As people grow older, they become at higher risk of different illnesses and diseases. All the negative side effects of the unhealthy lifestyle choices that they made over the years eventually catch up to them. The daily trips to fastfood restaurants, the nightly binge drinking, the incessant smoking — all of these come with dangers that sometimes do not arise until you are much older.

Now that you are still young, you have to start making better decisions when it comes to the kinds of foods that you eat, the activities that you participate in, and the habits that you develop. That way, you can ensure that your body is kept in good condition for as long as possible.

One of the best ways to live long and healthy is by focusing on your cardiovascular fitness. What is cardiovascular fitness? What can it do to keep you in good shape? How will it guarantee your good health and wellbeing?

When you hear the term “cardiovascular fitness,” what is the first thing that comes to mind? If you answer “heart,” then you are right. Anything cardiovascular has got to do with the heart, one of the most important organs of the human body. If your heart is healthy, you can do a lot of things. The heart is in charge of pumping blood for the different parts of the body, so that they can perform their jobs well. If your heart is not at its 100%, you develop illnesses and diseases that impede not only your cardiovascular system’s job, but also the rest of your bodily functions.

What are the keys to cardiovascular fitness?

To ensure that your heart is in good condition for a long time, you have to be ready to get rid of your poor habits, and commit to various lifestyle changes.

1. You should start eating healthy.

Do you like to spend your days off on the couch, eating one large bag of chips after another, and drinking at least a liter of soda? Do you always drop by the fastfood right across the street from your office, and order the same large plate of oily and greasy food for lunch? Do you still remember what lettuce tastes like? When was the last time you had something green and leafy on your table?

For a healthy heart, you should supply your body with essential nutrients, minerals, and vitamins that help it carry out its functions. Stay away from foods with high sugar and fat content because they can raise your glucose levels and create blockage in your arteries and veins. They make you prone to diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, and other heart diseases.

2. You should exercise.

Do you work a deskjob and spend several hours everyday sitting in front of a computer? When not at work, are you too lazy to even do some household chores and end up just watching tv from morning til night? Does walking from your car to your front door, carrying a large bag of groceries, leave you feeling breathless and your arms in pain?

Being out-of-shape limits you so much. But, if you start exercising, you can get one step closer to a strong and healthy heart and body that will help you accomplish more in life.

There are many exercise routines that are good for the heart. They can increase the heart rate and promote better blood flow. They not only work the heart muscles, but also the other parts of your body. They can boost your endurance, strength, and stamina too.

For beginners, running is often recommended. To do it, you only need a place and a pair of sturdy running shoes. You can run around your neighborhood, in a park, or on a treadmill, and start by running 15 to 20 minutes everyday on your first week, then doing 30 minutes after a month, gradually increasing your time, distance covered, and frequency.

What are the health benefits of cardiovascular fitness exercises?

Whether you workout at the gym or just at home, you can get many health benefits from doing cardiovascular exercises on a regular basis.

1. It improves your metabolism.

A person who is in shape has a higher metabolic rate than someone who is not. If you are healthy, the cells, muscles, tissues, and internal organs inside your body are in stable and excellent condition to do what they are supposed to do to keep you alive. You can digest your food better, absorb nutrients more efficiently, and burn calories faster.

If you run or do intense exercises regularly, your metabolism rate should shoot up, helping you build muscles and lose weight faster.

2. It protects you from diseases.

If your body is weak, you are likely to contract or develop infections and other illnesses. It is hard to ward off bacteria, viruses, and other harmful elements that threaten your health, if your bodily systems are not at their best. To fix that, you should pay attention to your cardiovascular fitness.

When you exercise, you get your heart pumping, allowing it to grow its strength and durability. You work your lungs, too, which are essential in transporting oxygen throughout your body. After a week or so of quality cardiovascular exercises, you should already notice how you do not get tired and breathless as easily as before when climbing up stairs, or how running a kilometer does not seem as hard as it was two weeks ago.

3. It boosts your mood.

It is difficult to focus at work or in school if you are in a bad mood all the time. If, from the moment you get out of bed, there is already that heavy and intense feeling inside of you, surviving the challenges that come your way during the day will be tough. How do you get all the negativity out of your head?

Doing cardio can help enhance your mood, as it makes the body produce feel-good hormones that can bring that good and pleasant feeling. It, along with professional medical help, is frequently recommended to people who suffer from anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses, so that their burdens are eased even just a little bit.