Cardiovascular exercise and conditioning are closely linked. As you improve your fitness and condition your body with regular exercise, your heart rate begins to function more efficiently. Good cardiovascular fitness resulting from proper conditioning will help you achieve your exercise and training goals.
Cardiovascular Fitness
Cardiovascular fitness refers to the ability of your heart and respiratory system to supply your muscles with the necessary blood and oxygen for sustained physical activity. Cardiovascular exercise benefits your heart health and respiratory endurance. The best exercises to increase your cardiovascular fitness are aerobic exercises, including running, swimming and cycling. When completing exercise to increase your cardiovascular fitness, your heart rate should be within your target heart rate range.
Conditioning
Conditioning is the process of training your body to a state of improved physical fitness. For cardiovascular fitness, conditioning refers to the improvement of cardiovascular fitness over time. You can condition your body for increased cardiovascular and respiratory function. As a measurement of this conditioning, record how your heart rate changes with set exercises over time. For example, at the beginning of your cardiovascular conditioning, you may run 3 miles in 20 minutes at an average heart rate of 150 beats per minute. After several weeks of regular exercise, you may find that you can run the same 3 miles in 20 minutes at an average heart rate of 140 beats per minute. This is an example of how you can improve your cardiovascular fitness through conditioning.
Target Heart Rate
Your target heart rate is a zone of heart rates that is best suited to help increase your cardiovascular fitness. This target range is from 50 percent to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. Calculating maximum heart rate for men and women is different. For men, maximum heart rate is 220 minus age. For women, maximum heart rate is 206 minus 88 percent of age. Once you have calculated your target heart rate, use it to guide the intensity level of your cardiovascular fitness. For the best cardiovascular fitness improvement, use interval training. Interval training is the process of alternating the intensity levels of your activity during your workout. Use the lower and upper boundaries of your target heart rate range to define your interval training boundaries.
Heart Rate Monitor
When conditioning for improved cardiovascular fitness, the best way to monitor your progress and training is with the aid of a heart-rate monitor. A heart-rate monitor employs electronic sensors to track your heart rate as you exercise, displaying the number of beats per minute on a convenient device similar to an ordinary watch. A heart-rate monitor can help you exercise in your target heart rate range and guide your interval training.
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