The other day I witnessed Eliud Kipchoge break the marathon world record, completing 26 miles in just…

Wait for it…

2:01:39s! 

That means on average it took him 4 minutes 38s per mile (I’d be happy running just 1 mile in 4.38s! let alone 26 of them in a row!)

This amazing story got me thinking about how important cardiovascular health is for our overall wellbeing and inspired me to write this post.

Here are 5 Reasons Why You Need To Increase Your Weekly Cardio…

#1 Live Longer

Everybody (well I hope so!) is aware that exercise can positively increase your life span. Keeping your heart healthy needs no explanation! In order to keep it strong and keep it pumping… it’s absolutely imperative to include cardio into your weekly routine. Whether that’s running, swimming, walking, cycling or rowing it doesn’t matter!

#2 Improved Recovery 

The more you perform cardio the quicker you’ll recover in between workouts. This is due to the fact that your body becomes more efficient at delivering oxygen and blood around your body – meaning that you perform better and also re-charge quicker – so that you can repair and go again!

#3 Better Endurance 

The more you perform cardio the longer you’ll be able to last. Whether that’s lasting longer on the football field, or having more stamina in the bedroom! Improving your cardio will also allow you to get more out of your daily activities. You’ll be able to walk for miles without getting out of breath, take the stairs at work (instead of the elevator) all of these types of daily activities will become much  easier when you take good care of your heart.

#4 Lifts Mood 

After a cardio session your mind feels amazing, your head feels clearer as the endorphins surge around your body leaving you feeling stronger, happier and healthier. Alongside the physical benefits of cardio (endurance, improved recovery, and better muscular endurance) you’ll also build self-esteem, and positively influence the chemicals in your brain, which make you feel better.

#5 Weight Loss 

The more you move the more calories you burn, which leads to weight loss. Most cardio activities can burn anything from 300-600 calories per hour depending on the intensity of the exercise. For example a high intensity run (running at 6 miles per hour) could see you burn 450 calories!

How to add cardio into your weekly routine…

There are lots of ways to add in more cardio, here are some good options…

Extra walking – park further away from work, or walk to work instead! You could also get some extra steps in by always taking the stairs instead of the lift.

Do cardio before weights – use a treadmill or fitness bike before you start to lift weights, even if it’s just an extra 10 minutes at the beginning of your session. It’s a great warm up, will burn an extra 50-100 calories and will also improve your cardiovascular system.

Go for a weekend run – why not set the weekend off right with a morning run on both a Saturday and Sunday. Even if it’s just a 10 minute run, it all adds up! You’ll set yourself up for a better weekend, whilst also improving both your mind and body.

Train for an event – Why not sign up to a Tough Mudder Event? or a triathlon? Pick an event and start training towards it. I find that with LEP clients, those who have events they are training for always get better results.

Thanks for reading,

Nick 🙂