The heart is an incredibly important muscle in the human body. It is a muscle that works hard, constantly pumping blood. When we do cardio, we are forcing our hearts to work harder and faster than it normally does. There are various kinds of cardio, that serve different reasons. They include both indoors and outdoors, such as running, cycling, and swimming.
Overall Health
Cardiovascular exercise is one of the most effective ways to improve overall health. A healthy heart is essential to your well-being. Regular cardio exercises help to improve your cardiovascular endurance, enhance your heart health and lower your blood pressure. But it’s also important to understand that there’s a difference between aerobic and anaerobic activities. There is a difference between the two. Your heart and lungs benefit from aerobic exercise. That’s because it raises your oxygen levels and increases endurance. It can also help you lose weight, improve your heart health, and keep you mentally sharper, as well.
Developing Cardiovascular
Aerobic activities, like walking, contribute towards developing cardiovascular system. This is the way all the blood vessels that control your heart rate and how well oxygen is delivered to the rest of the body. In order to define the cardio fitness level of a person, one needs to consider two main factors. First is the heart rate and the second level is the oxygen delivery. A healthy cardio fitness will normally have a good heart rate and good oxygen delivery system. Interestingly, this kind of exercise involves pumping of both the arms and the legs. It can be referred to as continuous exercise since it does not involve any rest periods. Furthermore, it involves a lot of body movement and is quite essential for the proper functioning of the human body.
Hence, cardiovascular exercise training is a type of physical exercise specializing in the improvement of cardiovascular health and the use of aerobic metabolism. These systems comprise the heart and lungs, and require oxygen for high-intensity activity. Cardiovascular exercise may improve cardiovascular health via a variety of mechanisms including up regulation of brain natriuretic peptide, an increase in LDL receptor activity and down regulation of the renin-angiotensin system. What’s more, it may also reduce risk of disease, increase life expectancy, and enhance quality of life. Aerobic activity is any bodily activity that uses large muscle groups in a steady manner. For example, running is an aerobic activity, while resistance training is an anaerobic activity. The human body requires oxygen to survive. The human body produces most of the required energy aerobically with oxygen. On the other hand, anaerobic energy production occurs when no oxygen is present.
Aerobic and Anaerobic Training
When you train anaerobically, one of the main products of the reaction is lactic acid. This lactic acid build-up causes the burning sensation in your muscles and a feeling of fatigue that you experience during high intensity exercise. Hence, to successfully improve your overall cardio condition, you need to do endurance training as well as resistance training. In a study conducted at the University of New Mexico, high-intensity interval training was shown to be more effective in increasing VO2 max than steady state training. In this particular study, the researchers found that individuals who did 30 intervals per session three times a week for eight weeks increased their VO2 max by 5%.
Heavy resistance training can also help to improve your VO2 by increasing your muscle mass, which increases your body’s ability to move oxygenated blood around your body, making you more aerobically fit.
Therefore, cardiovascular activities are in essence aerobic exercise. This is when your heart is beating faster than usual and you are breathing harder than usual, but you can still continue your activities. Aerobic exercise is also good for you because it increases your lifespan and your overall health. There are many benefits that will come with an increase in aerobic conditioning such as a lower risk of heart disease, better sleeping habits, stronger muscles and bones, and a lower body fat percentage.
Conditioning
You can achieve this increased conditioning through specific routines to develop your cardiovascular system. The routines should be done at a medium to hard intensity. It keeps your body in the aerobic zone, which is 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. When you are training at this intensity, you should not be able to carry a conversation. But you should still be able to talk if needed. Of course, you should always warm up before you go for any type of cardio exercises. You should do light to medium intensity exercises like running on an incline or jumping rope for about 15 minutes.
Warming Up
Moreover, it is very important to warm up properly for every cardio workout. Warming up increases the blood flow to the muscles and also improves their range of motion before you start your workout. This is an added value not just to cardio but also to your whole workout. Warming up lets your heart rate reach a certain level so that it can pump blood and oxygen properly into the skeletal muscles. Be sure to do 5 minutes of light exercise before you begin your demanding workout.
You can walk around and gradually get your heart rate up with slow movements such as arm circles and leg swings. This will get your blood pumping into your muscles and get you ready for more activity. Warming up will help avoid injuries, improve performance, and increase energy levels during a workout. A warm-up can be anything from 5 minutes of jogging to 10 minutes of stretching before you go on a run or do some weight lifting.
In the long run, losing weight and getting yourself in shape is hard, but keeping your body fit needs continuous maintenance. It takes a lot more effort to keep your body fit and in shape than it does to get there. The number one tip is to have a routine that you follow every day. It doesn’t have to be a strenuous routine; it can be as simple as walking for 30 minutes every day. What’s more, being physically fit is not about looking good only; it also makes you feel good and more confident about yourself. Cardiovascular workouts or cardio workouts are an essential part of being physically fit. The heart is the main muscle that helps in pumping blood throughout the body and is one of the vital organs in our body.
Recommendations:
