What's the benefit of cardio?

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  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    Done properly it will give you a strong heart and cardiovascular system. Heart conditions are the biggest killers at 1 in 5. men and 1 in 8 women dying from geart disease in the UK and its higher in the US. I do both, but if I had a choice between how much I could lift and having a strong heart then id choose the strong heart.

    Workoutgrl87 gave some good examples.
    If you are losing weight, then id suggest doing both because they are complimentary and offer different benefits.
  • DR2501
    DR2501 Posts: 661 Member
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    If you really hate traditional forms of cardio, you could always use supersets, circuits or complexes for their CV benefits.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Christismylife wrote: »
    I have noticed some people who are into heavy lifting who make comments along these lines... "I don't do much cardio anymore" or "I only do cardio like once a week."

    So I am just curious...is there any actual benefit to cardio (running, walking, elliptical, etc.)? Do you get all the benefits from cardio when you lift heavy? Just curious.

    cardio is short for cardiovascular...as in your cardiovascular system...your hear, lungs, etc. doing cardio improves cardiovascular fitness as well as provides for increased endurance and stamina. You get some of these benefits with lifting, but not the same as if you work your system at a sustained level of effort.

    cardiovascular exercise is like weight lifting for your cardiovascular system.

    as a matter of general fitness, people really should be doing both resistance work and cardiovascular work...a lot of people don't like cardio though so they don't do it...IMO, to the detriment of their overall fitness.
  • Soundwave79
    Soundwave79 Posts: 469 Member
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    workoutgrl87 wrote: »
    If you want to talk health benefits, cardio has a good amount of them. you CAN get some of them from heavy lifting, but I'm in the camp of doing a nice combo of both along with stretching and massage.

    Cardio benefits are as follows:
    Increase in cardiovascular fitness (endurance and recovery rates)
    Increase in pulmonary fitness (VO2 max etc)
    Increase in bone density- for high impact cardio like running, jumping etc. (can also be seen in weight lifting)
    Increased ability to process sugars and reduces insulin resistance (can help if you are prediabetic)
    Increased calorie burn (burns more calories than weight lifting etc. during the duration of the exercise)
    Can decrease symptoms of depression
    Can elevate mood and decrease negative thoughts
    Increases blood viscosity during exercise duration
    Can aid in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels (genetics and other aspects, like stress levels, diet and smoking can effect how much cardio can help)
    Leads to decreased resting heart rate (signs of a healthy heart)

    As far as social benefits, many people find it to be a great way to socialize by joining in on group runs, group exercise classes, and other social events like races and fundraisers.

    I personally, enjoy running immensely. It has brought so many joys and health benefits to my life so I will choose to continue to do it as long as possible. I also enjoy lifting and love the results that I see from doing it consistently so i will continue to do that as well.


    Awesome post! Never realized all the benefits. Thanks!

    Me personally I do cardio 3 times a week just to have an overall balance to my fitness. Resistance and weights are important but I feel like taking care of my heart and cardiovascular system is just as important to my overall health, fitness, and longevity. Plus it's a nice switch up to my weight days. Currently most of my cardio comes from Krav Maga and whatever Insanity/T25 type videos I can squeeze in. Plus I walk 10K steps most days and try and fit in runs when I can.
  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
    edited August 2015
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    oilphins wrote: »
    Workoutgirl hit it dead on. This is exactly why you do cardio.

    Agree, her's is a terrific answer to the original question.
    Especially as you get older. I started running seriously about 6 years ago and it's unbelievable how great I feel running 5-6 days a week and not breaking a sweat walking up 10 flights of stairs like most people

    Also agree. Age is not a limit. While there are many forms of cardio beyond running, my favourite happens to be running as it lets me pack a lot of workout into an hour or two and my dog gets a workout too - two for one!

    I started running again (after a 15+ year get-fat period) at age 53 last fall and I'm at the point where I'm running, completely injury free, *more* than when I was in my 30's. Back then I was merely training for one marathon a year; now I'm contemplating multiple races a year and perhaps an ultra. Or two.

    I feel fantastic.
  • KittensMaster
    KittensMaster Posts: 748 Member
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    Cardio is good for you since breathing and keeping your heart healthy are important, obviously.

    Maybe taking some pertinent measurements of your cardio health would be beneficial and help you see improvement

    Document your blood pressure and resting heart rate. Incorporate some standard 80% exertion rate cardio and a few 90% HIIT sessions in with lifting for 60 days.

    Check it all again. You may be happy to see your BP and resting heart rate have dropped.

    Heart disease is a huge killer. So heart health is a big deal.

  • hamptontom
    hamptontom Posts: 536 Member
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    i literally have nothing to add to this thread but an emphatic "me, too".

    at the beginning of the summer (memorial day weekend), i was a large sack of potatoes away from 300 pounds. i'm just passing the 240's headed downward now, and it's been almost exclusively the result of diet and cardio (walking, cycling). i joined a gym a few weeks ago, and go regularly - and while i've begun feeling out the circuit training machines, i find that i spend almost two hours per visit on either the bikes, the treadmill, or the elliptical machines. something about the nature of cardio exercise appeals to me...putting in the earbuds and going on a mental vacation while working up a sweat.

    and as with most discussions here, you'll get your share of "nah, that's a waste of time, you should be doing THIS" replies...but we all figure out what works best for us eventually.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    If you joined a gym then you should start lifting as well. Its all too easy to get into the routine of just whiling away the time on cardio, but weights do give you the benefit of retaining muscle and getting rid of more fat as a result. Who wouldnt wnat that? Both.

    People should be looking at workoutgrls list because it has major health benefits for now and later life that help you lower the risk against majore medical conditions.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I prefer cardio workouts like running or zumba. My endurance has increased immensely, over a fairly short period of time. I can make it up two-thirds of the way up the outdoor stairs along our river valley before I start breathing heavily. I like that.
  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,493 Member
    edited August 2015
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    I consider my heart and lungs to be my most important muscles, therefor giving them a workout is a priority of mine.
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,662 Member
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    It's good for your overall health. if you want to look a certain way, its not as important, but if you want to be truly fit then its unavoidable
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
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    If you're purely interested in strength and/or aesthetics, cardio isn't absolutely necessary. However, if cardiovascular health and overall fitness are important, cardio should be a part of your regular exercise regimen.
  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,493 Member
    edited August 2015
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    workoutgrl87 wrote: »
    Can aid in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels (genetics and other aspects, like stress levels, diet and smoking can effect how much cardio can help)
    Leads to decreased resting heart rate (signs of a healthy heart)

    Here's some hard numbers to back that up. I started fitness walking in March, then started running in May. Before that I did no exercising at all, apart from occasional short dog walks. I'm now up to 25 to 30 miles per week and am loving it. I recently went to see my Doc and had labwork done. Here are the pre and post cardio numbers:

    Glucose 114 to 95 (had been trending up for years. This is the first drop)
    Cholesterol 149 to 123
    LDL 69 to 55
    Chol/HDL ratio 4.1 to 2.6
    Triglycerides 220 to 105
    Resting Heart Rate 85 to 58

    Those numbers had been worse prior to being put on statins.

    Qualitatively, I feel the best I have in decades. Considering the heart disease and heart attacks in my family, I have all the motivation in the world to stick with it.


  • Christismylife
    Christismylife Posts: 93 Member
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    Thanks to all of you who commented! I feel sort of dumb for asking, as it should be obvious that cardio is good for your heart. I just was starting to wonder after seeing some of the posts from weight lifters. I do run usually several times a week, and I have been trying to add in more weight lifting. I wanted to make sure I wasn't wasting time with the cardio. These replies and the article that was shared definitely confirmed that I don't want to give up cardio! :) Both of my parents have had heart attacks, so I definitely want to keep my heart healthy. Thanks again!
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
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    I think someone already mentioned asthma. I have it too and I can say for certain that my lungs function way better when doing some form of cardio.
    How do I know? I take pulmonary function tests twice a year. Once for my asthma dr and another at work for wearing a respirator. When I'm not doing some cardio my lung capacity goes down (also get winded doing easy tasks). When I am doing cardio my lung capacity is much greater (and I can keep up with my 3 boys).
  • Pinnacle_IAO
    Pinnacle_IAO Posts: 608 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Some see little value in cardio, because all it does is greatly strengthen your heart and lungs which lengthens and adds to the quality of life. Who needs that in a bulking cycle?

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