Do you remember the most important muscle in your training? Even if your fitness focus is on weight training and building muscle mass, cardiovascular fitness is still important for your overall health. You can get a healthy level of cardio activity through an aerobic workout or even just playing your favorite sport, but however you get it, cardiovascular exercise is essential to the health of your heart and lungs.
A cardiovascular workout is activity that gets your heart rate up, improves your circulation, and increases oxygen flow throughout your body. Cardio isn’t especially popular with many bodybuilders, but look at it this way: your heart is just one more muscle that needs to be exercised to keep it strong and healthy. Heart disease is a serious problem today and if you eat a lot of meat to increase your protein and/or Creatine intake to help you build more muscle mass, chances are you get some fat in your diet as well. Weight-training can burn those fat calories without a problem, but what about the cholesterol? A diet that is designed for building muscle mass can make heart health all the more important.
An intense cardio fitness workout can also boost your metabolism and even affect your hormone production, including hormones that can make you feel better and happier, promoting overall well-being and reducing feelings of depression and stress. Cardio can also be a good way to change up your routine, or you can use a moderate cardio workout as part of your cool down after weight-training. Cardio activity after a bodybuilding session can improve blood and oxygen flow to your muscles, helping your body to repair itself and even give your muscle building process an added boost. Excess cardio activity however, can end up reversing your progress and reduce the muscle mass you have worked so hard to build, so balance is key.
There are so many options when it comes to getting some light cardio exercise wedged into your weight training and bodybuilding schedule that you can find some cardio activity that you enjoy, even if aerobics and cardio workouts are not necessarily your cup of tea. You can jump rope, ride a bike, jog, play basketball with friends, or any of the other innumerable cardio fitness exercises to help you get the best results from your bodybuilding program.
Heather Richards has many tips and secrets to reveal, lots of common sense information about training sensibly and really looking after your body, health and fitness. Check some of them out at [http://www.PlanToGetFit.com]
