New Body Needed: Benefits Of Cardio Workouts For Weight Loss And Heart Health

Are you concentrating on the physical aspects when contemplating the ideal cardio workout for weight loss? Don’t stop there! Once you discover the psychological benefits, you will become hooked on fitness. Countless studies have proven the mood-enhancing effects of a 20 or 30 minute workout. From teens to seniors will experience this uplifting, invigorating result. Geared to create your new body? Ready to get ripped to burn belly fat? Let’s see why a cardio workout for weight loss delivers the goods each time.

Ten vital benefits of a stretching, strength training, weight loss cardio workout:

1. Outwits osteoporosis
2. Trounces type 2 diabetes
3. Helps heart health
4. Whittles down weight
5. Diminishes mild depression
6. Spruces up sleep quality
7. Promotes mind-power
8. Improves self-image
9. Fine-tunes flexibility
10. Elevates energy levels

Now, how do you go about making this impressive list of benefits your own? Mention the word ‘exercise’ and many folks visualize costly gym memberships, bulge-revealing gym mirrors and staring eyes. Relax! You really don’t have to go this route if it isn’t for you. There are dozens of ways to reach your fitness goals. Aim to include the following three components in your exercise routine:

Aerobic Training: This refers to those activities that get your heart really pumping and your breathing thoroughly revved up. Now, you don’t need to invest in heavy-duty elliptical exercise equipment to achieve this. You can simply come up with a range of informal, enjoyable family activities. Anything from mountain biking, to travel or diversion will do.

Flexibility Training: The second leg of your cardio workout for weight loss, should include some stretching exercises to increase your flexibility. This is another way of preventing injuries, as it enables your joints, ligaments and muscles to stretch and bend with ease. It also helps to prevent the stiffness that is often associated with aging. Here some basic yoga exercises or an exercise band will do the trick.

Strength Training: Strength training is vital to increase your lean muscle mass. Again, you don’t need costly home gym equipment. Many reputable, budget, fat-burning programs take you by the hand in your weight loss quest. In these, experts give you step-by-step instructions for using tiny more than a bench and a set of dumbbells to get you to your weight training quota. Remember to work on your core-strength (mid-section) as well. This is one of the ideal ways to strengthen your back, in order to prevent back injuries.

The great thing about weight training is that it really turns your body into a calorie-crunching furnace. Your goal is to up your lean muscle mass, while reducing your body fat. This equips you with a super-efficient metabolism that continues to burn calories even while you sleep. Doesn’t that sound great? Compare this scenario to cult diets that are likely to place your metabolism on a go-slow strike, by shifting all your body-gears into starvation mode.

That’s all there is to it. You can try to work up to 30 minutes four or five days a week for maximum benefits. Just make sure that you get some expert advice when you begin out. Consult your physician if you haven’t been training for a while, or if you have any illness or injury.

There is no area of your being that will remain untouched by a regular, relaxed weight loss cardio workout. Just envision the dividends in terms of the positive effect it will have on your self-image, the way you will carry yourself, the way your clothes will fit, and the mood-lifting endorphins that will be produced. This is your recipe for health and wellbeing.

The most important thing to do, is to place the fun back into fitness. If you enjoy what you are doing, you will keep it up. If you include the rest of the family, you are also more likely to stay with it. It really doesn’t have to be a drag. If you like to combine your cardio workout for weight loss with a health club membership, by all means go for it. But if you can’t afford it, don’t let this fact stop you from creating your new, healthy, toned body.

Cardio Blast with Coach Nicole offers 6 cardio workouts on one DVD. Get it here: www.amazon.com In this video, Coach Nicole of SparkPeople.com leads you through a short (10-minute) cardio kickboxing routine that’s suitable for people of all fitness levels. This routine will help you burn calories and lose weight. Work out with this video anywhere, without equipment! For a longer workout, simply repeat the video.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Related Cardio Workouts Articles