Part 1 –
What is Cardio Training? Its root word, kardia, is Greek for heart.
Cardio training is any activity that conditions the heart for better health or performance.
How do you improve heart health and performance?
Most of the research over the last two decades points to increasing the internal diameter of the Left Ventricle (LV).
Before I get ahead of myself, let me back up and give you some quick anatomy/physiology:
- The Cardio Vascular system is split into two loops. A small loop transports blood from the heart to the lungs. A big loop carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
- The heart has four chambers. The Right and Left Atriums and the Right and Left Ventricles.
- Cardiac Output (CO) = Stoke Volume (the amount of blood ejected from the heart) X Heart Rate.
With that out of the way, in the endurance world, Cardiac Output is king.
Improvements in CO allow the athlete to:
- better regulate their temperature
- deliver more O2 to hungry muscles
- provide more nutrients and hormones to active tissues
- expedite waste removal from active tissues
All of which helps the athlete go harder for longer. And to recover better, faster.
Because the upper limits of an athlete’s heart rate will only change so much due to training, improvements to cardiac output are best achieved by focusing on increasing the internal diameter of their LV.
The bigger their LV, the more blood it will pump with each and every heartbeat. This increases their stroke volume. And that equals a better cardiac output.
To give you a reference: and untrained individual might only be able to move 16L of blood through their heart per minute (during exertion) while an elite cardio-vascularly trained athlete can move up to 40L/min!
A powerful cardiac output is the hallmark of a dominant athlete.
If we’re looking to increase Cardiac Output, research suggests, we have to use movements that:
- increase stroke volume of the LV and do not limit blood return to the heart
- use more than 50% of an athlete’s musculature
- have a rapid and rhythmical contraction-relaxation of said musculature
- allow for constant breathing
- the athlete can sustain circa VO2Max levels for long enough to create a training effect
According to the above criteria – movements like running, cross-country skiing, cycling, and rowing get an A+.
For comparison, movements like skipping, light kb swings, and swimming would get a C+.
Lifting weights fast – like thrusters, back squats, and deadlifts get a D- (…cue the sad trombone: whaaa-whaaa).
Stay tuned next Friday for Part 2 of What is Cardio Training.
If you find this post interesting, be sure to check out our events and workshops page for information on my new program Project Cardia, upgrade your power plant.
I want to work with a small committed group for some very focused training.
This program is pretty beefy, so I know it’s not for everyone.
If Project Cardia is not for you, please pass this info on to someone who you think might dig it (it’s open to non-Madlabers).
Andy