Aerobic conditioning is a process whereby the

heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

and

lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of th ...

are trained to pump

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

more efficiently, allowing more

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

to be delivered to

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscl ...

s and

organs In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a fu ...

. Aerobic conditioning is the use of continuous, rhythmic movement of large muscle groups to strengthen the heart and lungs (cardiovascular system). Improvement in aerobic conditioning occurs when athletes expose themselves to an increase in oxygen uptake and metabolism, but to keep this level of aerobic conditioning, the athletes must keep or progressively increase their training to increase their aerobic conditioning. Aerobic condition is usually achieved through

cardiovascular exercise Aerobic exercise (also known as endurance activities, cardio or cardio-respiratory exercise) is physical exercise of low to high intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. "Aerobic" is defined as "relating to, inv ...

such as

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

, swimming, aerobics, etc. A stronger heart does not pump more blood by beating faster but by beating more efficiently. Trained endurance athletes can have resting heart rates as low as the reported 28 beats per minute in people such as

Miguel Indurain --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disam ...

or 32 beats per minute of Lance Armstrong, both of whom were professional cyclists at the highest level.

Cardiovascular conditioning

Aerobic conditioning trains the heart to be more effective at pumping blood around the body, it does this in a multitude of ways: * Increasing the stroke volume of the heart (how much blood the heart is pumping per beat) * Increasing the diameter of the blood vessels, which allows for more blood to be moved through the body, which in turn allows for more oxygen to be diffused into the muscle cells. * Increasing the size of the heart chambers, enlarging the heart so it can hold and pump more blood.

Effect of aerobic conditioning on maximum oxygen intake (Vo2)

Aerobic conditioning has the ability to raise a person's maximum oxygen intake, meaning that they are able to diffuse more oxygen into their blood than they previously could. Although exercising at lower intensities will improve aerobic conditioning, the most rapid gains are made when exercising close to an individual's

anaerobic threshold Lactate inflection point (LIP), is the exercise intensity at which the blood concentration of lactate and/or lactic acid begins to increase rapidly. It is often expressed as 85% of maximum heart rate or 75% of maximum oxygen intake. When exercisin ...

. This is the intensity at which the heart and lungs can no longer provide adequate oxygen to the working muscles and an oxygen debt begins to accrue; at this point the exercise becomes anaerobic. Aerobic training intensity for most individuals will be <85-92% of maximum heart rate. Once improvement in aerobic conditioning is apparent, for example in metabolism and oxygen uptake, the body will progressively adapt to further training. Aerobic conditioning can be anywhere from walking on the treadmill to mowing the lawn. The average healthy person should engage in 150–200 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise every week. This amount of

physical activity Physical activity is defined as any voluntary bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure.Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health, 2009. World Health Organization. Geneva, Switzerland. Accessed 13/ ...

should help with maintaining a healthy

weight In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force acting on the object due to gravity. Some standard textbooks define weight as a Euclidean vector, vector quantity, the gravitational force acting on the object. Others define weigh ...

and keeping the

cardiovascular system The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

in good condition. Aerobic conditioning has many advantages over anaerobic as it can increase physical endurance and lifespan. During aerobic training, the aim is to improve the blood flow to the

, and

blood vessels The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away f ...

. This particular type of training targets large muscle groups so that as the intensity of physical activity is increased, overall fitness is improved. There are many benefits to aerobic training, and the outcomes can be very rewarding. Aerobic conditioning can increase the duration that one can endure physical activity. This type of conditioning can help with

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

, or

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

. Aerobic conditioning also has many non-medical benefits, such as improving mood, alleviating

fatigue Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...

and stabilizing sleeping patterns. This overall type of conditioning has the most longevity to its practice and can improve a person's health and general well being immensely.Am J Lifestyle Med. (2010). Aerobic Conditioning and Physical Activity.Sage Publications.

References

{{reflist *Kearns, K. (2011). Aerobic exercise and FASD. University of Victoria, Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20130426020412/http://web.uvic.ca/~fasd/?q=node%2F25 *Cooper, Kenneth C. ''The New Aerobics.'' Eldora, Iowa: Prairie Wind. *Donatelle, Rebecca J. ''Health: The Basics''. 6th ed. San Francisco: Pearson Education, Inc. 2005. *Hinkle, J. Scott
''School Children and Fitness: Aerobics for Life''.
Ann Arbor, MI: ERIC Clearinghouse on Counseling and Personnel Services.

Cardiovascular conditioning

Effect of aerobic conditioning on maximum oxygen intake (Vo2)

References

See also