Cardiovascular Training

Cardiovascular or Aerobic Training refers to exercise of moderate intensity, undertaken for a long duration, which use large muscle groups. Aerobic means "with oxygen." Our Aerobic system refers to the heart, lungs, blood vessels and the use of oxygen in a muscle's energy-generating process.

Cycling, swimming, walking, running and cross country skiing are examples of cardio vascular fitness activities.

There are many benefits to Aerobic Training.

In addition to being an efficient way to burn more calories and fat, this kind of training also helps in conditioning the lungs and the heart resulting in lower blood pressure, reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Aerobic training also releases the happy hormones, adrenalin and serotonin and helps improve our mood, reduce depression and tension.

How much Aerobic Training should we do?

To improve our capacity, it is recommended that we should be exercising at an intensity, which is within our “target heart range” for approximately 15-20 minutes three times a week.

In order to determine our “target heart range,” we need to subtract our age from 220, which will give us our maximum heart rate. This number should then be multiplied by 65% (for the lower part of the range) and by 85% (for the upper part of the range).

These numbers indicate the range in which our heart rate should stay during the Aerobic activity.

 Aerobics and Cardio Articles