Breathing is essential, think about how long you can hold your breath for without needing to gasp for air. The same goes for your heart, if it stops beating, it’s not long before you die.
Our heart and lungs are literally responsible for creating energy/life within us.
When we take a breath in, air goes into our lungs and our blood becomes oxygenated, our heart then pumps blood to our body tissues and oxygen is used by our cells to create energy, our blood becomes deoxygenated (oxygen is replaced with carbon-dioxide), this blood then returns to the lungs to expire the carbon-dioxide and get more oxygen. This is called aerobic respiration.
Having a basic level of cardiovascular fitness is very important in creating optimal health. The more efficient your body is at this process the better. Increasing your aerobic fitness you may notice it’s easier to maintain a healthier weight, your energy increases throughout the day, you sleep better, you look healthier. In the gym you will notice faster recovery between sets, between workouts etc allowing you to train harder for longer and achieve better performance.
How do we increase our aerobic fitness? Move more! Get your heart rate and breathing rate elevated more often. Ride your bike to work rather than driving, take the stairs, do some aerobic exercise “cardio” - make moving more a consistent habit and you will notice an improvement in your cardiovascular health.
What can you do as of this week to improve yourself?