Cardiovascular Fitness Nicole Prosser an d Jackson Sharpless

Why is Cardiovascular Fitness Important? No matter how strong you look, if your circulatory and respiratory systems cannot meet your muscles’ demand for oxygen, you cannot continue activity for a long time. Exercising to improve cardiovascular fitness will increase your energy level, help you to improve your appearance by controlling weight, and improve your ability to deal with the problems you face daily. Cardiovascular fitness includes the circulatory system and the respiratory system. Research has shown that body functions improve with use and decline with disuse. In other words, the heart, lungs, and muscles become stronger when used more.

Circulatory and Respiratory Systems The circulatory and respiratory systems work together to provide muscles with necessary amounts of oxygen. The more oxygen muscles receive, the more energy they can produce, making you feel better. The two systems work together to carry oxygen throughout the body. As air is breathed in, the blood picks up oxygen from the lungs and carries it to the heart. The left ventricle of the heart forces blood containing oxygen through the body by way of arteries, which always carry blood away from the heart. Arteries branch out in the body and gradually decrease in size to form capillaries, where food and oxygen are delivered from blood to cells throughout the body. Capillaries also serve as a bridge between arteries and veins, which always carry blood toward the heart. The blood in veins only move toward the heart because one-way valves keep the blood from flowing backwards when muscles contracted to bring blood back to the heart relax. The right ventricle of the heart pumps returning blood to the lungs, starting the process over again.

Monitoring the Heart Heart rate varies with the changing needs of your body. When you are lying down, your heart rate is less than when you are standing. Running produces a higher heart rate than walking. Size also affects heart rate. The average heart rate for adults is 70 beats per minute. In children, the heartbeats about 100 times per minute. One way of knowing how hard your heart muscle is working is to measure your pulse rate.

Pulse Your pulse is caused by pressure of the blood on the artery wall and it corresponds to your heart beat. The best locations for measuring your pulse rate are at the wrist and neck, where arteries lie just below the skin. Count the number of beats for six seconds and place a zero at the end of that number, or count the beats for ten seconds and multiply by ten to obtain a one minute pulse rate. Pulse rates may vary for reasons such as excitement, position of the body, and illness. It is recommended that you take your pulse at rest if you wish to compare your pulse rate readings while exercising.

Resting Heart Rate To measure resting heart rate, take your pulse just after waking in the morning and before getting out of bed. It should be taken while you are in a sitting or lying position. A range form 50 to 100 beats per minute for a resting heart rate has been established as normal by the American Heart Association. However, research shows that adults with RHR over 70 have a greater risk of heart attack than those with RHR below 70.

Recovery Heart Rate To determine when it is safest to progress in your training, you should check your pulse to determine your recovery heart rate. The guiding principle is that your heart rate should drop to about 120 BPM within five minutes after the workout and be less than 100 BPM after ten minutes. If your recovery heart rate is above the beats per minute listed above, you need to reduce the intensity of your workout.

Blood Pressure Blood pressure is the measure of blood force against the walls of the arteries. It is recorded with two numbers, the systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure represents your blood pressure at the moment blood is pumped from the heart by the ventricles. The diastolic pressure is the lower number, representing the blood pressure when the heart is relaxed and filling with blood. Aerobic exercises contribute to blood pressure control. Normal blood pressure is studied to reduce the risk of heart attack. Normal Blood Pressure Range or - Systolic pressure 80 + or - Diastolic pressure

Cardiovascular Disease Cardiovascular disease starts at a young age and causes 43 percent of deaths in the United States. Cardiovascular disease is caused primarily by a buildup of fatty deposits on the inner walls of the arteries. The arterial passageways to become smaller, leading to a condition called atherosclerosis. The fatty deposits restricting blood flow cause a high blood pressure, which makes the heart work harder. Fatty deposits can become so great that blood will not flow through the artery. Blood can also be blocked by a blood clot (thrombosis) lodged in a narrow passageway. If blood flow of a coronary artery is blocked, a heart attack occurs. When it happens to an artery supplying oxygen to the brain, a stroke occurs. While a heart attack or stroke happens suddenly, the factors contributing to these conditions can be traced back to a condition that started many years earlier. All nine risk factors are associated with heart attack.

Cardiovascular Benefits of Exercise Participating in activities that promote cardiovascular fitness strengthens the heart and reduces atherosclerosis. Active people are better able to clear fats from their blood stream as a result of exercise. One way to obtain additional energy is to increase the oxygen supply to muscles by exercising the heart. The trained heart beats fewer times per minute that the heart of someone who is not physically fit. Concentration, ability to cope with stress, and self-concept are improved with exercise.

Application of Training Principles To increase cardiovascular fitness you must engage in exercises that involve movements of the large muscles of the body. You must be able to maintain these exercises continuously for at least 15 to 30 minutes. Brisk walking or jogging meet the aerobic requirements.

Principle of Overload To develop the heart, you must push it beyond its normal range and make it pump more blood with each beat. This additional overload can be placed on the heart by an increase in the frequency, intensity, or time (duration), of the exercise program.

Frequency Aerobic activities must be preformed at least three times per week to reach an adequate level of cardiovascular fitness. As a beginner, you may elect to walk, swim, or bike three days per week, then increase the overload by doing your selected activity four days, then five days, and finally on a daily basis.

Intensity The intensity of a cardiovascular activity may be determined by the response of the heart rate. If you do not increase it enough, little or no improvement will occur. On the other hand, exercising too hart too soon will cause extreme discomfort. Your maximum heart rate should not be exceeded and lowers with age. For best results, your training should increase your heart rate to a range of 60 to 90 percent of maximum heart rate or at 50 to 85% of heart rate reserve.

Time Maintain continuous large muscle group activity for a minimum of 20 minutes. As time is increased, intensity is increased.

Principle of Progression Since your heart adjusts to the workload you place on it, the overload must be periodically increased in order for improvement to occur. Progressive increase in overload places additional stress on your cardiovascular system and produce additional improvement.

Principle of Specificity Aerobic exercises that best promote cardiovascular fitness involve activities that can be preformed for at least 15 minutes without gasping to catch your breath. These activities includes jogging, dancing, swimming, bicycling, racquetball, and soccer. Anaerobic exercises use oxygen faster than the body can replenish it and can only be done for a short period of time. Examples of these activities include the 220-yard dash or the 50-yard freestyle swimming events.

Setting Goals for Cardiovascular improvement Cardiovascular Goal Setting Distance for Health Fitness Standards LessCloseExceeds Difference Between Test Score and Health Fitness Standard 2 minutes +0 to 2 minutes0 or better Recommended Range for Goals 30 seconds to 5 minutes 0-45 seconds