The Benefits of Cardio to the Human Mind and Body

Since I was seven years old, I have always liked doing physical activity, even today. I first played soccer which has been something that always reminded me how good it feels to exercise, mainly cardio. At the age of 16, I stopped playing soccer after nine years, but I didn’t stop exercising then because I enjoyed how cardio made me feel. I did take a break from exercising, but it emphasized how cardio has a profound effect on my mental and physical health. I believe there are many problems in a person’s life that can be solved through physical exercise predominantly with cardio.

1. Cardio Is Easy To Do Almost Anywhere

For me, cardio has always been the go-to exercise because you can get your blood pumping almost anywhere. I find this extremely important as there are many reasons why one can’t go to the gym or don’t have time to dedicate a certain amount of time daily to exercise. Although, if one does have the time, running outside either morning or afternoon can be an easy way to get that cardio in and feel great after. Running has come useful when I’ve been overthinking about school or other problems and if I need to distract myself.

2. It's Good To Spend Time Outside

There are many places one can run, but I thoroughly enjoy running in nature on a hiking trail, park, or in a scenic view. It is relieving to go outside and do something other than work or school, as it provides a new setting and change. The beginning of the pandemic where going outside was not an option unless exercising was essential to enhance one’s experience in enjoying the simplicity of life and distract oneself from the daily struggles. The combination of running outside can have a tremendous effect on one's life.

3. Cardio Makes The Body Feel Good

After a good 20-30 minute jog around the neighborhood, especially in the morning, my body is tired, but it feels rejuvenated after. There have been days that I have become sore after a long run which helped me self-reflect on how my body feels and how I can better it with resting or icing. Cardio can create a good habit of self-reflecting as it promotes one to ask how one is feeling throughout the day physically and even mentally. Jogging almost daily encourages me to care more about my body as I exercise and self-reflect on my own body throughout the day.

4. Running Is An Excellent Morning Starter

I thoroughly enjoy waking up early and start the day by running before starting my actual day. To begin the day with something positive and productive can snowball into a good day which is sometimes needed when going through a tough week. Not only is doing something in the morning beneficial but squeezing a morning run before a long day can be the thing one needs to have a productive day. I’ve done this to boost the beginning of my week, and it was the determining factor of how my day and week will go, which gives me great motivation to have a good day.

5. Cardio Clears The Mind

Cardio has always been one of the main factors in my life, and it has benefited my mental health throughout my life. There are days where I am overstressed and have intrusive thoughts to the point of running being the only way to cope with it. It is a great way to distract the mind and have a mental reset which is hard to get if one is constantly in their mind and thinking about the past or future. Even a 10-minute intense run can be enough to relax the mind and think about something else other than one’s constant thoughts.

6. Helps Create A Routine

Running daily off the bat is unrealistic and difficult, but there are steps that I took, for example, running on specific days of the week. Everyone needs to determine their goal is and then create a plan on how to get there, which can be connected to running. With this in mind, one can create a routine that one does daily and try their best to do it. The importance of having a routine is what is in it, but also it is something that keeps one productive and leads to good healthy habits. It is a method to combat days filled with struggle and stressful situations.

7. Cardio Leads To Other Physical Activities

Cardio is a basic and easy way for people to get into physical activity and make it a part of their everyday life. I have explored other physical activities throughout my life due to running and being fit, which encourages me to exercise. There are so many physical activities that people are not aware of because it is either unknown to them or they don’t know where to start. I would say that there are many ways to get in touch with one’s physical activity needs, but the easiest will be to start with cardio and go from there.

Conclusion

I have learned and understood myself more through cardio and it has lead to other great things but it didn’t happen overnight. All of the reasons mentioned of why cardio is essential physically and mentally were self-realized since I was 7 years old. I believe it is as important to everyone else as it was to me to do any physical activity because there are so many pros that can help one’s daily life and to be ultimately a better person. My research question will be How does cardio affect the physical and mental health of young people between ages 13-21?

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