Many people think that building cardiovascular endurance takes hours of training a week, but it’s surprising how quick and easy it actually is to make a positive impact on your heart health. As heart rate variability decreases with age, keeping active and maintaining healthy HRV levels is important to your overall wellbeing. We’ve put together a list of the 6 easiest and most fun exercises to boost your cardiovascular endurance quickly!
Did you know heart rate decreases with age? Check out the article ”What is heart rate variability (HRV)?” to learn more.
Walking
Start your endurance training with the easiest exercise: walking. You can build walking into your day-to-day life anywhere – make a habit to turn sedentary meetings into walking ones, take a stroll during your lunch or coffee break, or simply take a long walk during your lunch break or get off the train one stop earlier. The best way to make significant progress is to up your pace and walk at a brisk speed – aiming to reach 60% of your maximum heart rate each time you exercise. Not sure what your heart rate should be? Calculating it is easy – just subtract your age from 220, about 60% of this number is what you should be aiming for.
Running
Running is a super effective aerobic exercise that makes your heart beat faster than most other cardio activities, and it’s a great fat-burner. If running is your thing, you should aim to lengthen your sessions every week or increase your speed to really push yourself. This will rapidly improve your cardiovascular endurance, as well as your overall fitness.
Kickboxing
Kickboxing is as fun as it is effective when it comes to boosting your endurance – it combines kicks and punches with cardio moves, and requires plenty of energy! The added value of kickboxing is that it’s a competitive sport practiced with others – making it much more enjoyable than simply running or walking alone.
Cycling
Cycling is another great way to make your heart rate climb while strengthening your thighs, calves, and your heart. Studies have shown that regular cycling could even cut your risk of heart disease by up to 50%.
Exercising with fitness machines
The next time you hit the gym, use machines such as the stationary bicycle, rowing machine, elliptical trainer, and treadmill. They are all great for boosting your endurance and getting your heart working at its maximum. These are often ideal options because you can set the difficulty of your workout to really challenge yourself and get your heart pumping. Many exercise machines also offer the handy ability to directly monitor your heart rate, so you’ll know if you’re exercising at the right intensity to maximize heart health benefits.
Swimming
Swimming is another full-body workout that can improve your endurance – the key is to swim 50 to 200-yard intervals with rest periods between each interval. As your endurance improves, you can prolong your intervals and shorten your rest periods to maximize the beneficial effects on your heart.
How much exercise do you need to boost your cardiovascular endurance?
If you’ve been living a sedentary lifestyle for a long time, it’s advisable to start off slowly when building your endurance. Monitor your heart rate and heart rate variability to ensure you are regularly reaching 55-85% of your maximum HR without overtiring or skimping on recovery time. You can begin with a small amount of exercise every day and gradually increase it. Initially, 15 minutes of exercise a day is all you need – just make sure you’re hitting your target heart rate at least 3 times a week. As you make progress with your fitness, you’ll also strengthen your heart, improve blood flow and increase your capacity to bring energy and oxygen to your muscles. You should aim to eventually build up to 30 minutes of exercise a day, 5 times a week.
QardioCore is the first wearable ECG/EKG monitor allowing users to proactively look after their heart health long-term. It is designed to fit an active lifestyle and seamlessly records continuous wireless ECG, heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and activity data. QardioCore is sweat and water-resistant, making it the perfect tool for tracking your overall heart health while working out.
Sources:
Livestrong
American Heart Association
