Swimming is an aerobic activity that works out multiple muscle groups and helps build cardiovascular health. While cardiovascular refers to the system that makes up the heart, blood, and blood vessels, cardiovascular endurance provides your body with the fuel needed to excel at swimming with lifeguard course.



What Is Cardiovascular Endurance?

Cardiovascular endurance refers to the body's ability to perform the dynamic exercise and continued exertion at moderate to high levels of intensity while providing your body with fuel from the aerobic system. Your cardiorespiratory system, consisting of your heart, lungs, and circulatory system, must work together efficiently. Developing cardiovascular endurance requires consistently participating in aerobic exercises. Luckily, swimming just happens to be an incredibly effective aerobic exercise.

Why Swimming?

Swimming helps develop cardiovascular endurance because it makes your body maintain movement over a sustained period. To keep swimming down the pool lane and back, your lungs must breathe in oxygen, which is transported by the circulatory system to your working tissues. This is then used as fuel for your muscles, which are working overtime while you swim. Essentially, your cardiorespiratory system and muscles work together to deliver oxygen to your body while keeping up that intense level of aerobic exercise.

Anaerobic Workouts

Beginning your workout with anaerobic training can build up heart strength, a vital part of cardiovascular endurance. Basically, your anaerobic system can provide your muscles with the energy they need much faster, although it cannot maintain that level of energy over time. In fact, the American College of Sports Medicine says that over a long period, it's not a sufficient stimulus for maintaining fitness. That said, sprints do help promote strength, but not endurance.

Read more articles from : American lifeguard course.



Swimming for Cardiovascular Endurance

If you're looking to strengthen your heart, you should swim to develop your cardiovascular endurance. To find out if your cardiorespiratory endurance is poor, fair, or good, warm up, then swim at a steady pace for 12 minutes. How many laps did you swim? According to the University of Michigan's swim test, your age and gender will help determine your rating.

Aerobic swimming workouts -- swims completed at a moderate pace and longer than you normally swim -- can improve your endurance and stamina. Aerobic means you are working out at a level where your body breaks down glycogen into glucose and then uses oxygen to change the glucose into energy. When it comes to training, the faster and longer you train your body in this aerobic zone, the stronger overall swimmer you will become. This is because training in the aerobic zone helps increase your lactate threshold. Right above the aerobic zone is the anaerobic zone. When in this zone, your body produces lactic acid as a byproduct of converting energy. Lactic acid builds up in your muscles and leads to a burning sensation. If you train in the aerobic zone, you can raise your body's lactate threshold.

Basics

A strong aerobic base means that you have the endurance to swim in the pool or the ocean for a long time at moderate intensity. Swimming at an aerobic pace improves your body’s ability to deliver oxygen to your muscles. The way to improve your fitness base is by training at the aerobic level for extended periods.

Aerobic Heart Rate Zones

Your aerobic heart rate zone, also known as the endurance zone, is 70 percent to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. In addition to providing cardiovascular and respiratory benefits, training at this zone helps increase your heart's strength. When swimming in the aerobic zone, you burn 50 percent of your calories from fat. Stop swimming occasionally and check your pulse; keep your heart rate within the aerobic zone to reap all the benefits.

Determining Your Capacity

One way to determine if you are improving your aerobic swimming pace is by calculating your aerobic swimming capacity. This score can provide an indication over time if you are improving your aerobic abilities. To calculate this, all you need is a stopwatch and a pool. Begin with a 10-minute warmup swim, then start your watch and swim 400 meters at a moderate pace. Stop your watch at the end of the swim and record the time. Swim another 10 minutes at an easy pace for an active recovery. For the final step, time yourself swimming 50 meters as quickly as possible. Record this time. Subtract your 50-meter time from your 100-meter time. Now divide this number into 350. This provides you with your critical swim speed. Compare your critical swim speed to see if you improve over time.

Aerobic Workout

To improve your overall endurance, try this beginner aerobic workout designed around sets. Unless otherwise indicated, you want to swim this workout at 70 percent to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. Begin with two 200-meters; follow each interval with 15 seconds of rest. For the second set, swim one 100-meter, one 200-meter, and one 100-meter interval. Take 20 seconds of rest between intervals. The third set is a pyramid set: Swim one 50-meter, one 100-meter, one 200-meter, one 100-meter, and one 50-meter. Take 10 seconds rest between intervals. For the fourth set, swim 400 meters: On the odd lengths, swim at 70 percent of your maximum heart rate; on the even lengths, swim at 90 percent of your maximum heart rate. For the final set, swim two 200-meters. For the first one, breathe every third and fifth stroke, and for the second one, breathe every second, fourth and sixth stroke. Take 60 seconds of rest between intervals.

Also read about:Why Is Cardiovascular Endurance Used in Swimming?