One of the most popular forms of exercise is cardiovascular exercise. While many people do cardiovascular exercise to lose weight for a better external physical appearance, the internal benefits are of a greater value. The biggest value internally is the positive changes that occur to the heart as a result of participation in cardio exercise.
Heart Rate
Normal resting heart rate for most individuals is between 60 to 80 beats per minute. Cardio exercise can cause a significant decrease in resting heart rate. This decrease in resting heart rate means that the heart expands slower and therefore allows more time for blood to enter into the left ventricle of the heart. More blood in the left ventricle means more blood expelled out to the rest of the body. A slower heart rate means the heart is working more efficiently.
Heart Size
The adaptation of increase in heart size is highly correlated with cardio exercise participation. In particular, cardio exercise increases not only the overall size of the heart, but also the size of the heart chambers. In the November 1996 "International Journal of Sports Medicine," researchers revealed that the left ventricle really benefits from cardiovascular exercise as it is thickens to allow the heart to become a more efficient pumping mechanism.
Heart Contractions
In the textbook, "NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training," the authors indicated that increases in contractility of the heart are due to adaptations related to cardiovascular exercise. This increase in contractility allows the heart to force more blood out of the heart to go to the rest of the body. Therefore, more oxygen is getting to the body to meet the demands of exercise.
Stroke Volume
Stoke volume is the amount of blood ejected from the left ventricle of the heart. Increased stroke volume due to participation in cardio exercise means that a greater amount of blood is distributed to the body during rest. Additionally, individuals who exercise regularly will experience a significant increase in stroke volume during exercise as well.
Blood Vessels
One of the lesser known benefits of cardio exercise is the effects it has on blood vessels. Cardiovascular exercise increases the size of blood vessels, the number of blood vessels and overall blood flow. All of these increases due to cardio exercise contribute to more oxygen being available to meet the demands of physical exercise.
References
- "The NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training; Human Kinetics;" 1st Edition; R. Earle and T. Baechle; 2003
- "International Journal of Sports Medicine;" Athlete's Heart: A Meta-Analysis of the Echocardiographic Experience; R. Fagard; 1996
Member Comments