What Does Cardiovascular Fitness Mean?

If you strike out “cardiovascular” from that title and insert aerobic, then you will have a better understanding. In simple words, aerobic fitness is an important component of physical fitness other than muscle strength or endurance.

Aerobic fitness is all about how oxygen is circulated and consumed by your heart, lungs and organs when you are on a cardio workout without your lungs exploding.

The moment you realize that you can perform consistently in a dynamic, rhythmic exercise without feeling your lungs wriggling out of your chest then know that oxygen consumption in your organs is efficient. Otherwise, you are unfit.

Testing Fitness Other than Cardio Workouts

Of course, there are alternative tests other that cardio that can accurately ascertain if you are fit or not. They are costly lab tests which are is all about determining the exact amount of oxygen your heart, lungs and organs use or even measuring your maximum heart rate.

Nevertheless, measuring heart rates in the lab for endurance purposes will both involve working out long hours on the treadmill.

Testing Your Fitness at Home

It is a good idea to avoid costs at all times and focus to going lean even in your finances. You can perform the following exercises at home to determine your fitness any time:

Use the Three-Minute Step Test

If you have a metronome or an 18-inch step lying around, then you are good to go. The exercise is simple, step up and down 24 times in a minute for 3 minutes then take a one minute rest. Measure your pulse for the 30 seconds before resuming the exercise again.

Implement the Rockport Walk Test

This is the simplest of them all, just try to walk as fast as possible for one mile then measure the time taken to cover that distance and your heart rate. Take these readings and compare them to the standard mean to measure your fitness.

Ways of Improving Your Cardio Fitness at Home

In life, there are two key things required for success that is endurance and discipline. In Cardio, it is no difference. Work out till you develops a high endurance which is only achieved through discipline. You should improve your cardio fitness by implementing the following exercise regimes:

Steady State Training

This is the most popular training regime out there; simply get on a elliptical or a run through the woods or pedal nowhere for about an hour. It is effective, yes, but it is always something better to do.

Interval Training

This is like a pump and bust cycle. What you have to do is work hard and fast, then relax for a pre-determined period of time. Say you work out hard for 4 minutes straight then rest for 30 seconds. This style helps build endurance faster than steady state training especially if you work out from your comfort zone.

Final Thought

Cardiovascular fitness is an all round beneficial exercise; you should be doing it at least3-times a week. It is a well-known fact that if you challenge your heart and lungs regularly, you build more stamina, energy and chances of bad cholesterol are a non-issue.

If you are a frequent cardio person, then you have every reason to be smiling as studies show that they are generally calmer than their counterparts.