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Cardio respiratory fitness, sometimes called cardiorespiratory endurance, cardio endurance, aerobic fitness, or aerobic capacity, is one of the basic components of physical fitness. Cardio respiratory fitness is a condition in which the body's cardiovascular (circulatory) and respiratory systems function together, especially during cardiorespiratory endurance exercise or work, to ensure that adequate oxygen is supplied to the working muscles to produce energy. Cardio respiratory fitness is needed for prolonged, rhythmic use of the body's large muscle groups. A high level of cardio respiratory fitness permits continuous physical activity without a decline in performance and allows for rapid recovery following fatiguing cardiorespiratory endurance physical activity.
Activities such as running, bicycling, swimming, cross-country skiing, rowing, stair climbing, and jumping rope place an extra demand on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. During exercise, these systems attempt to supply oxygen to cardiorespiratory endurance the working muscles. Most of this oxygen is used to produce energy for muscular contraction.
Any activity that continuously uses large muscle groups for 20 minutes or longer taxes these systems. Because of this, a wide variety of training methods are used to improve cardio respiratory endurance.
Physiology of cardiorespiratory endurance
Aerobic exercise uses oxygen to produce most of the body's energy needs. It also brings into play a fairly complex set of physiological events.
To provide enough energy-producing oxygen to the muscles, the following events occur:
Greater movement of air through the lungs, increased movement of oxygen from the lungs into the blood stream, increased delivery of cardiorespiratory endurance oxygen-laden blood to the working muscles by the heart's accelerated pumping action, regulation of the blood vessel's size to distribute blood away from inactive tissue to working muscle, greater movement of oxygen from the blood into the muscle tissue.
Accelerated return of veinous blood cardiorespiratory endurance to the heart.
Cardiorespiratory endurance correctly performed aerobic exercise, overtime, causes positive changes in the body's cardio respiratory system. These changes allow the heart and vascular systems to deliver more oxygen-rich blood to the working muscles during exercise. Also, those muscles regularly used during aerobic exercise undergo positive changes. By using more oxygen, these changes let the cardiorespiratory endurance muscles make and use more energy during exercise and, as a result, the muscles can work longer and harder.
During maximum aerobic exercise, the trained individual has an increased maximum oxygen consumption, and is better able to process oxygen and fuel and can therefore provide more energy to the working muscles cardiorespiratory endurance |
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