Respiration, body temperature, pulse and blood pressure are called the four vital signs. They are the pillars of maintaining the normal activities of the body. No matter which abnormality will lead to serious diseases, and some diseases can also lead to the changes of these four vital signs. In recent years, the American Heart Association has proposed "cardiopulmonary endurance" as the fifth major vital sign to evaluate human life state. This shows the importance of cardiopulmonary endurance quality as a "family flower" of physical health. Now follow this website to learn about it!
What is "cardiopulmonary endurance"?
Cardiopulmonary function refers to the ability of the human body to absorb and use oxygen to do work in physical activities with a certain load. It is manifested in the endurance ability of human movement, such as the ability to run for a long time, climb stairs, ride a bike and climb mountains. Generally speaking, aerobic capacity, cardiopulmonary endurance and exercise endurance all refer to the same ability. Generally speaking, cardiopulmonary endurance in adulthood decreases with age, especially after the age of 45. Scientific research shows that if a person can maintain a low body mass index (BMI = weight kg / m2 of height), develop the habit of participating in physical exercise and non-smoking in his life, it will help to improve his cardiopulmonary endurance and promote health.
Cardiopulmonary endurance = quality of life!
Cardiopulmonary endurance quality is related to our life. Cardiopulmonary function is the cornerstone of health. With good cardiopulmonary function, your heart can bear higher load and your body's exercise ability is strong, which is commonly known as "good physical fitness and strong physical strength"; If a person "has a heart of 30 at the age of 60" and "is not tired and does not breathe when climbing mountains", such a body will undoubtedly lay a foundation for the improvement of our quality of life. To improve the quality of our life, we can't just be satisfied with the state of "disease-free". Even if there is no disease for the time being, if the functions of the important organs of the body, such as the heart and lungs, are low, they will not live well or long. What a high-quality life needs more is abundant physical fitness and healthy body and mind. "Living well" is more important than "living long" to some extent.
Better heart and lungs, healthier and longer life!
Studies have shown that if everyone has a moderate level of cardiopulmonary endurance, all-cause mortality will be reduced by 17%, while excluding the risk factor of obesity, mortality will be reduced by only 2% - 3%. The difference in cardiorespiratory tolerance is the most important factor in all the causes of male and female all-cause mortality, which exceeds the risk factors of hypertension, smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity. At present, risk factors such as serum cholesterol, blood pressure and weight have attracted extensive attention, but the relationship between cardiopulmonary endurance and health status has not been paid enough attention. Clinicians will take the trouble to test cholesterol, measure blood pressure or evaluate their obesity status, but rarely use exercise tests to evaluate their cardiopulmonary endurance.
Self test "cardiopulmonary endurance"
Generally speaking, the evaluation of aerobic exercise ability needs to be carried out with special equipment in medical physical examination, national physique testing department or fitness guidance station. There are certain difficulties and requirements. We can also use some simple methods. Although we can not obtain accurate values, we can simply evaluate aerobic ability and exercise effect.
● climbing test: if you can climb the third floor slightly faster than usual without obvious shortness of breath and chest tightness, you have good aerobic capacity.
● pulse, blood pressure and activity test: lie down quietly and sit up quickly within 30-40 seconds. If the pulse accelerates 10-20 times per minute and the decrease of blood pressure is less than 10mm Hg, it indicates that the aerobic capacity is good. On the contrary, the pulse accelerates more than 20 times per minute, the blood pressure decreases by more than 10mm Hg, and even nausea, vomiting, dizziness, cold sweat and other phenomena occur, indicating that the aerobic capacity is very poor.
● breath test: light a match and breathe hard at a distance of about one foot. If you can extinguish the flame, your aerobic ability is good.
● small amount of exercise test: run in place for a while, stop the activity after the pulse increases to 120 times per minute. If the pulse can return to normal within 3-4 minutes, the aerobic capacity is normal.
● famous 12 minute run: "12 minute run" is a method proposed by Dr. Cooper, the "father of aerobic exercise" in the United States, which can quantitatively evaluate the aerobic exercise ability of fitness people. Evaluation method: according to the maximum distance run in 12 minutes and the age and gender in the table, the aerobic exercise ability is evaluated into six grades: excellent, good, good, average, poor and very poor.
● 6-minute walk test: the 6-minute walk test is simple, cheap and safe. It is an aerobic exercise ability evaluation method mainly for patients with chronic heart and lung diseases. Test method: a straight-line distance of 30.5m, with a chair at both ends as a sign. The patient moves back and forth during the period, and the speed is determined by himself. The tester nearby reports the time every 2 minutes. If the patient can't insist or has shortness of breath, chest tightness and chest pain, the test can be suspended or suspended. Calculate the walking distance after 6 minutes. Level 1: less than 300m; Level 2: 300-374.9m; Level 3: 375-449.5m; Level 4: more than 450 meters. (grade 1-2 is poor, and grade 3-4 is close to or reaches the normal level)
Exercise methods of cardiopulmonary endurance
Exercise that can promote cardiopulmonary function can be roughly divided into three categories:
1. It can be carried out continuously with a certain intensity, which is the most effective exercise to promote cardiopulmonary function, such as cycling, swimming, climbing stairs, jogging, fast walking, mountain climbing, rope skipping and other typical aerobic exercises. Engage in this kind of exercise 3 to 5 times a week for more than 30 minutes each time, and you can get good results.
2. Although the exercise is not intense, it still maintains a certain period of exercise, such as walking, slow dance and so on. Five times a week for more than 30 minutes each time can still promote cardiopulmonary function.
The incidence rate of cardiovascular disease is 3. Exercise, which is mild or unsustainable, such as household work and physical activity, is relatively limited in promoting cardiopulmonary function, but it can still improve physical fitness and consume excess calories.
Principles of improving cardiopulmonary endurance
1. All adults should try to avoid being at rest for a long time. Continuous exercise with a certain intensity is very effective for improving cardiopulmonary function. If there is no condition for exercise, adults can maintain a healthy state as long as they carry out some physical activities such as walking and housework.
2. To achieve greater health improvement, adults should ensure moderate intensity of at least 150 minutes a week (or 30 minutes a day, five times a week) or high-intensity aerobic activity of at least 75 minutes a week (or 25 minutes a day, three times a week). It is better to maintain the continuity of each aerobic activity for more than 10 minutes. It is more ideal to run the aerobic activity through the whole week.
3. For additional or more positive health outcomes, adults should increase moderate intensity aerobic activity to 300 minutes a week, or high-intensity aerobic activity to 150 minutes a week, or a combination of both. With the increase of activity time, your health effect will become more obvious.
4. Aerobic exercise with certain intensity and long duration has better effect. For example, continuous exercise for 40 minutes can stimulate the heart and lungs, which is better than two 20 minute intermittent exercises.
5. People who don't exercise for a long time need to follow the way of slowly increasing the amount of exercise, step by step and perseverance in order to reduce the risk of exercise and get the maximum benefits of exercise.