Aerobic fitness, or cardiovascular fitness, is a measure of your body's ability to circulate sufficient quantities of oxygen-rich blood during exercise or everyday activities. Attaining high level of this type of fitness can reduce your risks for a number serious ailments, including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and stroke, the Mayo Clinic explains.
Understanding Aerobic Fitness
Exercises that significantly affect your breathing rate are called aerobic exercises, according to the KidsHealth website. Typically, exercises of this type involve significant movement of your legs, hips and arms. When you engage the large muscles in these areas, you force your body to adjust to your efforts by establishing a breathing pattern that is both deeper and faster than normal, the Mayo Clinic reports. These breathing changes maximize your body's oxygen levels and the motion of your limbs triggers an increase in your heart rate. In combination, these factors greatly increase the flow of oxygen-rich blood throughout your body.
Aerobic Exercises
If you regularly perform aerobic exercises, you will improve your aerobic fitness by increasing your heart's pumping efficiency and the oxygen content of your blood, the Mayo Clinic explains. You will also increase your stamina, a measurement of your body's ability to perform physical activities without tiring. KidsHealth lists a wide variety of aerobic exercises or activities, including jumping rope, bicycling, rowing, brisk walking, jogging, swimming, basketball, soccer, inline skating, cross-country skiing, roller hockey and ice hockey.
Estimating Fitness
You can estimate your level of aerobic fitness by walking up five flights of stairs at a comfortable pace, according to the Harvard Medical School. If you can perform this activity without stopping or leaning heavily on a railing for support, you probably have a least a minimum level of acceptable fitness. Alternative methods of testing include using a stair-stepper for a certain amount of time and measuring your pulse, or walking for one mile and measuring your pulse. Specific acceptable pulse rates for these tests vary with your age and gender. Whatever method you use, do not attempt to gauge your aerobic fitness before getting approval from your doctor.
Fitness Benefits
In addition to the benefits to your heart health and stamina, the Mayo Clinic lists a number of other potential benefits of aerobic fitness, including easing anxiety and depression, lengthening your lifespan, improving your ability to manage chronic medical conditions and controlling your weight. Aerobic fitness can also help you fight off viral illnesses, maintain an independent lifestyle as you get older, boost your blood levels of beneficial HDL cholesterol, lower your blood levels of harmful LDL cholesterol and reduce your risks for some forms of cancer.
Considerations
KidsHealth lists additional types of exercise that can improve your overall fitness in other ways. Exercises such as weightlifting and push-ups can improve your muscular fitness. Exercises such as yoga and dancing can improve your flexibility. Consult your doctor for more advice on safely improving your aerobic fitness and other aspects of your health.
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