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Training & Rehabilitation
Learn how to optimise your training to increase your endurance and recover faster.
Cardiovascular endurance is an indicator of overall physical health. Tests can monitor how well the circulatory (heart) and respiratory (lungs) systems perform during moderate to high intensity exercise. Other names for cardiovascular endurance include cardiorespiratory fitness, cardiorespiratory endurance, aerobic fitness or ‘cardio’.
Improved cardiorespiratory fitness is achieved by both aerobic and anaerobic exercise.
Aerobic exercise. Sustained muscle activity that require oxygen.
Anaerobic exercise. Does not require oxygen, and are achieved through short bouts of high intense activity.
Most activities throughout the day are aerobic in nature such as walking, cleaning, gardening etc. Regular activity throughout the day improves the delivery of oxygen to the working muscle.
Benefits of cardio respiratory training can lead to:
- A stronger heart and lower resting heart rate
- Ability to maintain a healthy body weight and body fat percentage.
- Help manage stress
- An increased aerobic capacity and muscle endurance improving ones performance
- Improved performance in physically demanding jobs
- Decrease risk of metabolic disease such as diabetes, or heart disease
- Help improve mood, alleviate fatigue and improve sleep quality
Cardiovascular Endurance is one of the five basic components of fitness. The other components are: muscular endurance, muscular strength, body composition, and flexibility. It is common for people to regard cardiovascular endurance as the most important component of fitness to be developed. Low Endurance capacity leads to fatigue, even in activities that are not aerobic. Fatigue is a major deterrent to optimal performance. Even minor fatigue can hinder total performance:
- Muscular strength is decreased
- Reaction and movement times are prolonged
- Agility and neuromuscular coordination are reduced
- Whole-body movement speed is slowed
- Concentration and alertness is reduced
This doesn’t just affect physical performance for athletes or military personnel in physically active roles; this also applies to those in sedentary roles and individuals within their everyday activities and work.
Your heart rate can be used as a measure of exertion during exercise, and can be a helpful way to ensure you are achieving the right training stimulus. Heart rate monitors are becoming more accurate and these can help you work out the intensity and pace of exercise and exertion required in training to build cardiac endurance. Below is a guide to both heart rate percentages and the Borg rating of perceived rate of effort and intensity of the exercise.
| Rating | Exertion Level | Talk Test | % of max HR |
|
10 9 |
Difficult to continue, able to maintain only 10-30 seconds. | Can't talk, gasping for breath. | 86 - 100 % |
|
8 7 |
Uncomfortable to continue, but able to maintain for 5 - 10 mins. | Broken sentences, heavy breathing. | 76 - 85 % |
|
6 5 |
Exercise is tough, but able to maintain for at least 30 mins. | Only able to complete 1 2 sentences, moderate shortness of breath. | 61 - 75 % |
|
4 3 |
Comfortable to maintain for at least 60 mins. | Takes more effort to talk, slight shortness of breath. | 51 - 60 % |
|
2 1 |
Comfortable to maintain for an extended period of time. | Normal talking and breathing. | 40 - 50 % |
Working out your Heart Rate Zone using Karvonen formula
Age-Predicted Max HR – 220- ___ your age = _________ BPM
60% max HR = _______ max HR x .60 = ______ BPM
90 % max HR = ______ max HR x .90 = ______ BPM
Target HR Zone is _______ to _______ BPM
Note. This is only a guide, it is impossible to accurately obtain specific heart rate ranges without testing within a laboratory with regular intervals. These percentages are to give you a guide of the approximate level to train in to get the right training response. Through training you will also likely establish the training level by feel or a perceived rate of exertion as explained above.
Aerobic fitness should make up the majority of your training if you want to build your fitness.
Within the military, general training should allow for both aerobic and anaerobic training. For those required to perform at a high intensity, short duration and under heavy load, a program based solely on running will not provide sufficient training or support for high performance. However, because aerobic fitness is the basis for all training, an endurance based program which utilises anaerobic development alongside this is the best method to maximise performance in the military environment.
There are many ways to develop cardio-respiratory fitness through both aerobic and anaerobic conditioning.
- Examples of anaerobic training are speed and interval training, individual movement techniques, and negotiation of obstacles.
- Examples of aerobic training are foot marching, sustained running, cycling, and swimming.
Understanding of energy systems
The body uses two main energy systems, aerobic and anaerobic - which breaks down into two further parts.
Anaerobic energy system
The anaerobic system is used during high-intensity exercise where energy demands are higher than aerobic metabolism. (The body’s process in which oxygen is used to make energy). This system is used when doing short activities like sprinting and doesn’t require oxygen to perform. This can produce the by product called lactic acid, and when the build up of lactic acid becomes too great, the body will slow to a rate where it can effectively remove the by product from the body using oxygen.
Aerobic energy system (oxidative)
The Aerobic system is the most complex of the energy systems and most predominant system used to create energy throughout the day. Energy is produced by the body breaking down substrates with the aid of oxygen. It is used for moderate intensity exercise and is developed and maintained through cardiovascular exercise as discussed above. It is simply any exercise that increases heart rate. This could be walking, housework, gardening, running, hiking, or your daily job.
A brief description of the aerobic system.
Cardiorespiratory endurance, like strength, runs on a continuum between the ability to sustain high-intensity activity of short duration (anaerobic) and low-intensity activity of long duration (aerobic). The training demands to develop each are very different, and the demands on the body to produce this energy is also different.
In short, to see improvement in your performance in your occupation or sport, you must train specifically to see improvement. More information can be found here.
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.