What happens to the body if you completely give up cardio workouts?
The outcome depends on your exercise goals, but there are nuances.
Fitness trainer
How will the lack of cardio affect your physical performance?
Have you ever felt homesick at the mere sight of the treadmill? Or perhaps the jump rope only makes you want to leave the gym? If this is the case, then you’re not a fan of cardio workouts. Many fitness bloggers and experts advise doing what you enjoy and not forcing yourself to do exercises you can’t stand. Let’s look into whether you can eliminate cardio from your workout plan without harming your goals.
What happens if you give up cardio?
Refusal from running and jumping is not as terrible for a relief body as it may seem at first glance. After all, when working with weights, the body spends a slightly lower number of calories than in aerobic workouts. In addition, metabolism is directly related to the percentage of muscle mass in the body. Therefore, by developing muscle mass, we automatically provide ourselves with a more efficient breakdown of fat. And this means that the body will tighten up and lose weight without the involvement of running and intense exercise.
It is not at all necessary to replace cardio with strength training only. Fitness is multifaceted. It can also include stretching, Pilates and other types of exercise. All this in combination with exercises to develop physical strength and endurance will lead to the same impressive results as running on the track. It is the complex effect on the body that is important. And this complex can be formed in many different ways. Therefore, there is no point in forcing yourself on the track or torturing yourself with intense exercises.
When is it better to exclude cardio from training?
Aerobic exercise may not be useful to everyone, and someone may even harm. If you accelerate the heart rate to 170 beats per minute and work at the limit for a long time, it can have a bad effect on the body. The elderly, people with a weak heart or with a predisposition to cardiovascular disease should be very careful about aerobic exercise, and perhaps even exclude it altogether.
Cardio exercise can be a good addition to your workout plan. However, eliminating them will not be catastrophic. Do what you enjoy.