What is the ability of the heart and lungs to deliver oxygen to working muscles during physical activity for a long time?

Overview

Table of Contents Show

Run and jump in place
Jumping jacks
Standing side hops
Side to side hops
In and out hopping squats
Other activities

Cardiorespiratory endurance is the level at which your heart, lungs, and muscles work together when you’re exercising for an extended period of time. This shows how efficiently your cardiorespiratory system functions, and is an indicator of how physically fit and healthy you are.

It’s useful to know your cardiorespiratory endurance level because it can either be a sign of health or a sign that you need to improve your level of fitness. Increasing cardiorespiratory endurance has a positive effect on your overall health. Your lungs and heart are able to better use oxygen. This allows you to exercise for longer periods without getting tired. Most people can increase their cardiorespiratory endurance by doing regular exercise.

Read on to learn more about cardiorespiratory endurance.

Metabolic equivalents (METs) are used to measure your intensity of exercise and uptake of oxygen. They measure energy expenditure at rest.

Cardiorespiratory endurance is measured by maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and how it’s used during intense exercise. Higher amounts of oxygen uptake show that you’re using more oxygen and that your cardiorespiratory system is functioning efficiently.

VO2 tests are usually done with a clinician or exercise physiologist in a laboratory, hospital, or clinic. You can do submaximal tests with a qualified fitness instructor.

Submaximal exercise tests are used to measure your cardiorespiratory endurance. If you’re physically fit or an athlete, you can measure your cardiorespiratory fitness using:

the Astrand treadmill test
the 2.4 km run test
the multistage bleep test

More sedentary people can do the Cooper 1.5-mile walk-run test. You can also do a treadmill test or estimate your own levels comparing how fast you run to average results from races.

The tests can help provide information about how well your heart and lungs are working to get oxygen to your muscles during exercise. Your results may indicate your risk for developing heart disease or other chronic diseases. They will include resting blood pressure and heart rate. The results can then be used to help determine the type of exercise and weight loss programs that may be needed.

These exercises may help you to improve your cardiorespiratory endurance. You don’t need a lot of equipment, so they can be done anytime and anywhere. You can even try doing 5–10 minutes of these exercises a few times per day if you don’t have large blocks of time available for exercise.

The exercises can help to burn fat, develop muscle, and get your heart pumping. It’s also important that you breathe deeply while doing the exercises.

Try to do each exercise for at least a minute. You can take a 30-second break in between each exercise. They require a certain amount of endurance, so you can gradually increase the duration and intensity of your workouts.

Run and jump in place

Do each of these steps for 30 seconds.

Jog in place.
While continuing to jog in place, lift up your knees as high as they’ll go.
Next, start to bring your feet back and up as though you want to touch your butt.

Jumping jacks

Stand with your feet together and your arms by your side.
Jump your feet apart as you raise your arms over your head.
Jump back to the starting position and continue this movement.

Standing side hops

From a standing position jump side-to-side with both feet at the same time.
You can jump over an object with a bit of height to increase the difficulty.

Side to side hops

From a standing position, lower your butt down in a squat position.
Step your right foot as far over to the right as you can.
Then bring your left foot to meet your right foot.
Step your left foot as far over to the left as you can.
Bring the right foot to meet your left foot.
Continue this fluid movement.
Keep your butt down low the entire time. Increase your speed or sink into a lower squat to increase the difficulty.

In and out hopping squats

Stand with your feet together.
Jump your feet to the side so they’re wider than your hips.
Squat in this position.
Jump your feet back together and squat in this position.
Continue this movement.

Burpees

From a standing position, jump up and lift your arms.
When your feet touch the floor, drop your hands down to the floor underneath your shoulders.
Jump, step, or walk your feet back to come into a plank position.
Hop, step, or walk your feet forward toward your hands.
Jump up and continue the movement with which you started.

Other activities

You can also do other physical activities such as:

running or jogging
swimming
cycling
dancing
boxing
aerobics or similar activities
any active sport

Increasing your cardiorespiratory endurance requires getting regular physical activity. Make sure you’re doing aerobic exercises that cause you to get your heart rate going. Add variation to your workout routine as much as possible. This allows you to work out different muscle groups and gives your body the chance to rest. Take charge of your health and begin an exercise program today.

While there are numerous methods for evaluating aerobic capacity, in most instances treadmill walking/running is appropriate for the majority of individuals. Normative data correlates time on the treadmill with aerobic fitness. V̇O2 is an index of the body’s efficiency at producing work. It is expressed in milliliters of oxygen consumed per minute, and adjusted for body weight in kilograms: ml/kg/min. There are many factors that can influence V̇O2max, e.g. heredity, training, age, gender, and body composition. Generally, V̇O2max declines with age (about 2% per year after age 30) and males typically have a greater oxygen consumption value than females. Nevertheless, the trend is that a higher V̇O2 max allows one to produce more energy, thereby performing more work. With this in mind, V̇O2 max is the "gold standard" measure of overall fitness.

Aerobic fitness is assessed by having the subject perform exercise at increased loads, for 12 to 15 minutes, while breathing into a mouthpiece which collects information on inspired and expired air. A treadmill, personal bike on a Computrainer, or a stationary bicycle are typically used. The test starts with an easy-moderate work load which is maintained for a 1-2 minutes. The load is increased gradually every 1-2 minutes until reaching the maximum level that the subject can tolerate and/or until physiological parameters such as heart rate, oxygen consumption, f... have hit a peak or plateau. This is done by increasing the cycling resistance or the speed and/or grade of the treadmill. The oxygen uptake, heart rate, speed and/or watts are measured at the ventilatory threshold and at maximal load, the latter would be the subject's V̇O2 max.

V̇O2 max values cannot be used in every day training, but follow-up V̇O2 tests can be used as a measure of progress. However, since heart rate, speed and/or power is typically measured during a V̇O2 max test, various heart rate, speed and/or power levels can be garnered from testing and then associated to appropriate training zones, which are then applied to everyday training. Other information such as V̇O2 economy (oxygen consumption values at a given heart rate or power output) can also be extracted from the data, compared to subsequent tests and against performance norms.

Training results in an increase in the efficiency of oxygen transport within the body. By lowering the resting heart rate (HR), and the HR at sub maximal loads, the heart pumps more blood with every heart beat. This, in addition to other physiological changes, increases the oxygen extraction capability. When an individual is tested before and after training while performing exercise at the same load, a lower HR is shown after training because more blood (thus, oxygen) is delivered in each heart beat. Such HR differences during exercise can be used to predict aerobic fitness. The % of increase in V̇O2 max is dependent on many variables and differs considerably from individual to individual, ranging from 5-30%. In general, individuals who are the least fit see the largest changes and individuals who are highly fit see the smallest changes.

Significant amounts of research and public health data indicate that low aerobic fitness levels are correlated with an increased risk of premature death from many causes but in particular from cardiovascular disease. Accordingly, higher aerobic fitness levels are associated with numerous health benefits e.g. longer lifespan, better quality of life, reduced risks for stroke, heart disease, diabetes and cancer, improved mood and self-esteem, and improved sleep patterns. To improve or maintain cardiovascular health an individual must engage in cardiovascular exercise (run, walk, swim, bike, etc...) at least 3 times per week. Currently, however, public health data indicates that only 22-25% of Americans exercise regularly enough to achieve these positive health benefits.

V̇O2 max is also a predictor of performance, although its correlation to athletic success in endurance sports is only 30-40%, with other factors such as sustainable lactate threshold, motivation, training, etc... also playing a role. In general, however the higher a V̇O2 max the more potential for a successful performance in an aerobic endurance event.