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Our new fitness columnist, Siobhan Sentry of Advanced Fitness Education, goes through the benefits of cardio in your exercise programme…

Cardio is short for cardiovascular exercise. It is any exercise or movement that increases your heart rate and blood circulation.

For many people it’s all or nothing when it comes to cardio, either their whole fitness regime consists of only cardio or contains no cardio at all.

Cardio is one of the key components of exercise and should never be left out of any fitness programme. Some reasons to include cardio in your fitness programme are;

Cardio burns fat

Moving the body will burn off excess energy. Just be careful that calories expended during exercises, always exceeds calories taken in through food for weight loss benefits.

Combine it with the metabolism-increasing effects of strength training and see further great weight loss results.

Cardio improves heart health

Your heart is a muscle, however unlike other muscles in the body, it cannot be worked using a barbell or dumbbell!

Have you ever been short of breath after climbing the stairs or performing a general daily activity?

This is a sure sign that you are neglecting to work your cardiovascular system. Cardio exercise will help make your heart and lungs stronger and more efficient, enabling you to perform daily tasks easier plus adding years onto your life expectancy.

Reduces stress levels

Exercise releases “feel good” hormones known as endorphins that create feelings of happiness. We can all get too caught up in exercising for aesthetic reasons, forgetting about the powerful contribution exercise can make to our health including our mental health.

Had a stressful day? Take the time to get out for a walk, run, swim, cycle or even a “kickaround” with the kids and note how you are distracted from the thoughts that were causing previous stress throughout the day.

Scientifically, exercise also increases concentrations of norepinephrine, a chemical that helps to moderate the brain’s response to stress.

Improves sleep

I have seen all too often on various social networking sites people complaining of poor sleep patterns or insomnia.

As well as putting down the smart phone, tablet, iPad or laptop late at night, exercise can also help. According to the National Sleep Foundation, studies have shown that long term moderate intensity cardio exercise helped individuals suffering from insomnia to fall asleep quicker, sleep slightly longer and overall have better sleep quality than before they began exercising.

Exercise can be fun

Don’t feel that spending hours in the gym is the only way to get fit and healthy, explore other enjoyable ways to get healthy.

Exercise can be a great way to be social or spend time with family and friends, take a walk with a friend, try a Zumba class to meet new people or join a soccer team. Think back to when you were younger, what did you enjoy?

Go try that again, you may just be surprised at how easy it is to stick to exercise when you are doing something that you enjoy.

If you are trying to get or stay in shape for summer holidays how about trading a night out on the town for an evening of playing fun childhood games such as red rover or tip the can, guaranteed to get endorphins flowing as well burn calories!

Next week we will look at the benefits of strength training before putting it all together in some top body blasting work out ideas.

• Siobhan Sentry is Course Director with Advanced Fitness Education at Tralee Sports And Leisure Centre. She has eight years diverse industry experience. She has worked worldwide as a personal trainer and group exercise instructor and a top level wellness specialist designing and implementing health and wellness initiatives for multinational corporate companies. Advanced Fitness Education will hold an open day at the Ballyroe Heights Hotel on July 31 at 6.30 and 8pm. For more visit their website by clicking here