Does Cardio Increase Metabolism + Ways to Boost It?

It's estimated that only seven percent of U.S. adults have optimal cardiometabolic health. Cardio exercise has some significant advantages when it comes to metabolic health.¹

So, what exactly is cardio? Cardio, short for cardiovascular exercise, is any type of endurance exercise that gets your heart pumping and raises your heart rate. This could include activities like running, biking, swimming, or walking. The point is, your heart rate is up, and you're working up a sweat.

In this article, you'll learn:

• What cardiometabolic health is and why it's important
• How cardio supports your metabolic health
• How to get started or optimize your current plan

Understanding why something is so good for you often increases motivation to make positive changes, so let's dive in.

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Understanding Metabolism and How It Works

Metabolism refers to how your body converts calories from your diet into energy. Oxygen consumption is like fuel for our bodies’ engines. Breathing in oxygen helps our cells turn food into energy called ATP, which your cells use to power all functions. This process is known as cellular respiration.²

When people talk about “boosting” metabolism, they are usually referring to trying to increase the amount of calories your body burns each day. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of energy your body needs to maintain basic functions at rest. Resting metabolic rate (RMR) is similar to BMR but includes light movement. Both of these contribute to the majority of the calories you burn each day.

Metabolism is also influenced by the thermic effect of food (TEF), the energy required to digest food, and physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE), which includes any exercise outside of normal daily activities.³

Your metabolism is influenced by age, gender, genetics, and body composition (or the amount of lean muscle you have). 

Benefits of Cardio Exercise for Metabolic Health

Cardiovascular exercise has been shown to improve markers of metabolic health, including:⁴

• Blood pressure
• Fasting blood sugar levels
• Insulin sensitivity
• Cholesterol levels
• Triglyceride levels
• Obesity or weight loss

All of these markers can measure your cardiometabolic health. Cardiometabolic health is a term used to describe your risk of developing cardiovascular disease and other metabolic diseases, like diabetes.

Additionally, regular physical activity can help reduce inflammation, which is known to play a role in metabolic dysfunction.⁵

So, regular exercisers have the upper hand in maintaining healthy metabolic function. They are more likely to avoid developing cardiometabolic risk factors in the first place, and if they do have risk factors, cardio workouts can help improve them.⁶

On the flip side, someone with a sedentary lifestyle is more likely to develop cardiometabolic risk factors, leading to cardiovascular disease.

The moral of the story? Incorporating cardio into your routine is smart if you want to keep your cardiometabolic health in check.⁷

Cardio Temporarily Boosts Your Metabolism

Cardio can increase the body's resting metabolic rate (RMR) for up to 48 hours after exercise.⁸ Since your RMR is the number of calories the body burns while at rest, this means that regular cardio helps you burn more calories, even when you are not working out, which can help you maintain a healthy weight over time.⁹

Cardio Can Support a Healthy Gut

Have you ever been told to take a walk after a big meal? There's a reason this is a common recommendation.

Walking (or any other cardio) can help speed up the digestive process so you feel better. Walking is also linked to weight loss.¹⁰ Cardiovascular exercise has also been shown to support gut health in several ways.

First, regular aerobic exercise can help increase the number of beneficial bacteria in the gut and reduce harmful bacteria populations.¹¹ It may not seem like an obvious connection, but the type of bacteria in your GI tract can affect metabolic health.¹²

Regular exercise may also help reduce gut inflammation, which is a root cause of many chronic diseases, including metabolic disorders.^{13, 14}

So, by keeping inflammation in check, cardio can help reduce your risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases.

Cardio Can Help Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a type of fat transported in the blood and is a primary marker for metabolic health.

There are two types of cholesterol: HDL and LDL. HDL, or high-density lipoprotein, is considered "good" cholesterol because it helps remove bad cholesterol (LDL) from the arteries and transport it to the liver, which is broken down and eliminated from the body.¹⁵

LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, is considered "bad" cholesterol because it can build up in the arteries and increase the risk of heart disease.

The link between physical activity and cholesterol is strong. Exercising five days a week for at least 30 minutes a day appears to be especially beneficial for increasing HDL and could decrease LDL and total cholesterol.¹⁶

So, how much cardio do you need to do to see a significant reduction in cholesterol levels? The research is still inconclusive, but at least five days a week is ideal. Even 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio per week can make a significant impact.

Cardio Can Lower Triglycerides

Triglycerides are a type of fat stored in the body for energy. High triglyceride levels are linked to an increased risk of heart disease.¹⁷ Diets high in refined carbohydrates and sugar can lead to high triglyceride levels. Alcohol intake is also a major contributing factor.

A low-glycemic diet is a primary recommendation for high triglycerides, but exercise can also help. Studies suggest aerobic exercise after meals can help reduce triglycerides in the blood. Both high-fat or high-carb meals can increase triglycerides, at least temporarily, but cardio may help bring them down.

Cardio May Reduce Waist Circumference

Each person's body is different, so it's impossible to say precisely how much your waist circumference will decrease with cardio. However, research shows that regular aerobic exercise can reduce waist circumference, even if you don't lose weight.¹⁸

Why does waist circumference matter? Some research shows that it's a much better predictor of cardiometabolic risk than BMI, especially for women.¹⁹

BMI is a screening tool, but a higher BMI doesn’t always mean someone is unhealthy. Since it only examines weight compared to height, BMI doesn't look at things like muscle mass vs body fat, diet, or metabolic markers that matter more for predicting health outcomes.

On the other hand, studies clearly point to waist circumference as a risk factor for poor health outcomes. A healthy waist circumference is anything less than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men.²⁰

Cardio Can Help Reduce Blood Pressure

Regular cardio is one of the best things you can do for your blood pressure, and you don't have to run a marathon to see results.²¹ Even moderate-intensity exercise can have a significant impact. Moderate-intensity exercise is like a brisk walk, where you can still talk but can't sing the words to a song.

Blood pressure and metabolic health go hand-in-hand because high blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiometabolic disorders.²² By reducing your blood pressure with cardio, you also reduce your risk of developing metabolic disease.

Cardio Helps Regulate Blood Sugar Levels

Exercise makes your cells more sensitive to insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels.²³ This means that your cells can more effectively remove sugar from your bloodstream and use it for energy.

When cells don't respond to insulin as they should, called insulin resistance, it's a significant risk factor for poor cardiometabolic health. Regular aerobic exercise can help prevent insulin resistance and keep blood sugar stable.²⁴

On the other hand, a sedentary lifestyle can lead to insulin resistance, where your cells become less sensitive to insulin, and your blood sugar levels start to rise.²⁵

Cardio Helps Manage Uric Acid Levels

Uric acid is a waste product produced when your body breaks down purines. Purines are made by the body but are also found in foods like red meat, seafood, and organ meats.

High uric acid levels are linked to blood sugar dysregulation, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome (and a painful condition called gout).²⁶ So, keeping uric acid levels in check is crucial for metabolic health.

Aerobic exercise can help manage uric acid levels by supporting weight loss (there's a link between increased body weight and high uric acid levels).²⁷

Cardio Supports a Healthy Stress Response

Physical activity could help your body better deal with stress. When you're stressed, your body releases the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is the "stress hormone" released in response to physical or psychological stress.

Cortisol is an essential hormone, but chronically high cortisol can adversely affect health. Chronic stress is linked to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome.²⁸

Fortunately, aerobic exercise can help improve the body's response to stress. One study found that exercise helps dampen the response to psychosocial stressors.²⁹

<p class="pro-tip"><strong>Learn More: </strong><a href=grapes-weight-loss>How to Include Grapes in Your Weight Loss Diet </a>.</p>

How to Use Cardio Workouts to Boost Your Metabolism

Whether you're just getting started or are an avid exerciser, there are plenty of ways to get the cardiovascular exercise you need to improve your metabolic health.

If You Already Have an Exercise Plan

Whether you participate in high-intensity interval training (HIIT), resistance training, or endurance exercise, consider having a heart rate monitor to ensure you reach the right intensity level for your goals. Heart rate training zones are a great way to measure intensity.

It also may be worth hiring a certified personal trainer to help design a program tailored to your specific needs and goals to accelerate your progress. Lifting weights through strength training can be a good addition to your cardio plan to increase lean muscle tissue to help boost metabolism.

If You Exercise Every Once in a While

Maybe you already exercise a few times a month but want to increase the frequency or intensity of your workouts. Start by adding one or two cardio sessions to your routine each week.

Once that's a habit, you can gradually increase your frequency, duration, or intensity. And if you're feeling ambitious, you could even try adding some weight training to your routine to boost your metabolic health.

If You're New to Exercise

If you're starting from scratch, it's helpful to ease into things gradually. Try starting with just 10 minutes of cardio three times per week. It's also helpful for beginners to try different types of cardio to find what works for you. Maybe it's swimming or walking. Or perhaps you prefer running or biking.

The important thing is to find an activity that you enjoy and can stick with in the long term.

Sometimes, people already have an active lifestyle or job and aren't sure if they need to add more cardio. If this sounds like you, try tracking your steps and heart rate. Aerobic exercise means working at an intensity where your heart rate is raised and breathing harder to make your body more efficient at using oxygen.

No matter where you are in your fitness journey, it's clear that regular exercise is an essential part of a plan for optimal cardiometabolic health.

Other Ways to Boost Your Metabolism

In addition to cardio, there are other strategies you can incorporate into your routine that can help give your metabolism an extra boost. Making simple lifestyle changes and adopting healthy habits can enhance your body's calorie burn throughout the day. 

• Stay Hydrated: Drinking enough water is essential for optimal metabolic function.³⁰ Your cells need water to run smoothly, plus hydration is needed for healthy digestion so nutrients from food get to where they need to go.
• Increase Protein Intake: Protein takes more energy to break down, so it may slightly increase metabolic rate through the thermic effect of food.³¹ Plus, it helps keep blood sugar more stable.
• Get Enough Sleep: Lack of sleep can disrupt healthy metabolism and hormone regulation. Most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night for optimal health.
• Manage Stress: Chronic stress can adversely impact metabolism by influencing hormone balance and increasing inflammation. The first step is to pinpoint significant stressors in your life, and if you can’t completely avoid them, find ways to reduce stress through movement, yoga, journaling, nature, or whatever works for you.

<p class="pro-tip"><strong>Also Read: </strong><a href=high-blood-pressure-physical-exercise>How to Lower High Blood Pressure With Physical Exercise</a>.</p>