The Good and the Bad of Cardio Exercising
By Stephen R. Farris
There are many benefits of cardio exercising and one of the most important benefits is to help lower your risk of developing heart disease. Cardio exercising can do wonders not only for your heart, but your blood vessels by opening them up more to allow more oxygen into the bloodstream, boosting your endorphin levels, and a few other things such as:
- Strengthen muscles
- Improve sleep
- Lower your risk of developing diabetes and/or high blood pressure
Doing aerobic exercise is another form of cardio exercising. Most aerobic exercises can be done alone at home; if you prefer mingling with others, then a group setting might be your cup of tea. If you prefer exercising alone, then some of these aerobic exercises may be more your style such as brisk walking, running, hiking, swimming, rowing, boxing, or jumping rope. Some of the group setting aerobic exercises range from:
- Kickboxing
- Boot camps
- Spin classes
- Zumba
- Dance classes
- Basketball
- Soccer
- Tennis
- Softball
- Flag football
How much time should you spend doing cardio exercise? Research recommends -- for adults 18 and older -- that you should spend at least 150 minutes each week doing some form of a moderate-intensity cardio workout. Or you can do 75 minutes of a more intense style of cardio workout. If you feel you're up to it, you can even combine the two each week. Just remember to check with your doctor or local chiropractor before starting any exercise routine, or making changes to your exercise regimen, to make sure you're healthy enough to do so.
If you do cardio exercise on a regular basis each week at a moderate to intense workout, then don't feel guilty about taking off a day or two to recuperate and avoid risking injury.
Signs that you could be overdoing your cardio workout could begin to show rather quickly. So keep in mind some of these symptoms and if you start to feel them, then take a little time to rest. The symptoms are -- but not limited to -- muscle soreness, joint pain, poor sleep, or becoming more disinterested in exercising. When it gets to that point, you really should take a break for a while.
The bottom line is that there's both pros and cons to cardio exercising, but it shouldn't stop you from doing it. After all, it's all about better heart health and overall health.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.