Pop quiz! What type of physical activity strengthens your heart and lungs, improves cognitive performance, helps you maintain a healthy body weight, and gives you more energy in your day-to-day life?
If you’re thinking cardio exercise, you’ve aced this quiz!
Cardio exercise is defined as any exercise that raises your heart rate. Most of us mean aerobic exercise when we think of cardio—activities that require the heart to work harder, pumping blood to working muscles. Our heart and breathing rates increase to levels that can be sustained for the duration of our workout. Anaerobic exercise, on the other hand, still increases our heart rate, but can only be sustained for short periods of time.
Both forms of cardio training are extremely important to your well-being. With regular cardio training, you’ll even lower your blood pressure and stress levels.
Try it!
Get in your aerobic workout
Running, swimming, dancing, and hiking, for example, are considered aerobic exercises.
Add in some anaerobic exercise
… such as lifting heavy weights, sprinting, or jumping.
