Doing endurance exercise to boost your cardiovascular fitness is essential in today’s stressful and hectic routine. Our body continuously wants relief from work, work, and work strategy. To make your body and mind relax and more active, you should manage your cardio fitness.
Your routine examination to your doctor’s clinic may provide an insight into your temperature, hypertension, and cholesterol level but did you recognize that there is an important health care point to be taken care of i.e your cardiovascular fitness?
What is cardiovascular fitness or Cardiorespiratory Fitness?
“A cardiovascular fitness or cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is a health-associated component to measure physical fitness after prolonged or sustained physical activity.”
The American Heart Association (AHA) reported that a lower CRF is linked to a high risk of cardiovascular diseases, like coronary failure, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, certain cancers, and congenital heart diseases
What does Cardio-Respiratory Fitness Describe?
Cardiovascular fitness or CRF tells a ratio of the oxygen content your body supply to working muscles during exercise for an extended period of time. In simple words, it shows how well your body behaves during a prolonged period of physical activity.
Your CRF tells about your health and physical performance.
A level of optimum oxygen supply to the working muscles is important as it controls a variety of physiological conditions of your body like heartbeat rate, stroke volume, cardiac blood flow, and oxygen consumption.
How to Link Cardiovascular Fitness and Endurance Exercise
- During endurance exercise or physical activity, the mechanism of inhaling becomes fast so the blood flow. So, air along with oxygen fills the spaces of lung tissues. This air carries oxygen as well as essential nutrients.
- This blood saturates with a good quantity of oxygen and nutrients so sent into the bloodstream to make it well oxygenated. The oxygenated blood then moves from the heart to body muscles and different organs.
- Endurance exercise actually improves the blood flow and hence oxygen supply to lungs, muscles, and cardiac tissues.
- Physical activity and endurance exercise not only makes this blood flow healthy but also make the muscles of the body and heart strong and powerful.
- However, the insufficient supply of oxygen to various body parts makes the person more fatigued.
Benefits of Endurance Exercise for Cardiac Health
- Furthermore, improving your cardiovascular endurance can make it easier for you to perform your everyday errands.
- It can likewise decrease your likelihood of getting illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, coronary illness, and stroke.
- Through aerobic exercise, you can improve your CRF endurance value.
- Exercises that increase blood flow towards your heart will expand making it stronger and improve your respiration directly (Don’t forget heart is a muscle and it can expand).
- More amount of blood carrying oxygen will improve the capability of cells to do their best!
- It also controls and manages hypertension and chronic diseases like CKD issues.
Types of Endurance Exercises for Cardiac Fitness
Cardiovascular fitness is directly related to physical activities and endurance exercises. These types of exercises simply tell about your ability to perform the extended exercise without feeling exhaustion. To add them to your daily routine, definitely boost up the functioning of the heart, lungs, and kidneys.
Some of the endurance exercises include the following options mainly for beginners;
1- Brisk walking
It will help to reduce your body fats accompanied by an increased metabolic rate. It is one of the simplest strategies to get aerobic conditioning.
2- Jogging or running
Heart rate can be improved and no equipment is needed. 15-20 minutes daily jogging do wonders in improving your overall physical health especially cardiovascular health.
3- Swimming
It is one of the high-level endurance exercises and uses more muscles than many of the other aerobic exercises. Research shows that swimming decreases coronary illnesses by 30-40% in females by improving the blood flow thereby reducing hypertension and cholesterol.
4- Endurance Cycling/Bicycling
Cycling builds base fitness with endurance training. You can use either a stationary bike or indoor cycling to gain cardio benefits.
5- Burpees
Burpees is one of the efficient ways to get muscular endurance combined with calorie burn, thus boosting cardiovascular fitness. It is aerobic-resistant training in which your whole body engages in building muscular strength and your heart and lungs work more efficiently. The higher number of burpees in 3 minutes indicates a good CRF.
6- Rope Jumping
If you are just like the people who do not do rope jumping after grade 5 or 6 then go and buy this immediately. This type of exercise improves blood flow, strengthens muscles, and improves flexibility. Rope jumping can be done anywhere at any time so you don’t need to bother about free time and place to do this.
Spend almost 150 minutes per week with this activity.
7- Hiking
If you are a nature lover then must go hiking. It will not only improve your cardio fitness but also put a positive impact on emotions.
8- Jumping Jacks
Whenever you need a break from your workspace, start doing this little activity that actually needs no equipment. You can do this activity any time and for the number of times, you want. This type of exercise improves your blood circulation and makes the body active.
9- Boxing
Just 30 minutes of boxing in a day burn almost 400 calories. So, this is just amazing to start now.
10- Be a Sports Lover
No need to worry, if you are not so perfect in any game. Just spend some time not for the sake of competition but for the physical activity and fun. Choose any game you want to play with your adult fellows like football, soccer, basketball, badminton, and start enjoying along with the activity.
Why should you engage in these CRF exercises?
Cardiovascular endurance attained by CRF exercises engages your larger muscles in the movement for an extended period of time thus keeping heart rate to an optimum level of oxygen supply. Strengthening the cardiovascular system means more oxygen supply and definitely more stamina and endurance with passing sessions of exercise.
Specific benefits of these exercises include;
Improved cardiac health
Regular cardio exercises reduce building the risk of certain heart diseases such as stroke and keep it ‘youthful’. A well-maintained blood pressure, enhanced HDL, controlled blood sugar level and lower anxiety are secondary perks of this physical activity.
Enhanced brain activity
By performing these exercises, the region of the brain controlling memory and skillful thinking becomes more functional and active. A number of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients engaging in cardio exercises showed better functional abilities.
Strengthening immune system
All kinds of cardiovascular endurance exercises protect your body against a number of illnesses including diabetes, hypertension, certain cancers, osteoporosis, and coronary diseases by strengthening the immune system.
Lowering the Signs of Bone-related Issues
A full-body movement involved in cardio exercises reduces your back and joint pain by making the stiff joints more flexible and strong. Thus, Cardio-endurance exercises increase the flexibility of the muscles and joints as well as strengthen the ligaments and tendons. So, the risk of developing osteopenia, osteoporosis, and arthritis reduces.
Facts & Figures about Cardiovascular Fitness & Endurance Exercise
National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) released the research data in 2015 and 2017 regarding the need for cardiovascular fitness. The data strongly shows a positive correlation between physical activity and endurance exercise and cardiac fitness.
NCBI research data of 2015 and 2017 suggests a positive correlation between cardiac health and exercise.
Measure Your Cardiovascular Fitness Level
CRF level links to certain cardiovascular health aspects which can detect future heart failure risks, and consequential hospitalization at a later age.
There are many possible tests to assess CRF (the productivity of the cardiovascular and respiratory frameworks during exercise). Some of these are incorporated here.
1- The three-minutes advance test
Step up and down on 18-inch stairs for a minimum of 3 minutes, at a pace of 24 steps per minute. After that, record your heartbeat after 30 seconds of rest.
2- Rockport walk test
You need a treadmill to perform the Rockport walk test. You have to run on the treadmill as fast as you will for about 1 mile. Record the exercise time and pulse at the mile mark. Then compare the results with a chart provided online to induce a concept for your CRF fitness starting from “poor” to “Excellent”.
3- Metabolic Equivalents (METs)
It refers to the difference in energy level expended during physical activity and at rest. The result indicates how much oxygen is needed by a person at rest.
4- Maximum O2 uptake
Cardio-respiratory endurance is estimated by comparing oxygen taken up (VO2 max) and its utilization during strenuous exercise. Higher measures of oxygen take-up show that you’re utilizing more oxygen which your cardio-respiratory framework is functioning effectively.
Manage Time for Endurance Exercises
Performing regular aerobic exercises (that increase your heartbeat and breathing rate) for about 30 minutes per day will increase your CRF endurance. You don’t need to bother if you do have not adequate time to manage endurance exercise as 15-20 minutes daily exercise is more than enough to manage your cardio fitness.
Adjust your Body with Endurance Exercises
Whilst performing these exercises, you will gain more stamina and strength of bones and muscles. You may feel tired in the beginning but after a few days, your strength will be developed. Be creative in choosing fun ways to explore more about exercising and getting your body toned up with them.
Concluding Remarks
Cardiovascular fitness and endurance exercises go side by side when we talk about cardiac health. It is useful for your general well-being. Additionally to the very fact that it enables you to genuinely perform at a more elevated level, however, it likewise has a positive connection with the health of your heart and a negative relationship with health risks.
