To get better at cardiovascular fitness, it’s important to know how to measure it and ways to improve it.
Heart Rate Monitor: The heart rate is how fast your heart beats. For adults, a normal resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm). When you exercise, try to get your heart rate to 50-85% of your maximum heart rate. You can find this number by subtracting your age from 220.
VO2 Max Testing: This test measures how much oxygen your body can use during exercise. For most adults, a normal VO2 max is between 35 and 40 mL/kg/min. With training, your VO2 max can improve by 10-30% over a few months.
Submaximal Exercise Tests: These tests help check your endurance without making you go all out. They usually estimate your VO2 max by looking at how your heart rate responds while you exercise.
Aerobic Exercise: Doing activities like running, biking, or swimming for at least 150 minutes each week at a moderate pace can really help your cardiovascular fitness.
Interval Training: Research shows that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can boost your VO2 max by up to 30% in a shorter time, like 6-8 weeks.
Stay Consistent and Progress: Gradually making your workouts harder or longer will help you keep getting better because your body will adjust to the extra effort.
To get better at cardiovascular fitness, it’s important to know how to measure it and ways to improve it.
Heart Rate Monitor: The heart rate is how fast your heart beats. For adults, a normal resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm). When you exercise, try to get your heart rate to 50-85% of your maximum heart rate. You can find this number by subtracting your age from 220.
VO2 Max Testing: This test measures how much oxygen your body can use during exercise. For most adults, a normal VO2 max is between 35 and 40 mL/kg/min. With training, your VO2 max can improve by 10-30% over a few months.
Submaximal Exercise Tests: These tests help check your endurance without making you go all out. They usually estimate your VO2 max by looking at how your heart rate responds while you exercise.
Aerobic Exercise: Doing activities like running, biking, or swimming for at least 150 minutes each week at a moderate pace can really help your cardiovascular fitness.
Interval Training: Research shows that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can boost your VO2 max by up to 30% in a shorter time, like 6-8 weeks.
Stay Consistent and Progress: Gradually making your workouts harder or longer will help you keep getting better because your body will adjust to the extra effort.