The Many, Many Benefits of Cardio Workouts (Because There Are Way More Than You Think)

You already know exercise is good for you: It’s one of the pillars of healthy living, along with eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, and managing your stress. But do you know all the reasons why it’s so good for you? There are a surprising number of benefits of cardio that go well beyond keeping your heart healthy (although that’s obviously important too!).

Keep reading to find out how cardio also helps your mood, bones, sleep, and so much more.

What Is Cardio Exercise?

Cardio—short for cardiovascular exercise—is any intentional physical activity that gets your heart rate up for an extended period of time, explains Elizabeth Gardner, MD, an orthopedic sports medicine physician and the head team physician for Yale Athletics. That includes modalities like walking, cycling, running, rowing, dancing, and swimming, but any aerobic exercise that continuously gets your heart thumping counts. 

The American Heart Association recommends healthy adults get at least 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio exercise a week. You can think about that as five cardio workouts a week that are 30 to 60 minutes long. (And don’t forget that you should aim to fit in two strength training workouts each week too!)

Benefits of Cardio

You don’t have to memorize this long list of cardio benefits (there will not be a quiz later!), but it’s worth making note of a few that fire you up. “Understanding the specific things that exercise does allows individuals to be a little bit more motivated to exercise,” says Sean Swearingen, MD, a sports cardiologist at RUSH University Medical Group.

Here are the highlights you can expect from regular cardio workouts:

1. A Healthier Heart

Cardio exercise, unsurprisingly, has major benefits for your cardiovascular system, aka your heart and blood vessels.

“Your heart is, fundamentally, a muscle. When you work out, say, a biceps muscle, over the course of time, that muscle becomes more efficient and can grow in size,” Dr. Gardner says. “By using the heart and asking it to increase its rate of pumping and the intensity of that pumping, you’re building a muscle just like you are any other muscle.”

Over time, that means better cardio endurance: You feel more in shape and your heart rate won’t elevate quite as high when you’re working out. That also typically means your resting heart rate lowers a bit, as does your resting blood pressure, “which is one of the great markers we have for fitness and general health,” Dr. Gardner says.

Those improvements also translate to lower risk of heart disease and stroke, two leading causes of death for Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

2. Lower Blood Pressure

Speaking of blood pressure: The more efficient your heart gets at pumping, the more efficient the whole circulatory system grows in response, Dr. Gardner says. 

During exercise, your BP will be higher than normal. But over time with regular exercise, “your baseline blood pressure will tend to be lower versus someone who’s not as physically active,” Dr. Swearingen says.

Regular cardio exercise—including when it’s paired with consistent strength training—has been shown to reduce blood pressure, even among people who already have high levels, according to Integrated Blood Pressure Control research.

3. Lower Cholesterol

As you grow more efficient with cardio exercise, your body processes more fat stores for energy, which in turn decreases the amount of fat—aka cholesterol—in your blood, Dr. Gardner says.

Typically, regular cardio results in higher HDL or “good” cholesterol and lower LDL or “bad” cholesterol, Dr. Swearingen says. That’s a good thing, because it helps limit how much of this waxy substance builds up in your arteries. High cholesterol levels can potentially lead to heart disease down the line.

4. Healthier Lungs

Similarly to the way cardio exercise challenges and improves your heart health, it also builds your lung capacity, Dr. Gardner says. “By building that endurance, you are building stamina,” she says. With time, you’ll likely notice you don’t get quite so out of breath doing the same workout as you did previously.

If you already have concerns with your lung health, cardio exercise can still benefit you, Dr. Swearingen says. “Regular physical activity in somebody who already has a known, underlying lung disease can help to minimize the progression and the severity of that disease,” he says. In one International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease study, regular aerobic exercise was found to improve symptoms of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, and other chronic breathing-related disorders.

5. More Stable Blood Sugar

When you exercise, you need more energy to power your movements. That often comes in the form of glucose, or blood sugar, that your body had previously stored up for bouts of activity. “Because of that, your tissues send out signals to show they need insulin to help drive glucose into the cells,” Dr. Swearingen says. That can help prevent the decline in insulin sensitivity that can ultimately lead to diabetes over time, he says.

In fact, people who get plenty of cardio have a 26 percent lower chance of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a ‌Diabetologia‌ analysis. And even among people who already have diabetes, cardio and resistance training can lower blood sugar, according to a JAMA study.

6. Less Joint Pain

It’s a little counterintuitive: You might think if your knees or ankles hurt, you should give them a break and skip cardio exercise. But “low-intensity, low-impact movement has actually been shown to be one of the best ways of managing the pain and inflammation of arthritis,” Dr. Gardner says. “Movement is how we lubricate and nourish our joints,” so it can help prevent some stiffness and creakiness from settling in, she says. It can also reduce pain among people who already have arthritis, according to BMJ research.

You might need to find the right form of cardio exercise for you, depending on your specific joint pain. For example, long-time runners with knee pain might feel less discomfort cycling or swimming, Dr. Swearingen says. 

But remember: There’s no “best” form of cardio exercise—they’re all great options, and there’s no shortage of choices. And in case you missed it: There are lots of low-impact cardio classes to explore on the Peloton App, such as rowing and cycling.

7. A Healthier Weight

If your goal is to lose or maintain weight, nutrition is a major component—but exercise is also often part of a healthy, sustainable weight-loss plan. Cardio helps your body burn extra calories, and, coupled with eating balanced portion sizes of nutrient-dense foods, it can help you take in fewer calories than you burn and shed some pounds in the process, Dr. Gardner says.

8. Less Stress

Cardio can spark some feel-good chemical surges in your brain such as hormones or neurotransmitters that lift your mood and self-esteem, Dr. Gardner says. Sometimes this takes the form of the fabled “runner’s high”; other times, it simply makes you feel less stressed and more capable of tackling the rest of your day.

Research routinely shows that people who exercise regularly are less likely to feel stressed. But you don’t have to do yoga to feel more calm (although there are plenty of centering yoga routines on the Peloton App!): All sorts of cardio can help you de-stress, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.

9. Eased Depression Symptoms

But the mental health benefits of cardio go even further: Studies suggest that consistent exercise can help effectively manage depression symptoms.

Dr. Swearingen keeps this benefit top of mind when working with cardiology patients. “I am heavily focused in my clinic on making sure people are able to stay as active as possible, because I realize the benefit it has from a psychological and a mental health perspective,” he says.

It might even have a preventive effect: People who get regular cardio are 25 percent less likely to develop depression than people who don’t exercise, according to a JAMA Psychiatry analysis.

It’s important to note, however, that exercise is not a cure nor a replacement for therapy or medication, and most people need to treat mental health conditions with a number of different techniques and tactics. There’s no single treatment plan that works for everyone, Dr. Gardner says.

10. Better Cognitive Health

More research is needed, but studies increasingly show the benefits of regular exercise on the brain, especially in warding off dementia and inspiring clearer thinking, Dr. Gardner says.

In one study of Swedish women in Neurology, the most physically active people developed dementia when they were nearly 10 years older compared to those who were getting less exercise.

Cardio is also tied to sharper thinking, judgment, and learning as you age, according to the CDC.

11. Improved Balance and Coordination

Think of cardio exercise like practice for moving your body in different ways, which is “one of those things that if you don’t use it, you lose it,” Dr. Gardner says. Physical activity might make you less likely to fall when you encounter a stray charging cable in the dark on your way to the bathroom or a slippery winter sidewalk on a jog, she says.

That uptick in coordination can be especially important for people with balance-related issues. For example, cardio exercise has been shown to improve grip coordination in people with Parkinson’s disease and balance and walking performance in people who have had strokes.

12. Stronger Bones

Cardio is often—but not always—weight-bearing activity, which has benefits for your bones. Over time, weight-bearing cardio exercise like walking and running builds bone density and prevents you from losing bone as you age. That’s because your bones, just like your muscles, respond to the challenge of your physical activity of choice, according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation. That can ward off osteoporosis, which means if you do happen to fall, you’ll be less likely to break a bone, Dr. Gardner says.

13. Better Sleep

It’s generally not great for your sleep to work out right before bed. But a regular exercise routine overall is linked with getting better quality sleep, falling asleep faster, and managing sleep conditions like insomnia, according to a Cureus review.

If you are going to exercise at night, consider saving high-intensity workouts for the morning and opting for some restorative yoga on the Peloton App instead. You’ll get your heart rate up a little and prepare yourself to drift off to dreamland.

14. A Healthier Immune System

When you sleep better and feel less stressed and your heart and lungs are working well, you’re in better shape to ward off seasonal infections like colds and flu. “All of that comes together to give you a healthier, more effective immune system,” Dr. Gardner says. 

In fact, people who do regular cardio may be less likely to get very sick from COVID-19 and less likely to die from flu or pneumonia, according to the CDC.

Just don’t overdo it: Really intense exercise over long periods of time could actually lower your body’s natural immune response, per the National Library of Medicine (NLM).

15. Better Sexual Function

Blood flow probably isn’t your primary focus in the bedroom, but it’s actually key to a healthy sex life. Better blood flow from regular cardio can increase sexual arousal in anyone and both lower the risk of and improve symptoms of erectile dysfunction in people with penises, per the NLM.  

16. A Longer Life

There’s no single secret to living a long, healthy life, but cardio exercise certainly can’t hurt. In fact, research has long shown people who are physically active are less likely to die from any cause, including heart disease, Dr. Swearingen says.

In one ‌BMJ‌ study, people who met the above recommendations for cardio exercise were less likely to die from any cause, including cancer and heart disease—and there were even bigger benefits if they also met strength training recommendations.

And it’s never too late to start moving: Earlier BMJ research found adults ages 40–79 who increased their physical activity were less likely to die from any cause compared to people who remained inactive as they aged.

The Takeaway

The (many!) benefits of cardio affect you from head to toe: Regular cardiovascular exercise can improve your memory, sleep, sex, heart, mental health, and so much more. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise five times a week and you’ll be on your way to a healthier, fitter you.