Cardiovascular fitness promotes the loss of body fat and has been reported to actually decrease the appetite in many individuals. However, even if it doesn't reduce appetite, the calorie-burning effects of regular aerobic exercise can allow for substantial caloric intake. Many endurance athletes regularly consume between 3,000-5,000 calories per day and remain extremely lean. Cardiovascular training, when combined with a sensible diet, will definitely promote an increase in lean body tissue and a decrease in body fat percentage.
The skeletal system can be strengthened by weight-bearing activities such as fast walking and jogging. This can not only assist in reducing the risk for developing osteoporosis, it can also help to slow down the progress of the disease for those whose doctors recommend exercise.
Aerobic exercise is often part of treatment programs for diabetics whose blood sugar is well controlled. This is due to the fact that aerobic training increases the sensitivity of the cells to insulin so diabetics who exercise regularly require less insulin to effectively regulate blood sugar levels. In addition, studies have shown that persons with adult-onset diabetes have been able to significantly reduce or eliminate medications other than insulin by following a regular exercise program combined with a healthy diet.
Cardiovascular exercise is often a major component of the therapy for those who have suffered a heart attack and for those who are at high risk for coronary artery disease. Three of the primary risk factors for developing coronary artery disease are high blood pressure (hypertension), smoking and high blood cholesterol. Cardiovascular exercise can play a significant role in reducing risk associated with these three factors.
First of all, many people with high blood pressure are also overweight. Regular sessions of aerobic exercise will reduce body fat and lower blood pressure. Secondly, many people who smoke find the incentive to quit after embarking upon an aerobic exercise program. Thirdly, regular, brisk, cardiovascular training leads to an increase in the level of high density lipoprotein (HDL), also known as the "good" cholesterol.
Those with arthritis can benefit from aerobic exercise to help them maintain an ideal body weight. Therapy programs for arthritis sufferers should also include appropriate exercises to help maintain joint range of motion. This can be incorporated into an overall exercise program that includes cardiovascular exercise.
Cardiovascular exercise has also been shown to decrease clinical symptoms of anxiety, tension and depression. Regular aerobic workouts increase blood flow and assists the body in eliminating toxins which can make a person feel better.
On a physiological level, cardiovascular fitness decreases resting heart rate and increase heart volume. It increases maximum oxygen consumption, capillary density and blood flow to active muscles. It also increases total blood volume, allows for maximal ventilation and increases lung diffusion capacity.
Cardiovascular training serves as the foundation for other fitness programs. The conditioning and health of the heart and blood vessels are the basis for safety and performance in nearly all athletic endeavors.
There is one thing which is a certainty in the area of losing fat and building muscle - this is that exercise is an essential element. Everyone knows that more calories must be burned off than taken in in order to lose weight - and of course, to gain muscle mass, the muscles must be worked out. Despite that everyone knows this; there is still much debate and many misconceptions about how best to lose weight while building muscle. There is a wrong way to go about this, however; this is to do only cardiovascular workouts.
Even though cardiovascular exercises have been known for being the best way to lose weight, this is actually completely false. It can take ten or more hours a week of cardiovascular exercise to lose weight, and it is usually only a pound or so per week. Performing the same exercises can also cause your weight loss to plateau, meaning you go through a period where you work out just as hard, but having absolutely nothing to show for it.
Cardiovascular workouts can take a long time to get noticeable results. Not all of us have the time to spend half of our lives at the gym; it takes half an hour at least to even begin buring calories in a cardio workout.
While cardiovascular exercises will certainly lead to improvements in your heart and lungs, your bones and joints may be paying the price. For example, the consistent and constant pounding that your knees and shins take while running or jogging can severely damage those body parts. Not only is this bad for your long term health, but it can make it harder to workout in the short term as well.
To really see a lot of benefit from a cardio workout regimen, it has to be daily - yes, daily as in seven days a week and for at least an hour every day. As you can imagine, this is likely to leave you feeling sore and tired all of the time. Worst of all, you can gain even more weight if you stop these daily workouts once your body becomes accustomed to them.
If you want to see true fat loss from cardiovascular exercise, you have to get into a specific zone called the fat burning zone. The fat burning zone represents a specific range of heart and breathing rate, both of which are very high. That means that low intensity cardio workouts are not effective for burning fat, even though you are still burning calories. High intensity workouts are not ideal for everybody and without them, cardio workouts won't help you lose fat.
Cardio exercises also do not do well for those trying to gain muscle. Most cardio exercises only work out the lower half of your body - the legs and abdomen. Cardio exercises like running and bicycling simply do not work out the upper body, meaning additional exercises are needed to work out these muscle groups.
With all of these disadvantages to classic cardiovascular workout programs and exercises, it is important to realize that you can still grab up all of the benefits, without the disadvantages. You can do this through turbulence training. You'll be able to work your heart and your lungs, without having to run or do high intensity programs. You can save your bones and joints from unnecessary stresses and you can do it all in less time, making it superior to the cardiovascular exercises of yesterday.
Both Michael Russell & Kyle Richey are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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