It's not a secret that aerobic activity is essential for the health of your heart, body, and mind. Recent studies show that regular cardio or aerobic exercise is both a preventive strategy and a therapeutic intervention for age-related diseases. After all, regular cardio exercise has been shown to reduce body fat, decrease total cholesterol, boost mood, lower resting heart rate, and improve heart and lung function. Committing to regular cardio activity is an incredibly simple way to improve your health.

So why don't more people do cardio regularly? Well, some think it has to be extremely difficult or miserable to count, and others just don't set aside the time to make it a priority. Both camps, in fact, are misguided, as most forms of aerobic exercise aren’t challenging, and are actually fun. Being active is a cornerstone of living a long, healthy life. When you get right down to it, what do we have if we don't have our health?

The really fantastic news is that the amount of cardio it takes to make a significant impact on your health is relatively small, and it doesn't require a gym, running, or other high-impact exercises. There are hundreds of cardio options out there. The trick is picking a few that you like and then doing them intensely enough to count as cardiovascular exercise.

How does one particular thing go from "activity" to "cardio?" It just has to meet two principles:

The first is intensity: It only counts as cardio when you elevate your heart rate into an aerobic zone, which is the percent of your maximum heart rate. You can calculate your target heart rate here. Simply check your pulse during any activity to find out if your activity counts as exercise.

The second is time: For any activity to count as cardio, it has to last at least minutes per session. Shoot for a minimum of to minutes per session, building up to a full hour over time. And remember, time can be cumulative, so minutes here and there throughout the day is a great and convenient way to start getting your cardio!

Lastly, for best results, you need to do at least three days of cardio—with no more than two days off between sessions—per week. As you get stronger, you can work toward doing cardio five to six days a week.

Anything from the extensive list below that meets the intensity and time guidelines above can count as aerobic exercise!