
The authors found that even moving for just 10 minutes helped with mood, but recommended that people do at least 15 minutes per day of higher-intensity exercise, such as running, or an hour of lower-intensity physical activity like walking. A study published online in January 2019 in JAMA Psychiatry found that participants who replaced time sitting with time running or walking decreased their odds of becoming depressed.

“It’s been shown that exercise, including cardio, helps boost your mood and improve the quality of your life,” he says. And many types of cardio improve range of motion for your muscles and joints.Īerobic exercise can also help with weight loss by increasing calories burned over the course of a day, says Rosenberg. Weight-bearing aerobic exercises, like running or walking, can help improve bone density, Tingan adds. “You’re able to improve the efficiency with which you breathe,” Tingan explains. The more you do, the less demand your lungs will feel with each workout, improving their functioning overall, according to the Cleveland Clinic. RELATED: Your Ultimate Guide to Fitness and Why It’s So Good for YouĪny type of cardiovascular exercise helps improve lung function. And cardiovascular exercise is part of the physical activity equation that delivers those benefits. A study published in Scientific Reports in July 2018 found that people over the age of 50 who exercised the most were twice as likely to avoid stroke, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. “Research has found time and time again that those who exercise more consistently live longer and are less likely to develop chronic diseases,” says Rosenberg. Tingan.īut improved heart health is just one of the numerous health benefits of getting in your cardio. The heart is like any other muscle in this way you work it out and it gets stronger,” says Dr. “For healthy adults without heart disease, this type of exercise can actually improve the health of your heart.

Tingan, MD, an assistant professor of clinical physical medicine and rehabilitation at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia. “Think walking, running, swimming, riding a bike, or using the elliptical machine.”Īs the name suggests, cardiovascular exercise gives your heart muscle a workout, says Alexis S. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) defines cardio as those exercises that are rhythmic, continuous, and involve large muscle groups.Ĭardiovascular exercise comprises several different exercises, explains Jared Rosenberg, an exercise physiologist at Duke Health in Durham, North Carolina. But aerobic exercise, or cardiovascular exercise (“cardio” for short) - the type of movement that hastens your breath and gets your blood pumping - is a health-boosting powerhouse, too. And with good reason: Strength training has tons of health benefits. Strength workouts may be having a moment.
