Aerobic exercise and the heart: what training does
Aerobic exercise is one of the most effective ways to strengthen your heart, lungs and circulation. Research gathered over 20 years confirms that regular aerobic training improves endurance and the body’s overall functioning. Here is what that actually means.
Why aerobic exercise is so good for your heart
When you train, your muscles need more oxygen. To meet that demand, the heart has to pump blood faster and the lungs have to expand. Repeated often enough, this process gets easier — the heart grows stronger and learns to pump more blood with every beat.
Oxygen is carried to the muscles by red blood cells. As the body adapts to regular training, both the number of red blood cells and the amount of hemoglobin increase. The result: your blood becomes a more efficient oxygen carrier.
Circulation also improves throughout the body. Oxygen reaches all your organs faster, not just your muscles. At the same time, your blood clears away the waste products produced during training more quickly. Both are equally important for your physical health.
How aerobic exercise affects the body: specific changes
- The heart becomes more efficient — more blood is pumped with every beat, and your resting heart rate drops.
- Muscle tone improves throughout the body, blood pressure falls and the heart doesn’t have to work as hard.
- The number of red blood cells and the amount of hemoglobin rise, which makes the blood a better oxygen carrier to the tissues.
- HDL cholesterol (the so-called good cholesterol, high density lipoproteins) levels rise and LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol, low density lipoproteins) levels fall — this is a key factor in preventing cardiovascular disease.
Frankly, a person in good physical shape copes with everyday physical challenges far more easily. Someone who doesn’t exercise regularly gets tired faster and has to give up an activity sooner.
Aerobic exercise and the heart rate range — how to train correctly
Aerobic training works when the intensity is high enough. The goal is to keep your heart rate in the range of 140–170 beats per minute — which means roughly doubling your resting heart rate.
So what actually happens if you’re out of shape? Your resting heart rate is high — 80–90 beats per minute — and even a small effort quickly leaves you exhausted. A person in good physical shape has a low resting heart rate, around 50 beats per minute, and has to work harder to reach the same heart rate range.
A simple truth: the more regularly you train, the more efficient the pump becomes. The heart supplies the body with the oxygen it needs at a lower heart rate — and that is the hallmark of a trained heart. A heart rate monitor is a useful tool for checking whether you’re in the right zone.
FAQ — frequently asked questions about aerobic exercise
How often should you do aerobic exercise?
For most people, 3–4 times a week is enough to see a clear effect on heart health and overall endurance.
Does aerobic exercise help lower blood pressure?
Yes. Regular aerobic training improves circulation and reduces the workload on the heart, which helps manage moderately high blood pressure without medication.
What heart rate range should I start with as a beginner?
Beginners can start lower — at 120–140 beats per minute — and raise the intensity gradually as the body gets used to the training load.
Source: http://www.new-fitness.com/Aerobics/heart.html
Author: translated by Mo www.new-fitness.com
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