Best Cardio Workout Videos

Interval Cardio Workouts, Fitness DVDs and Workout Videos, Home Workout DVDs

Five surprising benefits from cardio workout DVDs.

The right cardio workout DVDs will tune up an amazing variety of your body's systems, even as you try to drop a few pounds. The best cardio workouts for weight loss strengthen not only your body, but also your mind. Fitness DVDs with a cardio component improve your health in five ways you just might find surprising. So take a break from your interval cardio workouts (but not too long a break), and discover all the good that sweat and a racing heart are doing for you.

Even if you're feeling a little silly, cardio workout DVDs are making you smarter. The best cardio workouts are sending blood and hormones coursing to your brain that can help boost your cognitive function in the short term grow brain cells, and increase the size of your frontal lobe, for longer-term benefits still not fully understood: Yes, exercise can make your brain bigger too, according to Good Morning America. Studies of fat burning cardio workouts by Charles Hillman, a professor at the University of Illinois, show that intermediate-level exercise can boost your performance on tests for several hours after the workout. That cardio dance workout not only teaches you some smart floor moves, but also keeps the smarts flowing throughout your daily life.

Cardio workout DVDs can also help relieve the stress that plagues modern life. Men and women using home workout DVDs report less anxiety and depression and lower levels of stress and anger, according to the ACSM. Fitness videos go to work on the brain, affecting neurotransmitter systems in much the same way an antidepressant does. It's also theorized that fat burning cardio workouts allow you to become accustomed to having a racing heart and rapid breathing so that when presented with a stressful situation, these natural sensations don't ratchet up your anxiety. (ACSM)

Another benefit: Vigorous cardio workout DVDs will actually leave you feeling more energized, ready and willing to do more. A fat burning cardio workout can help make you more productive at work, according to the International Journal of Workplace Health Management. (Emerald Insight) The best cardio workouts can help improve your mood, opening up positive energy to tackle more tasks and keep focused. (ACSM) When you least want to fire up a fitness workout DVD is when your body needs it the most to lift you out of the low-energy blahs and give you a better outlook on life.