Exercise directly impacts your cardiovascular system which is evident in changes in your heart rate. A direct relationship exists between exercise intensity and heart rate. However, your body's response to exercise is not static. With regular conditioning, it will adapt to your activity and increase its efficiency. These adaptions will be reflected in your heart rate.
Effects
Any activity will cause an increase in the need for energy. Cardio conditioning intensifies this demand. Your body responses to exercise by increasing blood flow. The heart beats faster and more forcefully, delivering more blood per beat. The harder you work out, the greater the needs will be for oxygen and fuel. Exercises which involve more muscle groups will also place greater demands on the cardiovascular system. For example, your heart rate while walking leisurely will be much slower than doing high-intensity aerobics.
Adaptations
If you do cardio workouts regularly, your body will begin to adapt with changes in your cardiovascular system. The goal is to increases its efficiency. Your heart will respond like any trained muscle and become stronger. It will deliver more blood per beat, increasing its cardiac output. Cardiac output measures the volume of blood pumped by the heart in one minute. Over time, you will find that the increased efficiency will lower your heart rate during conditioning exercise because each beat is delivering more oxygen and energy the body's cells.
Exercise Plan
The American Heart Association recommends exercising at 50 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. You can determine this figure by subtracting your age from 220. Your conditioning program should begin at the lower end of this range. At 70 to 80 percent, you will improve your aerobic endurance. You can measure your heart rate using a heart rate monitor or by taking your pulse to determine if you are exercising at the proper intensity. You should only exercise at the high end of your range after you have been exercising regularly after six months of regular cardio workouts.
Resting Heart Rate
Your body's adaptations to exercise are not just confined to cardio conditioning workouts. You will also find that your heart rate is lower when at rest. A 2009 study by the University of Leuven in Belgium found that endurance training lowered resting heart rate and blood pressure in participants after 10 weeks of training. The effects were most pronounced in individuals exercising at higher intensities. Your regular cardio workouts, therefore, can have far-reaching effects.
References
- "Principles of Anatomy and Physiology"; G. Tortora et al; 2005
- Sports Fitness Advisor: The Cardiovascular System and Exercise
- American Heart Association: Target Heart Rates
- Polar USA: Exercise Zones
- "Journal of Human Hypertension"; Effects of Aerobic Training Intensity on Resting, Exercise and Post-Exercise Blood Pressure, Heart Rate and Heart-Rate Variability; V. Cornelissen, et al.; June 2009
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