ACTIVITY AND
CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS
LESSON 6.1
S.JETT, NBCT
MONTEVALLO MIDDLE
FITNESS FOR LIFE – CORBIN & LINDSEY
Activity and Cardio
When you do regular physical activity, you improve
your cardiovascular fitness – fitness of the heart,
lungs, blood and vessels. Of the 11 parts of fitness,
cardio is the most important because those that have
it receive many health and wellness benefits
including a chance for a longer life.
Benefits
Looking good is important to most people, and you are
most likely one of them. Doing regular physical
activity can help you look better by controlling your
weight, building muscle, and developing good
posture.
In addition, regular physical activity produces changes
in the body organs such as making your heart muscle
stronger and your blood vessels healthier. These
changes result in better cardiovascular fitness and
wellness, as well as a reduction in risk of hypokinetic
disease.
Regular PA
Regular PA benefits two vital body systems. Your
cardiovascular system includes your heart, vessels,
and your blood. Your respiratory system includes
your lungs and the air passages that bring air,
including oxygen, from outside the body to the lungs.
In your lungs oxygen enters your blood while carbon
dioxide is eliminated. These systems both work
together to bring your body the materials it needs
and also functions to get rid of waste. Exercise helps
your body function more efficiently. What does
efficiently mean?
Heart
Because your heart is a muscle, it benefits from
exercise and activities such as jogging, swimming,
hiking, etc. Your heart acts as a pump to supply
blood to the body. When you do vigorous activity,
your cells need more oxygen and produce more
waste products. Your heart must pump more blood
to meet the demand for intake and removal. If your
heart isn’t able to pump enough blood, the ability of
your muscles to contract will be reduced and they
will become fatigued more quickly.
Heart cont.
Obviously, your hearts’ ability to pump blood is very
important. Your heart has 2 ways to get more
blood to the muscle – 1) by beating faster or 2)
sending more blood with each pump.
Do you recall what a good resting heart rate would be?
If someone is not active, he/she may have a higher
resting heart rate and when he/she exercises the
heart will have to work way too hard.
Arteries
Your arteries carry blood away from the heart to other
parts of the body. Blood is forced through your
arteries by the beat of your heart. A strong heart
and healthy lungs are not very helpful if your
arteries are not clean and open. You know that
fatty deposits on the lining of the vessels lead to
atherosclerosis and that can totally block the blood
flow in an artery. The hardened deposits can also
form blood clots that will completely restrict the
flow of blood and cause a heart attack.
Blood
Although your body needs a certain amount of fat,
excessive amounts trigger formation of the fatty
deposits along the artery walls. Cholesterol, a fatty
substance found in meats, dairy products, and egg
yolks, can be dangerous because high levels can
build in your body without you noticing it.
Cholesterol is carried in the blood by particles
called lipoproteins. One kind, low density
lipoprotein (LDL), is often referred to as “bad
cholesterol.” The high density lipoprotein (HDL) is
referred to as “good cholesterol.” HDL’s carry the
bad cholesterol out of the blood and to the liver.
Regular PA
Regular PA helps improve your cardio by reducing
LDL and increasing HDL. Exercise can also help
prevent blood clots from happening by reducing
the amount of fibrin in the blood. Regular PA also
has other benefits. Scientists have found that
people who exercise regularly develop more
branching in the arteries. After astronaut Ed White
died in a fire in 1967 while training for a mission,
an autopsy found that one artery was completely
blocked. They believe that his high level of physical
activity helped prevent him from having a heart
attack.
Veins
Your veins carry blood that is filled with waste
products. One way valves in your veins keep the
blood from flowing backward is by squeezing the
veins to pump the blood. Regular exercise causes
veins to squeeze more efficiently. A lack of PA can
cause the valves, especially in the legs to stop
working efficiently and proper circulation will be
reduced.
Nerves
Your heart muscle is not like your arm and leg
muscles. When your arm and leg muscles contract,
nerves in the muscle are responding to a message
send by the conscious part of your brain. In
contrast, your heart is not controlled voluntarily; it
beats regularly without you telling it to do so.
Regular exercise can influence your nervous system
to slow down your heart rate. As a result, your
heart works more efficiently because each heart
beat supplies more blood and oxygen to the body.
Muscle Cells
For you to be able to do physical activity for a long
time without getting tired, your muscle cells must
function efficiently and effectively. Regular PA
helps cells use oxygen and get rid of waste
materials effectively. PA also helps the muscle cells
use blood sugar, with the aid of the hormone
insulin, to produce energy. This is important to
good cardiovascular health.
Benefits of PA on the Cardiovascular System
HEART –
 Muscle gets stronger
 Pumps more blood with each beat
 Beats slower
 Gets more rest
 Works more efficiently
LUNGS –
 Breathe slower and deeper during activity
 Work more efficiently
 Deliver more oxygen to the blood
More Benefits
ARTERIES
 Less risk of atherosclerosis
 Lower blood pressure
 Less risk of a blood clot leading to heart attack
 Development of extra vessels
 Bigger arteries and more blood flow
BLOOD
 Less bad cholesterol (LDL)
 More good cholesterol (HDL)
 Less substances that cause clots
More Benefits
VEINS
 Healthy valves
CELLS
 Use oxygen efficiently
 Get rid of more wastes
 Use blood sugars and insulin more effectively to
produce energy
Cardiovascular Assessment
How good is your fitness level? Special tests can assess
your fitness. The Maximal Oxygen Uptake test is
considered the best test of cardiovascular fitness. It
is don in a laboratory using special equipment,
including a gas meter and treadmill or stationary
bike. Another type of lab test is the graded exercise
test, sometimes call the stress test. This test requires
the same equipment and a special heart rate
monitor. These tests are often expensive because
they require specialized equipment and experts to
administer and interpret the results.
Self - Assessment
There are several inexpensive ways that you can selfassess.
Do you know of any of those assessments?
Interpreting Results
It is always wise to do more than one assessment and
even more than one type of assessment. Each
assessment has its own strengths and weaknesses.
The PACER and the One mile run are dependent on
one’s motivation. If you don’t try very hard, then you
will not score very well. The walking test is good but
doesn’t require a high level of fitness. The step test
will also give varying results depending on the
previous activities. These tests can also be influenced
by emotional factors.
How much is enough?
To get good benefits, you should achieve ratings in the
healthy heart zone. It is important to know that
there are benefits associated with moving out of the
low fitness zone. If you aspire to be an athlete, you
will want to score in the high fitness zone.
Review
What are some benefits of PA on the cardio
system?
2. What are some methods of assessment?
3. How much is enough?
1.