Cardio: either you love it or hate it. Most people have very strong feelings about cardio workouts.

Although many people loathe doing cardio workouts, cardio exercise provides numerous benefits for your body: lowers blood pressure, strengthens your heart and lungs, helps you sleep better and helps boost your mood.

During Christmas, we were flying back to my parent’s house and had very little time to catch our connecting flight. I was lugging a backpack, booster seat and a bag full of gifts. I was trying to sprint through the airport, and I was embarrassed by how difficult it was for me to catch my breath. I realized that I had been neglecting cardio workouts in favor of just lifting. It was an important reminder that I needed to be doing both strength training and cardio.

If you are need of a quick, heart-pumping cardio session, check out this workout. It’s 21 minutes, and you will be so glad you did it.