While exercise fads come and go, one thing that has never gone out of style is good ol’ cardio, whether through running or taking a class in a gym that keeps your heartrate up.
Cardio is loaded with benefits, and while it can be a very fun form of exercise, it’s quite demanding. It’s no wonder why then, tons of people take pre-workout chews prior to their cardio routine, in order to get that extra boost of stamina and energy. But, which pre-workout chews are the best for cardio, specifically, given that there are a wide range of options in the health and fitness space?
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What is Cardio?
Cardio, short for cardiovascular exercise, refers to any physical activity that increases your heart rate and promotes cardiovascular health. It's often associated with activities like running, swimming, cycling, and brisk walking. Engaging in regular cardio workouts can help improve heart and lung function, burn calories, and boost overall fitness levels.. To expand on that, it’s many benefits include:
- Heart Health: Cardio strengthens the heart, enabling it to pump blood more efficiently and reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Weight Management: Regular cardio helps burn calories, which can aid in weight loss and weight maintenance.
- Improved Lung Capacity: Cardio workouts increase lung capacity and improve the efficiency of the respiratory system.
- Reduced Blood Pressure: Cardio exercises can help lower blood pressure, which reduces the strain on the heart and arteries.
- Lower Cholesterol Levels: Regular cardio can help raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.
- Better Blood Sugar Control: Cardio can help regulate blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Enhanced Circulation: Improved circulation helps deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues more effectively.
- Stronger Immune System: Regular exercise can boost the immune system, helping the body fight off illnesses more effectively.
- Reduced Stress: Cardio releases endorphins, which act as natural stress relievers.
- Improved Mood: Exercise can help alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety, promoting a more positive mood.
- Better Sleep: Regular cardio can improve the quality of sleep, helping you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
- Increased Mental Clarity: Exercise boosts cognitive function and memory, enhancing overall mental performance.
- Increased Stamina and Endurance: Regular cardio improves overall stamina and endurance, making daily activities easier to perform.
- Better Joint Health: Cardio exercises, especially low-impact ones like swimming or cycling, can improve joint health and reduce the risk of arthritis.
- Enhanced Flexibility and Balance: Many cardio workouts incorporate movements that enhance flexibility and balance, reducing the risk of falls and injuries.
- Opportunities for Social Interaction: Participating in group cardio activities, such as dance classes or running clubs, can provide opportunities for socializing and building community.
- Motivation and Accountability: Exercising with others can help keep you motivated and accountable to your fitness goals.
- Increased Lifespan: Regular cardio exercise is associated with a longer life expectancy due to its numerous health benefits.
What Could Stop Someone From Doing Cardio?
There are various factors that might prevent someone from doing cardio exercises, as these include:
- Health/Medical Conditions: Certain medical conditions such as heart problems, respiratory issues, severe asthma, or joint problems can restrict someone's ability to perform cardio exercises.
- Injuries: Injuries, especially those related to muscles, joints, or bones, i.e., sprains, fractures, pulls, or tears, can limit a person's capacity to engage in cardio activities, at least temporarily.
- Lack of Time: Busy schedules or a lack of time management can prevent someone from finding the time to do cardio.
- Lack of Motivation or Interest: Sometimes, the absence of motivation or a lack of interest in physical activities can be a barrier.
- Environmental Constraints/Factors: Poor weather conditions, unsafe neighborhoods, or lack of access to suitable places for exercise (like parks, gyms, or trails) can hinder someone from doing cardio.
- Fatigue/Burnout or Overtraining: Physical exhaustion, either from other activities or from overtraining, can reduce a person's ability or desire to engage in cardio.
- Poor Physical Fitness: A low level of physical fitness can make starting cardio exercises difficult, particularly more intense forms, due to the physical demands, like running or high-impact aerobics.
- Dietary Factors: Inadequate nutrition or dehydration can impact energy levels and performance, making cardio exercises more challenging.
- Mental Health Issues: Mental health conditions like depression or anxiety can sometimes reduce the motivation or energy levels necessary for physical activity.
- Aging: As people age, they may face more physical limitations and health issues that can restrict their ability to perform cardio exercises.
Note: Anyone facing these barriers should consult with their doctor/physician to find safe and suitable ways to incorporate cardio or other forms of exercise into their lifestyle.
What Happens if You Don’t Do Cardio?
If you don't engage in cardiovascular exercises, several things can happen to your body and overall health:
- Decreased Cardiovascular Fitness: Your heart is a muscle, and like other muscles, it needs exercise to stay strong. Without cardio, your cardiovascular endurance and efficiency can decrease, making everyday activities like climbing stairs or walking long distances more challenging.
- Weight Gain: Cardio exercises are effective at burning calories, which helps manage weight. Lack of cardio, especially if not compensated with other forms of exercise or a balanced diet, might lead to weight gain.
- Increased Risk of Chronic Diseases: Regular cardio exercise is known to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. Without it, your risk of developing these conditions can increase.
- Mental Health Impact: Cardio exercise is not only good for the body but also for the mind. It releases endorphins that help in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. Lack of cardio might affect your mood and mental well-being.
- Reduced Metabolic Efficiency: Cardio exercise helps in boosting your metabolism. Without it, your metabolic rate may slow down, which can affect how your body uses and stores energy.
- Impact on Sleep and Energy Levels: Regular cardio can improve sleep quality and boost overall energy levels. Without it, you might experience disruptions in your sleep patterns and feel less energetic.
- Flexibility and Mobility: While cardio exercises primarily target heart health, they also help in maintaining flexibility and mobility. Without it, you may notice a decrease in your overall mobility and flexibility over time.
Types of Cardio Exercises Could You Do Then
Cardio exercises are key components of weight loss programs and are important for maintaining heart health and lung capacity. They can vary in intensity from light to high, depending on a person's fitness level and goals. Regular cardio exercise is known to have numerous health benefits including reducing the risk of heart disease, improving mental health, and aiding in weight management. It's important to note, too, that the right amount and type of cardio can vary from person to person, depending on individual fitness levels, health conditions, and goals. Incorporating a variety of these exercises into your routine can help keep workouts interesting and effective, nonetheless.
Here are some popular types of cardio exercises:
- Running/Jogging: Simple and effective, running and jogging can be done outdoors or on a treadmill. Improves cardiovascular health, strengthens muscles, and aids in weight loss.
- Cycling: Can be done on a stationary bike indoors or a regular bike outdoors. Low-impact exercise that strengthens the legs and improves heart health.
- Swimming: Involves various strokes like freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. Full-body workout that is easy on the joints and improves lung capacity.
- Jump Rope: Involves jumping over a rope swung under the feet and over the head. Burns a lot of calories, improves coordination, and strengthens the lower body.
- Rowing: Can be done on a rowing machine or in a boat on water. Full-body workout that strengthens the upper body, core, and legs.
- Walking: Can be done at a brisk pace for increased intensity. Low-impact exercise suitable for all fitness levels, improves cardiovascular health.
- Dancing: Includes styles like Zumba, hip-hop, salsa, and ballroom dancing. A fun way to burn calories, improve coordination, and strengthen muscles.
- Elliptical Training: Done on an elliptical machine, mimicking running or walking motions. Low-impact, full-body workout that is easy on the joints.
- High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): Involves short bursts of intense exercise followed by rest or low-intensity exercise. Burns a lot of calories in a short time, improves metabolism, and enhances cardiovascular health.
- Hiking: Walking on trails, often with varying elevation. Combines cardiovascular exercise with muscle strengthening, especially in the legs.
- Stair Climbing: Involves walking or running up and down stairs. Strengthens the legs and glutes, burns a lot of calories, and improves cardiovascular health.
- Kickboxing: Combines martial arts techniques with fast-paced cardio. A full-body workout that improves strength, coordination, and cardiovascular health.
- Rowing Machine: Simulates the action of rowing a boat. Provides a full-body workout that strengthens the back, arms, and legs while improving cardiovascular health.
- Cross-Country Skiing: Done on snow-covered trails, using skis and poles. This full-body workout is excellent for cardiovascular health and muscle endurance.
- Aerobics Classes: Group classes that involve rhythmic aerobic exercise set to music. Fun, social way to improve cardiovascular health and overall fitness.
- Basketball/Soccer/Other Sports Description: Team sports that involve continuous running and movement. Improve cardiovascular health, coordination, and muscle strength while providing a fun and competitive environment.
What are Pre-Workout Chews?
Pre-workout chews are a type of supplement designed to be consumed before exercise to enhance performance, energy levels, and focus. They typically come in the form of small, chewable tablets or gummies. Pre-workout chews often contain ingredients that work together to provide various benefits such as increased energy, improved blood flow to the muscles, enhanced endurance, and heightened mental focus.
The chewable format makes them convenient for consumption on the go, and some people prefer them over traditional powdered or liquid pre-workout supplements due to their portability and ease of use.
How We Picked These Top 3 Pre-Workout Chews
As you may have noticed, there are countless pre-workout chews on the market these days, each with a very distinctive formula. So, how were we able to narrow it down to just a few? Well, by observing several factors that actually matter when it comes to the efficacy, safety, quality, and potency of the product, and those would be:
- Potency: Pre-workout chews can contain exceptional active ingredients, but if those ingredients aren’t actually present in high enough concentrations, you’re not going to get any kind of noticeable results.
- Active Ingredients: Pre-workout chews can contain any variety of ingredients that are responsible for the effects of the chew, like those made to boost energy and those which can improve focus and mood. Some active ingredients are more “proven” and safer than others, with some being tried-and-true for decades, and others being fads that just don’t ultimately deliver.
- How They Taste/Their Texture: Essentially, if a chew doesn’t taste good, you’re not going to want to keep eating it, and so even if it delivers in efficacy, it’s a letdown. The same goes for texture, since some companies make great-tasting chews, but the texture is just too off-putting.
- Inactive Ingredients: Inactive ingredients are also very important, with natural ingredients always being ideal. We stayed away from chews that contain lots of fillers, artificial additives, and even known allergens.
What are the Best Pre-Workout Chews for Boosting Your Cardio Fitness?
Time to take a look at our favorite formulas specifically for cardio, so that you can get started with a new and effective routine. Again, this is all based on the criteria above, so you know you’re getting a top-quality pre-workout product all around.
Pre-Workout Chew for Cardio #3:Bounce Nutrition Mushroom Blend Gummies
Our enticing Mushroom Blend pre-workout formula offers a unique take on pre-workout supplements. Its dreamy Black Razz flavor and succulent texture alone is worth trying, but it’s the blend of active ingredients that really impresses.
Magnesium, caffeine, lion’s mane, cordyceps, and reishi mushrooms come together to provide a carefully selected blend of adaptogens, minerals, and stimulants that improve energy, boost cognition, and lift your mood to help you get through the most demanding workouts, even on days when you’re not feeling up to it.
Pre-Workout Chew for Cardio #2: Bounce Nutrition Best Mode Blend Gummies
Next, we have Bounce Nutrition’s Beast Mode gummies, a vegan formula with a delicious fruit punch flavor, and containing caffeine, gingko balboa, theanine, L-carnitine, and Vitamin B12, in high enough concentrations to give you powerful effects that can help you tackle your cardio regimen on a whole new level.
Designed specifically to produce a significant boost in energy, endurance, and mental stamina, you can’t go wrong with these gummies if you’re a fan of higher-intensity training.
Pre-Workout Chew for Cardio #1: Bounce Nutrition Shred Blend Gummies
The Shred Blend vegan formula tastes just like mouthwatering blueberry pie, and even offers a phenomenal mix of natural plant derivatives known for their powerful effects that directly improve your cardio game.
L-theanine, caffeine, magnesium, ashwagandha, and tart cherry work together synergistically to give you the energy and concentration you need to get through a training session, with ashwagandha and magnesium offering the added benefits of helping the body respond better to both physical and mental stress.
Take Your Cardio Routine to the Next Level by Taking Pre-Workout Chews!
Remember, while cardio is a crucial aspect of fitness, it should be balanced with other forms of exercise like strength training and flexibility exercises for overall health and wellness. Also, it's always recommended to consult with your doctor/physician before starting any new exercise regimen, especially if there are health concerns or physical limitations.
With all that beings said, Bounce Nutrition Pre-Workout Chews have what it takes to offer improvement in your cardio performance, with formulas that are clean and gentle on the body, while offering more focus, motivation, energy, and endurance. Check them all out today, and simply see what they can do for your cardio regimen.
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