 No matter how strong you look, if your circulatory and respiratory system cannot meet your muscles’ demands, you cannot continue activity for a long period of time.  Improving CV fitness will allow you to exercise longer without tiring and make you feel better.

 Cardiovascular fitness is the body’s ability to continuously provide oxygen to muscles as work is performed over an extended period of time.  This component of fitness includes the circulatory system (heart, blood, blood vessels) and the respiratory system (lungs and air passages).

 You must have a basic understanding of how the circulatory system and respiratory system work.

 Your pulse is caused by pressure of the blood on the artery wall and it corresponds to your heart beat.  Take your pulse by placing your middle and index finger on your wrist or neck.  Count pulses for 10 seconds and multiply the number by 6 to calculate a hearty rate.

 an active person has a lower resting heart rate than someone who is inactive. The heart of an active person pumps more blood with each beat, thus working more efficiently. Take your pulse just after waking in the morning and before getting out of bed.  Normal range: beats per minute, but adults with a resting heart rate over 70 have a greater risk of heart attack.

 Your heart rate should drop to about 120 beats per minute (BPM) within 5-6 minutes after a work-out and would be less than 100 BPM after 10 minutes.  If this does not occur, you need to reduce the intensity of your work-out.

 Blood pressure is the measure of blood force against the walls of the arteries.  It is recorded with two numbers. The higher is systolic pressure and is your blood pressure at the moment blood is pumped from the heart by ventricles. The lower number is diastolic pressure and represents the blood pressure when the heart is relaxed and filling with blood.  Normal Range or – or - 10

 Starts at an early age and is the cause of about 50% of the deaths in North America.  Caused by a build up of fatty deposits on the inner walls of the arteries. These deposits cause the passageway to become smaller, leading to a condition called arteriosclerosis.  The restriction of blood flow causes higher blood pressure, making the heart to have to work harder. Can lead to blocks.  Blocked coronary artery= heart attack  Blocked artery leading to the brain= stroke

1. Inactivity 2. Obesity 3. High blood pressure 4. High levels of cholesterol 5. Stress and tension 6. Smoking 7. Sex of individual 8. Heredity 9. Age Notice that the first six factors are controllable! Choices you make today will affect your health when you get older.

 See heart rate lab in Circulatory system folder