10 Reasons to Do Your Cardio Every Day

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

08 Sep 2006 05:58 AM

I enjoy my cardio workouts on a level that I have never enjoyed strength training. There's something about the rhythm of once you get going with regular cardio - because when I don't do it due to illness (currently I have bronchitis) that I miss it and it makes it easier for me to get back into it after a few down days recovering from an infection.

So with this in mind, I wanted to share with you my 10 reasons you should do cardio every day, well six days a week with the seventh one off. You can do cardio daily, but you should give your body a recovery day as well, my routine usually gives me Saturday off although I am shifting it to make it Sunday because Sunday is the day we don't have to go anywhere and the one day a week I let myself sleep in!

All right then, without further adieu, the 10 reasons you should do cardio every day:

• Cardiovascular exercise improves your body image, inside and out. Cardio is one of the best ways to burn fat especially when you are on a diet and it burns fat from all over the body and not just in the legs
• Cardiovascular exercise stimulates your lymph system - you know those lymph nodes you have all over your body that help you to fend of infection and filter toxins out of your body? Well, your lymph system is stimulated by movement - cardiovascular exercise gets it going to improve your overall health
• Cardiovascular exercise helps your body to overcome constipation. Yes, constipation is often related to a lack of fiber in the diet and to dehydration, but it's also related to exercise and physical activity
• Cardiovascular helps you to burn the toxins and out of your system not only by stimulating your lymph system but through all the sweat your dripping, sweating is not only a part of your body's natural cooling system, but it's also how we get rid of waste products - so the more cardio, the more sweat, the fewer toxins
• Cardiovascular exercise is great for your energy levels, 45 minutes a day really gives your body a lift as it stimulates your adrenal system and other hormone levels - I switched to decaf coffee, but I don't even need the caffeine on the mornings I do my cardio because I hydrate before, during and after and by the time I'm done and out of the shower, my engine is revved
• Cardiovascular exercise as mentioned above, is a stimulant for the body, but also the brain. You get your body moving and oxygen floods through to your muscles as your heart pounds - your brain also benefits from this abundant oxygen and it helps me to focus more clearly throughout the day as well as get my work done
• Cardiovascular exercise improves the look and feel of your skin and your hair - as mentioned above, cardiovascular workouts help improve your body image and this includes your skin and hair because you are sweating out the toxins, releasing the excess oil in your scalp and flooding your skin and hair with extra oxygen
• Cardiovascular exercise improves your sex life for men and women alike - remember, your body needs high levels of oxygen and between reducing body fat, improving how you look and how you feel, it also stimulates your body's natural desires and functions
• Cardiovascular exercise reduces stress and of all the reasons I have listed here, this is actually one of the best reasons in the world to get in your daily cardio - there is too much stress in our lives and that stress contributes to people getting poor sleep, being overweight, not taking good care of themselves as well as heart and other health problems - regular exercise reduces your stress levels while improving your health in every other area
• Cardiovascular exercise does all of these things and it can be fun, whether you do it indoors or out, in the summer, the fall, the winter or the spring - it improves your moods, how you feel about yourself, how you see yourself and your health - what's not to love about cardiovascular exercise?

So those are my reasons - what are your reasons for doing your cardio? If you're not doing cardio, what's stopping you?

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Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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mommytotwo (526) 08 Sep 2006 06:04 AM

I do cardio mixed with light weights six days a week because I know it is an effective way to keep weight off. I love doing cardio, it gets me sweating and my heart pumping and I love how I feel afterwards. I like my workouts because they do a couple of cardio routines, then do a weight routine and then more cardio, and so on. I really like how it helps me maintain my current weight and I know if I needed to lose a few pounds, I would just up my cardio in order to d do so.