Magic cardio: 10 reasons to make your heart beat faster

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Scientists have proven that cardio helps us become not only slimmer, but also healthier.

1. Cardio maintains muscle tone

Cardio will not help you build, but if you do it often and vigorously enough, you can keep your muscles toned and increase their volume a little. A review of 14 scientific studies found that if a person does medium to high intensity cardio for 45 minutes four days a week, their 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 can help reduce resting heart rate and breathing, which indicates cardiovascular health.

A 2008 study compared blood pressure, cholesterol and other heart health indicators among 46,000 people who were swimming, jogging, walking and sedentary. Scientists found that regularly exercising runners and swimmers had the best indicators of heart health.

3. Cardio reduces the stiffness of the heart muscles

As people age, many people move less, which increases the stiffness of the muscles of the heart, including the left chamber, a muscle that plays a key role in supplying the body with fresh, oxygenated blood.

A 2017 study by Erin J. Howden found that regular cardiovascular exercise can help prevent and even reverse an increase in heart muscle stiffness.

The study participants were divided into two groups. One group, under the supervision of scientists, did cardio exercises 4-5 days a week, while the other did asanas and exercises to develop balance. Two years later, people from the first group noted significant improvements in the work of the heart.

4. Cardio has a positive effect on bowel function

A small 2017 study found that cardiovascular exercise can change gut flora regardless of diet or other factors. The subjects practiced 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

A review of 13 scientific studies found that aerobic exercise is associated with lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, also known as bad cholesterol. LDL directly affects the occurrence of atherosclerotic plaques on the walls of blood vessels, which increases the risk of heart attack.

However, cardiovascular exercise raises levels of good cholesterol, or high-density lipoproteins, which metabolize and excrete fat from the body, reducing the risk of atherosclerosis.

6. Aerobic Exercise Protects Against Diabetes

A Chinese study found that even a small amount of cardio activity (20 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, 10 minutes of vigorous exercise, or 5 minutes of very intense exercise 1-2 times a day) almost halved the risk of diabetes.

Even one cardio workout increases insulin activity and glucose tolerance by more than 24 hours, and one week of exercise increases the body's insulin sensitivity.

7. Cardio improves skin condition

A study by scientists from McMaster University showed that regularly exercising people after 40 years of age have better skin than less mobile peers. The overall skin condition of active participants resembles that of people in their twenties or thirties.

It's unclear how exercise affects skin health, but scientists found that after exercise, subjects had increased levels of interleukin-15, a cytokine that is critical for cell health.

8. Cardio cheers up

According to Harvard Medical School, aerobic exercise is both tonic and relaxing, and helps fight depression and stress.

Perhaps the positive effects of cardio on a person's well-being and mood are related to their ability to lower levels of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.

9. Exercise Helps Fight Depression Symptoms

Cardio not only improves mood in healthy people, but also helps those with depression. In a 2001 pilot study, people with varying degrees of depression walked on a treadmill for 10 days for 30 minutes. Scientists found that being active helped significantly reduce the symptoms of depression.

10. Cardio protects the brain from age-related changes

Often before the onset of Alzheimer's disease, older people suffer from mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which impairs memory, language skills, thinking, and judgment.

In a recent study, researchers tested the effects of physical activity on people between the ages of 60 and 88 with MCI. The subjects walked for 12 weeks for 30 minutes a day. As a result, they have improved neural connections in many areas of the brain. The researchers hypothesized that this could increase cognitive storage - the brain's ability to make new neural connections.

Another study of older adults with MCI found that aerobic exercise was associated with an increase in the size of the hippocampus, the region of the brain responsible for learning and memory. In the study, 86 women with MCI, aged 70 to 80 years, performed either aerobic (walking or swimming) or strength exercises twice a week for six months. As a result, women doing aerobic exercise have significantly increased hippocampal volume. However, scientists have not yet established how much this affects cognitive abilities.

Even if you prefer strength training, do not neglect cardio: it will help you maintain the health and youth of the whole body. If you are sedentary and overweight, try walking or swimming.