Fit and Cool

Most Aerobically Demanding Sport Choices

For those of you who don’t know CV (cardio vascular) fitness refers to the ability of the heart and lungs to provide the body with enough nutrients (mainly oxygen) for it to function during activity and remove waste products such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid also. The more efficient and well trained the CV system is, the greater the intensity or duration of exercise can be. Some sports such as weight lifting don’t develop the CV system very well as very little oxygen is required by the muscles. However, there are a good few sports that require the CV system to be working well. Here are 3 of the top sports for this type of fitness.

Skiing. It has been proven that cross-country skiing demands more of the cardio vascular system than any other sport. This is down to the fact that not only do skiers have to ski for unbelievably long distances, but also the cold air makes it harder for the lungs to extract oxygen. Also, cross country skiing uses nearly every single muscle in the body which means energy demands on the heart and lungs is very high. So if you’re looking to build your CV system, switch your snowboards for skis next time you’re on the slopes.

Cycling. Racing bikes at high level puts vast amounts of pressure of the heart and lungs due to the large muscle groups that are required to work. The 7 time Tour De France winner Lance Armstrong is testament to that, having one of the highest VO2 max scores of any athlete. This refers to the amount of 02 that the body can take in and the muscles can use in 1 minute.  Based on that evidence, if you’re thinking about getting rid of your old cycling machine or mountain bikes, you might want to think again.

Kayaking. Although kayaking does not use the lower body as much as other sports do, it still punishes the heart and lungs more than most. This is due to the fact that large amounts of energy are required by the upper body for quite long periods of time, which not only means high oxygen demand, but also lots of bi-products that need removing. For second hand kayaks and surfboards check out EST.

Another great health, fitness and nutrition resource is Truth About Abs by Mike Geary. Check out Girlwithnoname’s review of this awesome eBook here:

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