If you are a weight-training enthusiast, no doubt you know of the benefits to be gained from building toned muscles. Cardiovascular exercise plays a fundamental role in our health. If you have not, you should consider adding it to your routine. Weight training paired with cardiovascular workouts provides a nearly perfect combination for keeping you fit and healthy. 
Let us look at seven reasons to add cardio training to your workout.
- Good for the heart– The increased heart rate you will achieve during your cardio workout will improve the condition of your heart and lungs, by training your heart to pump more blood fewer beats and your lungs to move more oxygen with less effort. The improvement you will gain in your cardiovascular health will reduce your risk of heart disease and improve your blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Aim for 30-60minutes at least 3 days a week in order to achieve the best results for improving your heart.
- Helps improve muscle mass – Yes, it is true, you need strength training to gain muscle, but the thirty minutes you spend on those elliptical trainers will help improve your muscle mass too, especially if you combine the two as part of an interval training programme. By going back and forth between cardio training and weight training, you are working your muscles and then letting them relax several times during a workout, which will improve your ability to build that great toned look. In addition, regular aerobic exercise causes the capillaries in your muscles to grow, which helps them to remove waste, such as lactic acid, from your body more easily. This will help improve the health of your muscles and reduce muscle soreness after your workout.
- Cardio burns fat – Adding forty to thirty-minute cardio sessions a week to your current training schedule will help you rev up your fat burning capability by expending more calories. The fat loss you will achieve will help your toned muscles be even more noticeable.
- Speeds up your metabolism – In addition to the fat you will burn during your workout, regular cardiovascular training will boost your metabolism for hours after your workout too, helping you maximise fat loss all day long.
- Your immune system can improve – People who spend thirty minutes in cardiovascular exercise at least three times a week are less likely to catch colds and other viral illnesses. It is believed that aerobic exercise improves your immune system, making it better able to fight off infection.
- Your mental state will improve– Cardio training causes your brain to release endorphins, the body’s natural high. Endorphins act as natural painkillers and stress reducers.
- You are likely to live longer – The New England Journal of Medicine has found a direct link between regular cardiovascular exercise and longevity, exercise decreases rates of mortality!
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References:
(PDF) Cardiovascular benefits of exercise (researchgate.net)
