Regular cardiovascular exercise strengthens your heart and lungs,
increasing the efficiency with which your blood vessels supply oxygen
and blood to your muscles, and also improves general fitness. It is an
excellent way to burn body fat, reducing stress on your bones and
muscles, and brings a host of other physical benefits.
During cardiovascular exercise your body respires aerobically, meaning
'with oxygen'. Your breathing gets deeper as you take more oxygen into
your lungs and your pulse quickens as your heart pumps blood faster and
more forcefully around your body. Your blood vessels dilate to allow
more oxygenated blood to your muscles and carry waste out of your
system.
Your heart and the muscles around your lungs, like any other muscles in
your body, respond to this type of training by getting stronger. Strong
intercostal muscles improve the efficiency with which your lungs
transfer oxygen to the blood and a strong heart can pump more blood
around the body with each beat. This means your body doesn't need to
work as hard to supply your muscles with oxygenated blood, improving
your cardiovascular fitness and helping you perform physical tasks more
efficiently.
Your body uses the oxygen it takes in during cardiovascular exercise to
convert the stored energy in sugars and fats into usable energy - the
more exercise you do, the more body fat you burn off. This not only
lowers the risk of heart attack, high blood pressure and diabetes, it
also reduces the stress on your bones and joints.
Activities such as running and brisk walking help to build bone mineral
density in your lower body due to their repetitive impact. This makes
bones stronger and less likely to fracture. Rowing helps to build good
bone density in the upper body.
In addition to the physical benefits, regular cardio activity releases
chemicals called endorphins into your body, which relieve stress and
can help to ease pain.
Any exercise that raises your heart rate will benefit your
cardiovascular system and help you to lose weight, so long as it is
performed frequently, for sufficient duration and at the correct
intensity - the FIT principle. Popular cardio activities include
running, rowing and cycling, aerobics and gym-based workouts using
equipment such as stepping machines.
Because of the range of equipment available, many people prefer to work
out at their local gym, but training at home or outside can be equally
effective. Running requires no equipment other than a good pair of
training shoes; cycling provides excellent cardio benefits and is easy
to incorporate into your everyday life; even walking up and down stairs
in your house will give you a fantastic workout.
The FIT principle
The acronym FIT stands for frequency, intensity and time. The right
levels of these elements are key to any cardio program -
Frequency - This is how often you exercise. To achieve a
reasonable level of cardiovascular fitness you should work up to
exercising three to five time per week. Avoid working out every day -
your body needs time to rest and repair.
Intensity - If your heart rate does not increase during
exercise,
you are not working hard enough to receive any cardiovascular benefit
from the activity. Work your heart too hard, however, and you may place
your health at risk.
Time - This is the duration of the exercise session. Aim
for
around 10 minutes warm-up, 10-20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise,
and a 5-10 minute cool-down period.
