Wellness Articles

Cardiovascular Fitness - Conditioning for a Healthy Heart

Wellness Index

Fitness is a combination of muscular performance, body composition, and cardiovascular fitness. Of these components, cardiovascular fitness is perhaps the most important because it reflects the body's ability to release energy. Improving your cardiovascular fitness increases your supply of oxygen (and energy) and can lead to prolonged endurance and optimum performance. By conditioning your cardiovascular system, you can also decrease your risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and other life-threatening diseases.

The Conditioned Heart

The normal heart beats at a rate of approximately 70 beats per minute at rest or about one hundred thousand beats a day. The well-conditioned heart can actually beat as few as 40 times a minute at rest or approximately fifty thousand beats a day. In short, a well-conditioned heart conserves energy. It can supply oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body with half the effort.

Aerobics for Heart Health

Since the heart is a muscle, it can become bigger and stronger through exercise that progressively increases the body's demand for oxygen. This type of exercise is called "aerobic" which means "with oxygen." Aerobic exercise involves steady, continuous motion of the large muscles which places a large and continuous demand on the heart. Aerobic activities — walking, running, swimming, cycling, etc. — should be intensive enough to raise and sustain your heartbeat to a target heart range or THR (60-90% of its maximum capacity) for at least 30-40 minutes. For optimum benefits, you should exercise aerobically within your THR for at least 30-40 minutes a minimum of 3-4 times a week.

The End Result

A well-conditioned heart, like any muscle, is stronger and more efficient than average. By exercising within your target heart range for 30-40 minutes 3-4 times a week, you can condition your heart and enjoy the benefits of a more fit and healthy lifestyle in general.

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