Cardio Exercise - The Role It Plays In Losing Weight. Benefits, Intensity Levels And Exercises

Any individual who desires effective weight loss should include cardio exercise as a necessary part of their weight loss program. When you burn more calories than you eat you are going to be losing weight, period. And, the most effective program to maintain your weight loss and improve your health and energy include cardio exercise, strength training and a well-balanced healthy diet.

The question then remains, just how much exercise do you need and at what level of intensity? We'll explore these questions below and help explain the benefits of cardio exercise and list some fun exercises to try.

Benefits of Cardio Exercise

1. Burns calories immediately. Depending upon the intensity of your workout, you may be able to burn from 100 to 500 calories in one session. On a treadmill, its typical to burn 100 calories in 10 minutes of fast walking. If you use an elliptical trainer which also incorporates your upper body, the calorie burn will be higher.

2. Improves cardiovascular health

3. Helps flush toxins from your lymph system and your body.

4. Increases your breathing rate, helping to oxygenate your body and eliminate toxins when you exhale.

5. Increases your metabolism so you continue to burn more calories after your workout is complete

6. Releases endorphins which make you feel great.

7. Helps tone your body and produce more muscle mass. This not only makes you look great, but muscle also burns more calories, so you get a double effect.

8. It feels great! Once you find a cardio exercise(s) that you like and you get past the first few weeks when you may be tired, you will get addicted to the results and how great you feel.

Level of intensity:

Now that you know the benefits of cardio, lets look at some common cardio exercises and see what level of intensity is associated with each and what level of intensity is best for you. To start, lets be clear, there is no bad cardio exercise. Start by finding something that you like and do it on regular basis.

While some exercises like running or swimming are generally more intense than something like walking or hiking, you can adjust your speed to make a workout harder/more intense. If you're out of shape, take it slow in the beginning and let your muscles, tendons and ligaments get stronger for a few weeks before you increase your milage or intensity. A great way to do this safely is to wear a heart rate monitor. You'll be able to enter details such as your age and weight and it will then help you define the best ranges for heart rate to burn fat, increase cardio health etc. Its very effective will also calculate your calorie burn.

Fun Cardio Exercise Choices:

* running, hiking, swimming, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, tennis, racquetball

Don't overlook the benefits you can derive from low impact exercise such as swimming or walking. Conducting these types of exercises gives you less exposure to injury and can be well implemented at almost any age or physical condition. People with a lot of mobility restriction due to leg or foot injury might find exercising in a pool not only more convenient but a lot of fun as well. Other people conducting cardio exercise may find taking little steps, such as starting a short walking program, can lead to longer walking programs and possibly running programs when one's lower body is strengthened to accomplish more intense exercising. Just make it fun. You don't have to be in the gym to get a great workout, just do what you enjoy and do it at a pace that elevates your heart rate a bit to improve the weight loss and health benefits.

In summary, cardio exercise is something that is very helpful to those trying to lose weight, maintain a healthy weight and anyone wanting to improve their health and live a long life.

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