Why do cardio?

Whether included in a fitness routine, a weight-loss program or as a stand-alone activity, cardio-training has its place in our daily lives. Its many health benefits are well established. It protects the heart and lungs, plays a role in managing body weight , helps you sleepbetter... There are many reasons to take up cardiovascular exercise. Strengthening your cardio is strengthening your immunity. It therefore plays a central role in the quest for physical fitness and well-being. From WHO recommendations to tips on how to get started, here's why you should do cardio.

For a better understanding of cardio 

What is cardio?

What we call cardio is physical exercise that works both the heart and the lungs. 

A multitude of exercises give you the chance to do cardio, at high or low intensity, such as cycling, running, swimming, fitness, etc. 

How does cardio work on the body?

Doing cardio increases heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen consumption and body temperature. 

Cardio strengthens the heart muscle. The heart acts as a pump, pumping blood throughout the body via a vast network of blood vessels. Together, these make up the cardiovascular system. 

On the respiratory side, physical activity increases the respiratory system to renew air more rapidly and oxygenate the blood better. 

Cardio exercise stimulates the body's cardiovascular and respiratory systems, enabling itto adapt to the effort involved. 

Do you need to combine cardio and weight training to perform? 

Depending on the duration and intensity of exercise, the body will use different energy reserves, mainly carbohydrates and fats. 

At the start of an activity, and even more so if the effort is intense, the body will use its carbohydrate reserves. It then keeps to a minimum to maintain its blood sugar levels, and attacks its lipid reserves as the effort is prolonged. This is known as lipolysis. 

Cardio-training exercises therefore mobilize lipids, including intramuscular triglycerides stored in muscles¹, and burn calories. In fact, the more you exercise, the faster lipolysis is activated². 

That's why athletes add cardio sessions to their muscle-strengthening training. The latter, whether practised with or without equipment, is essential for preserving muscle mass and strength. 

Why include cardio in your fitness routine? 

Benefits for cardiovascular health

The heart is a muscle, and needs to be trained to better fulfill its role within the cardiovascular system. The cardiovascular system performs vital functions for the body, such as transporting oxygen and nutrients, and eliminating waste and CO². 

Beyond reducing the risk of cardiovascular pathologies, strengthening the heart muscle also improves blood circulation and protects artery health.                            

The impact of cardio on weight and body composition

Cardio-training plays an important role in managing body weight, whether during weight loss or stabilization.

Doing cardio burns a lot of calories as the intensity of the exercise increases. What's more, what's known as theafterburn effect also continues to burn calories after the cardio workout. 

It's one of the essential elements for losing body fat and improving body composition. 

The key to endurance and sports performance

The more you work on your cardio, the more endurance you'll have. For all disciplines requiring prolonged effort, such as tennis, basketball or soccer, cardio plays an important role in effort management. 

Cardio training is also essential to prepare the body for intense effort. Sprinters or gymnasts need to do cardio to warm up their heart. 

Positive effects on mental health

Cardio and physical activity in general help to reduce stress and anxiety levels, thanks to the release of endorphins. 

For adults and children alike, regular training also boostsself-esteem and has a positive impact onmood. 

The beneficial effects on sleep and drowsiness have also been proven. 

For all these reasons, and more generally, cardio sports are recognized as promoting mental health³.

Benefits for recovery time

Low-intensity cardio as part of active recovery maintains a higher heart rate than at rest. This mechanism is conducive to the elimination of metabolic waste and helps the body recover more rapidly, although recovery times vary between practices. 

Impact on the immune system

Physical activity is perceived by the body as a positive aggression to which it reacts with what is known as an immune response.

During physical exercise, myokines are secreted by muscle fibers. These substances have a beneficial effect on health. Some even play a role in improving certain chronic pathologies. 

Conversely, physical inactivity alters their release and induces a pro-inflammatory state favoring sarcopenia and fat accumulation⁴.

Every time you do cardio, your immune system is strengthened. 

How to optimize your cardio workout? 

Structuring your training in terms of frequency and duration

WHO recommendations for cardio activity differ according to age:

• For children, it recommends a minimum of 60 minutes per day, all week long, of moderate to sustained aerobic intensity;
• for adults, it recommends 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week, or 75 minutes to 150 minutes of sustained activity.

And that's a minimum, since adults can double the amount for "substantial health benefits". To this, the WHO recommends adding muscle-strengthening activities, the number of which varies according to the population (children, adults, the elderly).

Ideally, these times should be broken down into 5 sessions of 30 to 60 minutes of cardiovascular activity per week. If that sounds like a lot, the good news is that it also includes all physical activities, including walking. 

Choosing the right time for cardio

Is there a "right" time to do cardio? 

Not really! No study recommends a preferential time slot between morning or evening. On the other hand, the positive effects of training on sleep and circadian rhythms take place if it is practiced between 4 and 8 hours before falling asleep ⁵. 

The idea that late-night exercise disrupts sleep is false. Even late-night exercise is better than no exercise at all. The benefit/risk ratio is heavily weighted in favour of physical activity.

Mistakes to avoid when doing cardio 

One of the most common mistakes is overtraining. A series of over-intensive sessions, with little recovery time, can lead to an accumulation of physical and mental fatigue. 

The signs that invoke it include not being able to produce the same effort as usual, poor sleep, lack of motivation, irritability, and so on. 

To avoid it, rest periods are mandatory and part of sports performance.Diet and sleep are also important factors in avoiding this syndrome.

The other mistake you can make when you start doing cardio is to want to go too fast all at once... and get bored. When starting an activity, you need to build up gradually. For example, people returning to cardio after an injury or a long break such as maternity leave can start with a workout alternating brisk walking and short runs (3 minutes of each, in 3 to 5 sets). 

Conclusion

So why do cardio? Regular cardio exercise is essential for both physical and mental health. While its main role is to shed fatty tissue by using lipids as an energy source, cardio offers many more health benefits. From sleep to immunity, every system in the body benefits from cardio-training. Enough to make you want to get started right away! 

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