If you have ever listened to our podcast or watched any of our content on Instagram, you know we put a large emphasis on strength training. In fact, we talk about strength training so much that you may have wondered, “Does doing cardio even matter?”
While the majority of content pieces, as well as most of the workouts and programs within the Exercise For Life Membership, are focused on strength training, this is NOT to say that cardio isn’t important.
In fact, doing cardio can be hugely beneficial for you from both a fitness and function perspective as well as an overall health and wellbeing perspective. Unfortunately, most people see cardio as just a way to burn calories, get sweaty, and feel their heart pumping, but cardio offers so much more than that for your health and wellbeing!
Here are three things that doing cardio is particularly good for that go beyond burning calories or working your heart:
1. Improving The Health And Function Of Your Brain–Increases in memory, creativity, decision making, planning, and even brain size have all been confirmed through doing cardio. Some of these brain benefits have occurred in as little as 15 minutes! In Chapter 5 of our book, The Exercise For Life Method, we break down exactly how this happens and what you need to do to get these kinds of results.
2. Improving Insulin Sensitivity–Consistent cardio has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, meaning your body doesn’t need to produce as much insulin to get the same blood glucose-lowering effects. This happens through a few different mechanisms, but at the end of the day, consistently doing cardio can have a tremendous impact on keeping your blood glucose properly regulated.
This is massively important for helping to prevent issues such as Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, various cancers, and various forms of dementia. In Chapter 6 of our book, The Exercise For Life Method, we give the details of why this is and how it happens with cardio and exercise.
3. Creating A Systemic Anti-Inflammatory Response–Doing cardio for at least 45 minutes straight has been shown to kickstart an anti-inflammatory response within the body as well as initiate the body’s antioxidant production systems. This means that you can use cardio to reduce inflammation and combat oxidative stress from free radicals, which is HUGE when it comes to preventing chronic diseases and extending longevity.
In Chapter 6 of The Exercise For Life Method we tell you exactly what you need to know to use exercise to get these kinds of results.
Here’s the thing with all of this, though: you can’t just haphazardly do cardio workouts and hope to get these kinds of results. There are some keys you need to implement while you are working out to make sure your body doesn’t get sore or injured, allowing you to keep doing these kinds of workouts.
Within the Exercise For Life Membership, we teach you exactly what these keys are and how to implement them within all of your workouts–both cardio and strength training.
We also have a number of cardio workout options for you to do at home that don’t involve running or the typical DIY cardio workouts.
In fact, we have over 40 cardio workouts that you can choose from–plus hundreds of other HIIT workouts, strength training workouts, and more–to help you strengthen your muscles, heart, and brain in ways that feel good and you are able to keep coming back to.
For a limited time, we are giving away a free 30-day trial to the Exercise For Life Membership. You can get access to all of these programs and more for $0.00 by clicking here.
There are so many benefits you can get from doing cardio that go beyond burning calories and getting sweaty. Grab your next cardio workout now to start getting these benefits and let us know how it goes!
In strength and health,
Julie & Charlie
P.S. Want to get a free copy of our book, The Exercise For Life Method? Click here to claim yours! All we ask is that you cover the cost of shipping and handling 🙂