Which exercises improve cardiorespiratory endurance?

Alternating diversified exercises of different intensities, durations, frequencies, methods and muscle groups can not only reduce sports injuries, but also achieve super recovery. The same exercise day after day is prone to injury and is not conducive to super recovery. It is an inefficient and low-cost exercise. It is not advocated or recommended fitness exercise habits. There are four key evaluation indicators for cardiopulmonary endurance exercise with health as the goal: intensity, duration, frequency, and method. In the previous article, we introduced intensity (Intensity), duration (Time), and frequency (Frequency). In this article, we will discuss the method (Type) of fitness exercise. There are many ways to exercise, and the Olympics is the epitome of sports. How many events are there in the Summer Olympics? The 2008 Beijing Olympics had 28 major events and 302 minor events; the most recent Olympics, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, has 33 major events and 339 minor events!

Competitive sports are professional and occupational. They are for competition, and we select events to pursue the Olympic spirit of "faster, higher, stronger"! We are engaged in fitness exercises, not for professional and occupational reasons, and not for competition. Fitness exercises are for serving health, spending time and energy to gain a healthy life.

Walking, long-distance running, mountain climbing, cycling, swimming, yoga, square dancing, aerobics, Tai Chi, Baguazhang, table tennis, badminton, basketball, football, etc., for fitness people, are mainly aerobic sports and popular sports to improve cardiopulmonary endurance. Different methods have different effects, so let's classify them. Walking and jogging. They are introduced first, not because the effect is amazing, but because it is an innate instinct of human beings, a common way for the public to start exercising, and suitable for fitness people with zero foundation. But when it comes to speed, walking is not strolling. The rhythm of walking, chatting and playing with mobile phones has limited effect; walking is not race walking. High-level race walking is faster than mass running. Didn't expect it? Walking plus jogging, a combination of walking and running, is an active and effective zero-based exercise. Don't limit yourself to walking, but intersperse jogging, and jogging gradually replaces walking to achieve qualitative sublimation.

Square dance, aerobics. Square dance has surpassed Tai Chi, becoming a national treasure and going abroad. It is also suitable for fitness people with no basics, especially middle-aged and elderly women. However, the intensity of the exercise is limited, and the effect of improving cardiopulmonary endurance is also limited. Square dance is both a sport and a social activity, so it is easy to stick to it. Compared with square dance, aerobics, including yoga, may be more niche and more intense, suitable for young women. Square dance and aerobics are justified by their existence.

Traditional martial arts. There are many schools of Tai Chi, Bagua, Shaolin, Wudang, Southern Fist and Northern Leg. Tai Chi is the most common form of mass fitness, and it is a sport that requires skills. How are traditional martial arts such as Tai Chi so profound? Why are they respected as national arts? I don't understand, so I won't comment. How effective are Tai Chi, Bagua, Xingyi, and Qigong in improving cardiopulmonary endurance? Judging from the intensity of exercise, the effect is limited. The hard-core martial arts among the "six major schools" focus on resistance exercise and are still not the preferred items for improving cardiopulmonary endurance.

Ball sports. Table tennis, badminton, basketball, football, volleyball, tennis, etc. are all sports that require skills and partners. Table tennis, badminton, and basketball are common sports for mass fitness. The intensity of exercise can be high or low, and it is mainly aerobic and supplemented by anaerobic. Skill-based aerobic exercise, a skill that will accompany you throughout your life, is very beneficial and is highly recommended.

Mountain climbing and cycling. They are good activities and can improve cardiopulmonary endurance, but it is hard to find a place to do them. In a megacity like Shanghai, there are no mountains to climb. The same goes for cycling. City streets are not suitable. If you go too slow, it will not work, and if you go too fast, it will be unsafe. Mountain climbing and cycling are weekend hiking sports. If you have the time and conditions, it is worth participating and worth promoting. Do it once a week, and you don't have to worry too much about knee injuries.

Swimming. It rarely causes sports injuries. It is the sport with the least injuries among common sports. It is also a good sport to improve cardiopulmonary endurance. Why not learn it? It requires skills and physical fitness. There are various intensities to meet the needs of individuals with different physical fitness. Swimming is no longer a seasonal sport. Cities all have heated swimming pools that are open all year round. There is no reason to refuse swimming.

Winter swimming deserves a special mention. Winter swimming can be a double-edged sword for the cardiovascular system. For healthy people, winter swimming can prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases; but for patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, it is a dangerous sport. The initial cold water stimulation causes the skin blood vessels to contract sharply, reducing heat loss and resulting in a protective reaction; then the skin blood vessels expand rapidly, increasing blood flow and maintaining body temperature, which is an adaptive reaction. Alternating between tension and relaxation maintains and improves cardiovascular and cerebrovascular function, but it can easily induce cardiovascular events. It is worth noting that due to the low temperature, winter swimming time is extremely short, the effect of improving cardiopulmonary endurance is limited, the time cost is high, and the cost-effectiveness of exercise is low.

Running. Running is an innate skill of human beings and an instinct for the survival of ancient people. The equipment for running is simple and it is not restricted by time and place, so there are many people who run, including the old, middle-aged and young groups. Long-distance running is a typical aerobic exercise with a wide range of choices in intensity and duration. It is the main exercise to improve cardiopulmonary endurance. Long-distance jogging (Long Slow Distance, LSD) is suitable for mass sports. Marathon should also be mentioned separately. Marathon is both a sport and a spirit. Professionals and amateurs compete on the same field, surpass themselves, challenge their limits, and meet the needs of self-realization. This is its charm that attracts people. However, challenging the limits is no longer fitness, so it is not necessary. Long-distance running masters should participate moderately, and ordinary fitness is not recommended. Some people mistake amateurs for professionals, continue to increase their stakes, participate intensively, rush to the field on Saturdays and Sundays, and run two consecutive games, commonly known as "back to back". Such extreme sports are by no means a rational option for amateur fitness athletes, and even professional marathon runners are taboo. Be obsessed with it and you will reap what you sow. It starts with fitness and ends with injuries.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a full-strength, fast, explosive exercise. Changing the intensity, combining high intensity with intervals, aerobic with anaerobic, quickly raising the heart rate and consuming more energy, can also improve VO2max, and there is excess oxygen consumption after exercise. There are many combinations of jumping interval training, just Baidu it yourself. Speed ​​interval training (SIT) such as: variable speed running, interval running, uphill running. After completing a set of HIIT, you can maintain a high metabolic rate for 24 to 48 hours. It not only saves time, but also improves cardiopulmonary endurance. However, this is an exercise that requires a physical foundation and is an advanced exercise. A simple summary. The main muscle groups that exert force in various aerobic exercises are different, and the main joints that bear pressure are different. Single aerobic exercise has the risk of losing muscle, reducing the basal metabolic rate, affecting body shaping, and easily leading to musculoskeletal injuries. Diversified aerobic exercise can develop whole-body muscle endurance in a balanced manner to avoid muscle loss and musculoskeletal injuries. Aerobic exercise that takes fitness as the starting point and improves cardiopulmonary endurance should not be a single exercise but a diversified exercise.