Aerobic conditioning

Aerobic conditioning is a process whereby the heart and lungs are trained to pump blood more efficiently, allowing more oxygen to be delivered to muscles and organs.

Aerobic conditioning is the use of continuous, rhythmic movement of large muscle groups to strengthen the heart and lungs (cardiovascular system). An improvement in aerobic conditioning occurs when an athlete exposes themselves to an increase in oxygen uptake and metabolism. But to keep this level of Aerobic conditioning the athlete must keep or progressively increase their training to increase their aerobic conditioning.

Aerobic condition is usually achieved through cardiovascular exercise such as running, 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 or 32 beats per minute of Lance Armstrong, both of whom were professional cyclists at the highest level.

Aerobic conditioning trains the heart to be more effective at pumping blood around the body, it does this in a multitude of ways:

Aerobic conditioning has the ability to raise a persons 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. 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. Anaerobic 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 should help with maintaining a healthy weight and keeping the cardiovascular system in good condition.

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