Cardio...what does it do?

**narcolepsy** · Posted On: 12/25/2006 8:26am

"My neighbor (down the street a bit actually) teaches Pilates. She invited me to try out a class this week. Is this anyy good for me or am I wasting my time?"

try it out and see for yourself...

(unless you think it's going to be any good for cardio, in which case, it's not.)

ok, i just realized how old that post was. but...hey, pilates is still around, right?

**feedback** · Posted On: 12/25/2006 5:16pm

There are so many excellent benefits to doing cardio that there is no excuse to neglect it.

**meataxe** · Posted On: 12/25/2006 11:38pm

Wow. I just stumbled across this and there's some weird **** in this thread.

Here's my take as a former endurance athlete with some basic coaching training:

Cardio training does train the heart to pump more efficiently. Also the lungs can become more efficient. There is also the "vascular" part of "cardiovascular". So there is not just the supply (lungs), pump (heart), but the delivery (vascular) that is improved.

What is being improved exactly? The supply of oxygen to the muscles. That's why I like the term "aerobic exercise" better than "cardio". So basically, aerobic exercise improves the efficiency of the delivery of oxygen to the muscles. You have an upper limit, called your VO2 max--the amount of oxygen you can supply in a given time. You can nudge it up a little, but basically you have what you are born with. Some people will never be great endurance athletes.

Aerobic exercise directly affects the muscles that are fueled by oxygen. Muscles fueled by stored energy (glycogen) are another story. Some people have more of one ore the other. (I'm an aerobic, or slow-twitch kinda guy.)

When you do aerobic exercise, you also strengthen whatever muscles you are using to make your heart start beating: legs, arms, etc. It also makes you feel good.

As for some of the weird ****...

- There may be some combat athletes who don't do aerobic exercise, but there are none who would not benefit from it. They may also be getting aerobic exercise from other parts of their workout. All you need is to sustain an elevated heart rate for a period time.

- Improving bone density does not require impact exercise. It merely requires weight-bearing exercise.