Get the Benefits of a Cardio Workout

So no matter what age you are, if you are not in shape you have probably wondered about getting in shape. You have probably made some type of New Years resolution, and you have probably gotten a membership at a gym too. The problem with many people is if they do not see the finish line they will not finish the race. Losing weight and getting into shape is a long process, like a marathon, it can be such a long process that it can get frustrating because all we want is our hot bodies and our perfect butts “right now.” But unless you plan on getting liposuction or some rubber band put around your stomach, results may take awhile, oh and by the way just because you lose weight does not mean you are in shape. So what happens when your only goal is to lose weight and you hit your plateau and the scale stops going down? What is going to motivate you to keep on doing your workouts and why even do cardio workouts, if all you want to do is lose weight? Well, you might be surprised on how many different things can benefit your body when you do a lot of cardio.

Besides weight loss, there are a lot of long-term benefits that happen when you do cardio, you get a stronger heart and healthier lungs, who doesn’t want that? Doing a cardio workout will give you more energy, which directly affects how you perform during the day, with your job, and your family, because if you have kids you need energy. It reduces stress; that alone is why we should all be doing cardio. Stress sucks, and hardly anybody likes it and less stress means better sleep. Now it is not about how long you sleep, but it is better sleep, healthier sleep. Have you ever heard of the term quality over quantity? Well this is quality and quantity. Cardio increases bone density, and it reduces the risk of cancer and heart disease. If you struggle with depression and anxiety, than a cardio workout can temporarily relieve you of your depression and you will feel better about yourself. It will also make you feel better about yourself, raise your self-esteem a little; we all need to feel better about ourselves. But if we take our focus off ourselves for a moment, having a cardio routine can set a great example for our kids, so that they can grow up and have healthy long lives, a healthy life can be passed down to your kids.

So with all this knowledge, how many times and for how long do you need to workout to get these benefits? Well, I will give you a couple options; some say you need to do 30 – 60 minutes of cardio three to five days a week, and some other people say if you have a heavy workout you can do three day a week, for 20 minutes. You can choose, but just getting out there and doing something active is great. If you want to have someone guide you, try P90X, it is a great workout routine that will guide you in great cardio workouts and strength workouts.