Cardiovascular Fitness

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Cardiovascular Fitness
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Cardiovascular Fitness

• Cardiovascular fitness is the most important part
  of the eleven parts of fitness (5 health-related
  6 skill-related) because those who have it
  receive many health and wellness benefits,
  including a chance to live a longer life.

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Benefits of Physical Activity and Cardiovascular
Fitness

• Reduces the risk of
• hearth disease
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Lowers body fatness
• Allows work without fatigue
• Increases ability to enjoy active leisure
• Improves quality of life

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Parts of the the Cardiovascular System and
Respiratory System

• Cardiovascular System
• Heart
• Blood vessels
• Blood
• Respiratory System
• Lungs
• Trachea
• Mouth and Nose
• In your lungs, oxygen enters your lungs and
  carbon dioxide is eliminated
• Exercise helps these systems to function more
  effectively and efficiently

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Your Heart Continued

• Arteries carry blood away from your heart to
  other parts of your body
• Veins carry blood filled with waste products
  from your muscle cells back to your heart
• Your muscles squeeze the veins to pump the blood
  back to your heart
• Regular physical activity helps make your muscles
  squeeze your veins more efficiently
• Blood needs a certain amount of fat, excessive
  fat can trigger deposits along artery walls
  (atherosclerosis)

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Your Heart Continued

• Cholesterol a fat-like substance found in meats,
  dairy products, and egg yolks
• Lipoproteins carry cholesterol through the
  bloodstream
• Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) bad cholesterol
  carry cholesterol which is most like to stay and
  cause atherosclerosis
• High-density lipoproteins (HDL) good
  cholesterol carry bad cholesterol out of the
  bloodstream and into the liver for elimination
  from the body

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What can physical activity do?

• Regular physical activity
• Helps improve cardiovascular fitness by reducing
  LDL (bad) and increasing HDL (good) levels.
• Can help prevent blood clots from forming by
  reducing the amount of fibrin in the blood
• Fibrin substance involved in making your blood
  clot
• Create a stronger heart that can pump more blood
  with fewer beats
• Can create a richer network of blood vessels
• Can create more branching of arteries in the
  heart
• SEE HANDOUT 7-A FOR ADDITIONAL BENEFITS TO THE
  CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM

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Your Nervous System and Your Heart

• Your heart is an involuntary muscle (it cannot be
  controlled directly by your brain)
• Regular cardiovascular exercise can influence
  your nervous system to slow down your resting
  heart rate
• As a result, your heart works more efficiently
  because each heartbeat supplies more blood and
  oxygen to your body than if you did not exercise.

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Cardiovascular Assessment

• Formal Assessment
• Maximal Oxygen Uptake Test
• Uses special equipment including a gas meter, a
  treadmill or a stationary bike
• Graded Exercise Test (stress test)
• Requires a treadmill or a stationary bike and a
  special heart rate monitor

• Self-Assessment
• Mile-run
• PACER Test
• (Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance
  Test) pg. 123
• Step Test
• (3 min. stepping and then check heart rate) pg
  108
• Walking Test
• (1 mile walk, then compare to a chart both time
  and heart rate) pg. 94

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The Physical Activity Pyramid and Cardiovascular
Endurance

• Its important for optimal health and wellness to
  choose activities from all parts of the Physical
  Activity Pyramid.
• Cardiovascular Fitness Areas of the Pyramid
• Lifestyle Physical Activity
• Aerobic Activity
• Active Sport

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Aerobic Activity

• Aerobic Activity
• Large muscle activities that are sustained for
  long periods of time
• Activity that is steady enough to allow the heart
  to supply all the oxygen your muscles need
• Examples walking, jogging, aerobic dance,
  cross-country skiing, biking, etc.

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How Much Cardiovascular Activity is Enough?

• Every American should accumulate 30 minutes or
  more of moderate physical activity every day of
  the week CDC
• (This has been increased to 1 hour/day)
• Two Basic Guidelines for determining how much
  Physical Activity is enough
• Counting Physical Activity Calories (Ch. 6)
• Counting Heart Rate

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Counting Heart Rate

• Teenagers should engage in activities at least 3
  days per week that last 20 minutes or more at a
  time and that require moderate to vigorous levels
  of exertion
• Being in your target heart rate zone (65-85 or
  your maximum heart rate)
• 2 ways to calculate your Heart Rate Target Zone
  (p. 115)

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Anaerobic Physical Activity

• Anaerobic Activity activity done in short bursts
• Examples swimming very fast, sprinting, bursts
  of activity in football
• Your body cannot supply the blood and oxygen to
  the muscles as fast as the muscles use it
• Without oxygen, you cant exercise very long