It may be the most important part of your overall fitness, yet it is one of the more neglected aspects of fitness. Cardiovascular fitness is a very important part of people’s overall health because unlike other types of exercise, cardiovascular fitness increases the body’s ability to provide oxygen rich blood to your muscles as they work. The energy needed to promote an active lifestyle is derived from this improved ability of the body to use oxygen effectively. Cardiovascular fitness carries with it many benefits, for both everyday health as well as some medical. By performing some cardiovascular exercises a few times a week, an individual can increase their own longevity by a few years. In so many different ways, cardiovascular exercise is able to affect the human body on various levels from the heart, to the lunges, the muscles, blood, etc. Many people wait until they become sick or simply face some serious health complications and then have to depend on different medicines or vaccines to recover and even then, they are not back at a 100%. Cardiovascular fitness is a great prevention tool that if use properly can help people to avoid some of the unnecessary complications people experience time and time again. Apart from burning calories to achieve fat loss, cardio fitness helps to release serotonin which regulates people’s mood. Furthermore, the increased energy received from cardio exercises allow you to do more of the things you love with the people you love.

A Versatile Workout

The great thing about cardiovascular exercises is that they can be almost anything and in addition, they can be done anywhere. If you are the type of person that loves the great outdoors then that’s not a problem. If you are the type of person that is introverted by nature and prefer to stay indoor then that’s not a problem either. Cardiovascular exercise is described as any activity rhythmic in nature that is done consistent for a designated amount of time. It must also work your muscles while improving the consumption of oxygen. Whether you prefer to use equipment found at the local gym or freehand, there is cardio program out there for you. The possibilities are endless when it comes to cardio workouts. Depending on what kinds of activities you enjoy, you can turn it into a cardio exercise. For instance, if you are a big fan of kickboxing or mixed martial arts, you can copy the routine of your favorite fighter and do it for about 45 min to 60 min. Therefore, if your favorite fighter likes to do jab, jab, cross, swing kick combo then you can turn that into a workout. Some people really enjoy activities such as swimming. Swimming is one of the more renowned exercises because it works every muscle in the body. In addition, swimming increases a person’s oxygen consumption which makes it an excellent cardio exercise. People usually get hung up on what the best kinds of cardiovascular exercise are but the fact of the matter is that they are all really good. The most important thing is to make sure that whatever you choose to do is intense. Intensity pressures your body to grow and adapt which promotes physical changes.

Cardiovascular Fitness for Weight Loss

For the simple purpose of weight loss, a lot of fail to acknowledge the fact that cardiovascular fitness is the best solution. You will find many people that are in pretty good shape but simply want to shed the unwanted fat around the abdominal muscles to show off their six pack abs. These individuals usually believe that if they do a few crunches or sit ups that they will get the six pack abs they desire but are constantly met with disappointment. What these individuals and many like them do not understand is that there is no such thing as spot reduction. Cardiovascular exercises in conjunction with a reduction in caloric intake are the only way to decrease the fat around the mid section, thighs, arms, etc.

There are many people who understand that it is important to perform cardio workouts if they want to burn large amounts of fat and they will go to the gym 5 days a week for up to an hour. The sad thing is that these people work very hard but after performing these activities for a month or more, they look in the mirror and they see little to no results at all. If they are doing the right thing then why are they not seeing any results? The answer is that many of these individuals go about doing things completely the wrong way. This is why it is important to understand how the body operates. The human body is a miraculous work of art. Many people do not know that the body is continuously adapting to the various challenges it faces. The more the body performs a particular activity at the same speed and intensity, the more it adapts to those strains, the easier that activity becomes and the fewer calories are burned each time.

Unfortunately, this is the mistake people continuously make when exercising. In order to consistently burn calories, you must relentlessly increase the intensity. You cannot give the body an opportunity to adapt to the exercise. If you allow the body to become accustomed to a particular exercise done at the same speed, the same way then you can potentially begin to see decreases in your lean muscle mass as well as a reduction in your metabolism.

Any Alternatives?

Many people are also unaware of alternative methods to cardio programs that have become obsolete. An alternative to traditional cardio programs is something called INTERVAL TRAINING. Interval training is a type of anaerobic training that is focused on boosting your metabolism through a process of performing a series of high intensity cardio activities followed by a series in a moderate state. This does not allow the body to simply adapt to the exercise being performed. The constant change in intensity forces the body to become stronger. Remember that it does not matter if you are performing cardiovascular exercises, weight training, or any other kind of program, if you are not bringing the intensity then you will not see any changes.