CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE There is more to physical fitness than just exercising on a daily basis and losing weight.

There are several factors that must be considered to be able to say that an individual is physically fit, one of which is cardiorespiratory endurance. It refers to the ability of both the circulatory and respiratory systems to work efficiently to enable the body to perform prolonged, dynamic, large-muscle exercises at moderate to high levels of intensity. Cardiorespiratory endurance can be explained through two facets. First is the bodys ability to transport oxygen to the muscle during prolonged activities. The other aspect focuses on the ability of the body to utilize oxygen once it has been transported. Transporting oxygen to the muscles of the body begins by breathing air into the lungs. The blood in the capillaries that surround the lungs in turn absorbs the oxygen from the air taken in and transports it to the left ventricle of the heart via pulmonary vein. The oxygenated blood is then pumped out to the arteries that transport it throughout the body, to the muscles. Muscle cells absorb the oxygen from the oxygenated blood, while the blood spontaneously removes carbon dioxide from the muscle cells. The now de-oxygenated and carbon-rich blood I carried off through the veins to the right ventricle of the heart. It is then pumped out to the lungs via pulmonary artery. When it reaches the lungs, the blood releases the carbon dioxide into the air that is exhaled. The process repeats once air is again taken in. The volume of blood pumped from one ventricle of the heart with each beat is called the stroke volume. It is calculated using measurements of the ventricle volumes from an echocardiogram and subtracting the volume of the blood in the ventricle at the end of a beat (called the end-systolic volume) from the volume of the blood prior to the beat (called the end-diastolic volume). The term stroke volume can apple to each of the ventricles of the heart, although it usually refers to the left ventricle. The stroke volumes for each ventricle are generally equal, both being approximately 70 ml in a healthy 70-kg man. On the other hand, the volume of blood being pumped by the heart, particularly by the left or right ventricle in the time interval of one minute is called cardiac output (CO or Q). CO may be measured in several ways, for example dm3/minute, where 1 dmis equal to

1000 cm or 1 liter. Furthermore, cardiac output is the combined sum of output from the right ventricle and the output from the left ventricle during the phase of systole of the heart. The average resting cardiac output of a human male is 5.6 L/min and 4.9 L/min for a human female. To determine the cardiac output of an individual, the equation Q = stroke volume x heart rate is used. Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure exerted by the circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. When used without further specification, blood pressure usually refers to the arterial pressure of the systemic circulation. During each heartbeat, BP varies between a maximum (systolic) and a minimum (diastolic) pressure. The mean blood pressure, due to pumping by the heart and resistance to flow in blood vessels, decreases as the circulating blood moves away from the heart through the arteries. Blood pressure drops most rapidly along the small arteries and arterioles, and continues to decrease as the blood moves through the capillaries and back to the heart through the veins. The measurement of blood pressure without further specification usually refers to the systematic arterial pressure. It is measured on the inside of the elbow at the brachial artery, which is the upper arms major blood vessel. A persons BP is usually expressed in terms of the systolic pressure over diastolic pressure (mmHg). An example is 140/90. The muscles absorption and use of oxygen depends on many factors, both chemical and structural, and may be too technical to elaborate on. However, there are two examples of factors that can affect how the muscle does both actions. One is the extent of the blood capillary distribution in the muscles; more capillaries means more surface area for the absorption of oxygen. The other is the mitochondrial density of the muscle, which aids in the cellular respiration the uses oxygen. Simply put, cardiorespiratory endurance depends mainly on the coordinated functions of the circulatory and respiratory organs; both of which contributes to the ability of the body to tolerate exhausting exercises or activities.

The intensity of an individuals cardiorespiratory endurance can be assessed through various ways. One of which is through measuring the heart rate. Defined as the number of

heartbeats per unit of time and usually expressed as beats per minute (bpm), heart rate may vary depending on the bodys need to absorb oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide. The measurement of heart rate is used by medical professionals to assist in the diagnosis and tracking of medical conditions. It is also used by individuals, such as athletes, who are interested in monitoring their heart rate to gain maximum efficiency from their training. The R wave to R wave interval (RR interval) is the inverse of the heart rate. It is measured by finding the pulse of the body. This pulse rate can be measured at any point on the body where the artery's pulsation is transmitted to the surface by pressuring it with the index and middle fingers; often it is compressed against an underlying structure like bone. The thumb should not be used for measuring another person's heart rate, as its strong pulse may interfere with discriminating the site of pulsation Another is through determining the V02 or oxygen consumption, which is the measure of the volume of oxygen that is used by the body to convert energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The V02 of a person has a direct relationship with the intensity of exercise; that is, if the intensity of exercise increases, so does the V02. If the exercise is continued up to the point of maximal consumption, then VO2max is achieved. V02max or maximal oxygen consumption refers to the maximum possible oxygen consumption that an individual can achieve. In the context of exercise, VO2 and VO2max are measurements of the bodys ability to generate the energy source ATP that allows the muscles to work continuously while exercising. The resting heart rate (HRrest) is the capacity of an individual to take-in oxygen while at rest, that is lying down but awake, and not having recently exerted themselves. The typical resting heart rate in adults is 6080 bpm, with rates below 60 bpm referred to as bradycardia, and rates above 100 bpm referred to as tachycardia. Conditioned athletes often have resting heart rates below 60 bpm, with values of below 40 bpm not unheard of. The low pulse in conditioned athletes is due to hypertrophy of the cardiac muscles, therefore enabling a higher volume of blood being pumped at each beat (i.e. higher stroke volume). Both the target heart rate and maximum heart rate can also be taken note of when assessing an individuals cardiorespiratory endurance. This refers to the desired range of heart rate reached during aerobic exercise that enables one's heart and lungs to receive the most benefit from a workout. Lastly, maximum heart rate tells us about the highest heart rate an individual can safely achieve through exercise depending on the age of the person.

In order to improve ones cardiorespiratory fitness, any type of prolonged exercise that makes use of the aerobic energy system must be done. Exercises that get the heart rate up and maintain it for a prolonged period of time can be considered as a cardiorespiratory exercise. However, exercise must be done at times where it is more beneficial to the person. Certain times of the day each have pros and cons that should be considered. Take for example exercising in the morning it increases metabolism for the day, but our muscles also tend to be at a cooler temperature at this time, so it is imperative to include a warm up session. The up side of exercising in the afternoon is that the body temperature is at its peak and the lung function is at its best, but exercising in the afternoon may be interrupted due to distractions. Exercising at night, when done early in the evening, can have the same benefits as exercising in the afternoon, but requires the body to wind down 1-3 hours after the activity so as not to affect sleep. In addition, precautions must be taken to ensure the individuals safety. Anyone can begin moderate exercises such as walking without a medical examination, but people with diseases and ailments must first consult a doctor before engaging in any strenuous or vigorous exercise. These are the people who have heart or lung disease, asthma, arthritis, or osteoporosis; individuals who experience chest pain or who develop fatigue; and persons with conditions that increase their risks of developing coronary heart disease such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high blood cholesterol. Men over the age of 40 and women over the age of 50 must also see a doctor beforehand. When an individual is physically fit to take on strenuous activities, warming up at the beginning must always be kept in mind. Warming up is done to prepare the muscles and joints for the stress that it will undergo later on the exercise routine. It is also done to avoid injuries like sprain and muscle strain, and to avoid muscle pain afterwards. There are two known exercises, namely Aerobic and anaerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is physical exercise of relatively low intensity and long duration, which depends primarily on the aerobic energy system. Aerobic means "with oxygen", and refers to the use of oxygen in the body's metabolic or energy-generating process. On the other hand, anaerobic, means without oxygen. It doesn't mean that anaerobic exercise doesn't let you breathe oxygen and aerobic exercise does, because of course, you would perish pretty quickly

if you couldn't get oxygen when you were doing any kind of exercise. Rather, what it means is that the tissues in your body either do need oxygen to produce energy, or don't. When performing a set of aerobic exercises you are causing the body to utilize oxygen in order to create energy. The oxygen is needed to breakdown glucose. Glucose is the fuel needed to create energy. However, the opposite applies to anaerobic exercises. In anaerobic exercises the body creates the energy without oxygen. This basically is because the bodys demand for energy is greater so that it will find natural body chemicals to create it. Anaerobic exercise utilizes brief and intense activities, such as weight lifting. During exercise, an intense stabbing pain under the lower edge of the ribcage may be felt. This is called an exercise related transient abdominal pain, or simply side stitch. There are several theories that explain why side stitch happens. One of these is that the pain may be caused by the contraction of the liver or of the spleen, which squeeze extra oxygencarrying red blood cells into the circulation. The high internal pressure in the liver or spleen restricts blood flow, causing hypoxia, which causes the pain. This can be avoided by strengthening the diaphragm, strengthening the core muscles, limiting the consumption of food and drink two to three hours before the activity, warming up properly, or gradually increasing the intensity of the exercise when running. In any case that the side stitch is felt, one can reduce the frequency of breathing, putting pressure on the affected area, relaxing and not thinking of the stitch itself, or stopping the exercise altogether.

While exercise is good in most cases, over exercising on the other hand presents health risks to an individual. Often, over exercising goes unnoticed until the individual feels bodily signs. Some of these signals are increased resting heart rate, persistent muscle soreness, difficulty in sleeping, decreased appetite, sudden weight loss, increased incidence of injury, and increased susceptibility to infections. All these convey the message that the body needs to slow down and rest from the stress it has been experiencing.

After exercising, the body needs to recover from the stress it underwent, done by cooling down and stretching. When cooling down, the intensity of the activity is decreased so that the heart rate and breathing is brought back to normal and the tension in the body is relieved. An example of cooling down would be jogging after running, and then slowing

down to just walking. Without cooling down, the body may experience muscle pain and fatigue. The length of the recovery period in relation to the active exercise relies on both the duration of the exercise and the intensity at which the activity was done. Recovery from exercise has four specific divisions namely musculoskeletal recovery, recovery of the systems that power the body during exercise, restoration of the energy used up by exercise, and psychological recovery. Musculoskeletal recovery is easily done when muscles are at rest. It can also be done through therapy like massage or various stretching programs. Cooling down can also be a part of this type of recovery. The next type concentrates on the recovery of the cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory systems, both of which is achieved when the intensity of the activity is reduced through every period. The restitution of energy depleted by the exercise is simply done by consuming food after the activity, thus replenishing what has been spent during the activity. While the first three types of recovery may be common to most people, psychological recovery may greatly differ from one person to the next. This can be done in various ways, like resting from the activity or changing the exercise regimen. Cardiorespiratory training is beneficial in a number of ways. First, the heart increases in size and gets stronger, allowing it to pump more blood with its every beat. This would mean that it would not have to pump as fast when meeting the demands of exercise. How the body utilizes oxygen also improves and becomes more efficient, ergo higher endurance because the muscles will not easily run out of oxygen. Also, mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, increase in number and in activity, making it more effective in using the oxygen to burn fat and carbohydrates. Cardiorespiratory training can also help avoid heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and osteoporosis, and obesity. However, all of these can be attained only when cardiorespiratory training is done properly and religiously, doing nothing less and not exceeding what is required.