Aerobic exercise provides cardiovascular conditioning. The term aerobic actually means "with oxygen," which means that breathing controls the amount of oxygen that can make it to the muscles to help them burn fuel and move.
Benefits of aerobic exercise
- Improves cardiovascular conditioning.
- Decreases risk of heart disease.
- Lowers blood pressure.
- Increases HDL or "good" cholesterol.
- Helps to better control blood sugar.
- Assists in weight management and/or weight loss.
- Improves lung function.
- Decreases resting heart rate.
Exercise safety
It is recommended that you talk with your physician before you start an exercise program. Ask what, if any, limitations you may have. People who suffer from diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, arthritis, pulmonary conditions, or other health conditions may need additional safety guidelines for exercise.
Note: If you develop symptoms during exercise including, but not limited to, unusual shortness of breath; tightness in the chest; chest, shoulder, or jaw pain; lightheadedness; dizziness; confusion; or joint pain, you should stop exercising immediately and contact your physician.
What are some examples of aerobic exercise?
Lower impact aerobic exercise includes:
- Swimming.
- Cycling.
- Using an elliptical trainer.
- Walking.
- Rowing.
- Using an upper body ergometer (a piece of equipment that provides a cardiovascular workout that targets the upper body only).
Higher impact aerobic exercise includes:
- Running.
- Jumping rope.
- Performing high impact routines or step aerobics.
How often and for how long should I do these exercises?
The American Heart Association recommends that everyone reach a minimum of 30 minutes of some form of cardiovascular exercise 5 to 7 days per week. This can be broken up into 10-minute time periods. This means that taking 3 walks of 10 minutes each would let you reach the recommended minimum guideline for reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol. You would also burn the same number of calories as you would if you walked for the full 30 minutes at 1 time.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends a minimum of 3 sessions of 30 minutes of the total should be made up of moderate to vigorous exercise to improve cardio-respiratory fitness and help manage weight.
It is appropriate to do aerobic exercise every day. There is no need to rest in between sessions unless you are at an extreme level of training, such as preparing for a marathon, or if you experience reoccurring joint pain. If joint pain is a limiting factor, it would be appropriate to alternate less painful exercises with those that may cause joint pain or discontinue the painful exercise altogether.
Explanation of intensity
The intensity is determined by how hard you are working. The intensity of the exercise is determined by what your goals are, what limitations you have, and your current fitness level.
Heart rate and exercise
Your heart rate increases in direct correlation with the intensity of the exercise. Heart rate levels can vary significantly from one person to another based on fitness level, genetics, environment, and exercise tolerance. If you wish to train based on heart rate, contact your health care provider to determine what the appropriate range is for you. Some medications, most often blood pressure drugs, control heart rate, making it impossible to determine exercise intensity in this way. Ask your physician to determine if you are on any of these medications.
Monitoring intensity in other ways
How can you know if you are working at the right intensity? Using an RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) chart can help you to determine the appropriate intensity. The scale uses a 1 to 10 rating system. One is very light, such as walking to the refrigerator for a glass of milk. Ten would be a very significant level, representing maximal exercise. Ten would be indicative of not being able to take another step without fear of collapse. It is not recommended for anyone to work at a rate of 10 without strict supervision by a healthcare provider. Moderate intensity is the level of exercise that is most recommended, and can be determined by a rating between a 3 and a 5.
Warming up and cooling down
Every session of aerobic exercise should include a warm-up and cool-down. The warm-up period should not include static stretching, but should instead be a gradual increase in pace and intensity of the exercise. This allows the body to increase blood flow to the muscles and decreases the likelihood of a muscle or joint injury. The warm-up should last between 5 and 10 minutes. The cool-down session should last a similar amount of time as the warm-up, with the pace gradually decreasing. Stretching exercises would be appropriate after aerobic exercise.
Progression of aerobic exercise
Progression to higher intensities of exercise should be based on individual exercise tolerance. There are 3 methods for challenging aerobic fitness:
- Increase speed.
- Increase the resistance.
- Increase the duration.
Any of these methods, or a combination of these methods, will improve aerobic fitness. Increasing intensity should be done very gradually. You should challenge yourself for only a few minutes at a time.
Cardiorespiratory endurance is an indication of a person’s overall physical health. Cardiorespiratory endurance tests monitor how well the heart, lungs, and muscles perform during moderate to high-intensity exercise.
Increasing cardiorespiratory endurance improves oxygen uptake in the lungs and heart and can help a person sustain physical activity for longer.
Other names for cardiorespiratory endurance include cardiovascular fitness, cardiovascular endurance, and cardiorespiratory fitness.
In this article, we discuss what cardiorespiratory endurance is, how a person can measure it, and why it is important. We also look at how to improve cardiorespiratory endurance, including some examples of exercises.
Share on PinterestJumping rope can improve cardiorespiratory endurance.
Cardiorespiratory endurance measures how well the body performs during long periods of exercise. A person with high cardiorespiratory endurance can sustain high-intensity activities over an extended period without getting tired.
Measuring a person’s cardiorespiratory endurance involves examining how well their body takes in and utilizes oxygen.
When a person inhales, their lungs fill up with air and some of the oxygen it contains passes into the bloodstream. This oxygen-rich blood then travels to the heart, which circulates it around the body to the tissues and organs that need it.
The muscles require an adequate supply of oxygen and other nutrients to work properly during high-intensity or extended periods of exercise. If the muscles do not get enough nutrients, waste products begin to accumulate and cause fatigue.
A person’s level of cardiorespiratory endurance can directly affect their physical performance.
Tests that measure cardiorespiratory endurance include:
Metabolic equivalents
Metabolic equivalents (METs) refers to the ratio between the energy expended during physical activity and the energy expended while at rest. Finding a person’s MET involves measuring how much oxygen their body uses at rest.
Maximum oxygen uptake
Maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max) test determines the maximum amount of oxygen the body is capable of using during high-intensity activities, such as sprinting or biking.
The VO2 max test typically involves running on a treadmill or pedaling on a stationary bike as fast as possible. During the test, the person wears a chest strap or other body attachment that records their heart rate and a face mask that measures oxygen consumption.
Cardiorespiratory endurance indicates a person’s level of aerobic health and physical fitness. This information can benefit everyone, not just professional athletes.
Having a high cardiorespiratory endurance generally means that a person can perform high-intensity exercise for longer.
People trying to lose weight may want to focus on increasing their cardiorespiratory endurance because doing higher-intensity aerobic activities can help a person burn more calories.
Scientific research also suggests some other potential health benefits from having an improved cardiorespiratory endurance. For example:
- A 2017 study suggests that people with higher cardiorespiratory endurance are less likely to develop high blood pressure than those with a lower cardiorespiratory endurance.
- In a 2015 study, researchers found a positive correlation between cardiorespiratory endurance levels and multitask performance among adults aged between 59 and 80 years.
- Improving cardiorespiratory endurance may decrease the risk of coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality, according to a 2015 study.
People can improve their cardiorespiratory endurance through regular exercise.
The authors of a 2019 study reported that resistance training, endurance training, and high-intensity interval training led to improvements in cardiorespiratory endurance and muscular strength among adults who were aged 40–65 years old and who were not previously physically active.
A 2017 study investigated the effectiveness of a 12-week cross-circuit training program in students who were overweight and had intellectual disabilities. The researchers found participants who followed the training program had an improved exercise endurance, muscle strength, and body mass index.
The following exercises can help improve cardiorespiratory endurance, build muscle, and burn calories. People can perform these physical activities at home or add them to their gym routine.
Try doing these exercises in sets of 10–15 repetitions, or as many repetitions as possible for 1 minute with a 20-second break in between sets.
Jumping jacks:
- Start by standing upright with legs together and arms at the sides of the body.
- Jump up. While in the air, open the legs to spread the feet wide apart and raise the arms overhead.
- While landing, bring the feet and arms back to the starting position.
Burpees:
- Begin standing with the feet shoulder-width apart.
- Bend the knees and place the hands on the floor in front to come down into a squat position.
- Jump the legs out behind to get into the push-up position, shifting the body’s weight onto the hands.
- Jump the feet back into the squat position.
- Jump up into the air with arms raised above the head.
- Land back in the squat position.
Mountain climbers (running planks):
- Start in the plank position, aligning the shoulders over the wrists and keeping the legs straight. Keep the back flat and the head aligned with the spine.
- Engage the core muscles.
- Bring the right knee towards the chest.
- Switch legs by returning the right leg to the starting position and bringing the left knee towards the chest. This completes one repetition.
Side-shuffle touches:
- Start in a standing position with the feet shoulder-width apart and the arms down by the sides.
- Bend the knees and squat down.
- Shuffle a shoulder-width to the right and then touch the floor outside the right foot with the fingertips of the right hand.
- Shuffle a shoulder-width to the left and then touch the floor outside the left foot with the fingertips of the left hand.
- This is one repetition.
Other exercises that can help improve cardiorespiratory fitness include:
- running
- power walking
- swimming
- dancing
- jump rope
- high-intensity sports, such as basketball and soccer
Cardiorespiratory endurance is a measure of how well the heart, lungs, and muscles perform during moderate to high-intensity physical activity.
Getting regular physical activity, especially aerobic exercise, can improve cardiorespiratory endurance. Aerobic exercises can help promote heart and lung health and improve how well the body circulates and utilizes oxygen.