McMaster University found that regular exercisers over 40 have better skin than less active peers. The general skin condition of active participants resembles those of twenty- or thirty-year-old people.
It's not yet clear how exercise affects skin health, but scientists found that after exercise, subjects had increased levels of interleukin-15, a cytokine that is critical to cell health.