Cardio Exercises That Help Retain & Build Muscle

Hello Ziddis! When you start your fitness journey you feel cardio is going to fix all your issues. As you progress you move on to strength training and disregard cardio. This is a trap we all fall into. The real fitness journey is not about moving on from your cardio stage but about moving with it. Let’s check out how doing cardio exercises can help retain and build muscles as opposed to the popular layman’s beliefs.

How Do Cardio Exercises Help Retain and Build Muscles?

Cardio exercises are expected to just reduce body fat but here are a few more things they do which in the bigger picture contribute to retaining and building muscles.

• Improve Blood Flow: This helps in improving circulation and delivering more oxygen and nutrients to your muscles. This also helps in faster recovery after your workout.
• Utilizes Fats: Utilize fats which make it easier to convert them into muscles without affecting the body mass.
• Balances Hormones: Regular moderate like swimming or jogging have shown great effect on our hormonal health.
• Look Better: With more even distribution of your gains, you look better when you engage in cardio exercises
• Increased Stamina: Cardio helps boost stamina. 

Cardio exercises in itself are responsible for boosting weight loss but when combined with strength training this combo can work wonders to retain and build muscles.

Best Cardio Exercises

While not all cardio exercises help in reaching the same result, you must skim through what fits your goals and embrace some of these best cardio exercises.

• Rowing: This helps in chest, bicep and tricep muscle building as well.
• Cycling: Helps in building stronger quads and calves.
• Incline walking: To help burn more calories.
• Battle Ropes: Help tone your arms and shoulders.
• Swimming: to build endurance and overall fitness.

Cardio Exercises for Weight Loss

For all those who are looking to lose weight, meet Cardio Exercises- the king of weight loss. Till now we tried to understand how cardio helps retain and build muscles. Here are a few cardio exercises for weight loss:

• Skipping ropes
• High-Intensity Interval Training
• Circuit training
• Kickboxing
• Swimming
• Jogging

All of these cardio exercises are excellent for burning your fats and result in quicker weight loss.

Cardio Workouts at Home

No gym membership or time to go to the gym? No worries! These simple cardio workouts at home have you covered. These simple at-home cardio workouts do not need any fancy equipment and can help you get fit in no time. All you need is your willpower, comfy gym wear and a water bottle to stay hydrated.

• Burpees: Perfect combo of strength and cardio
• Mountain Climbers: Gets you trek ready
• Jumping Jacks: Classic fun workout
• High Knees: Warm up those joints as you get slimmer
• Dancing: Adding some grace to your cardio and voila you are now talented and fit!
• Pro tip: Always invest in a good pair of jogger pants even for your cardio workouts at home so that you can workout freely!

Takeaway

The myth that cardio makes you lose your gains is officially busted. It is time to get the benefits of cardio to help your body-building journey. Aim for at least 20 minutes of 2-3 cardio sessions per week to make sure your gains are more sculpted.

Remember to research your myths before making them your routine. Add cardio workouts to your fitness routine to make the most of it and gain holistic benefits.

Sources:

https://dr-muscle.com/cardio

https://mutantnation.com/blogs/news/the-surprising-reasons-why-cardio-helps-muscle-growth?srsltid=AfmBOor2JDRTMcCy8wPb9kVSGM1tEmw2n0t-5IVSEzvhN7M7IG0Mor0A