Most Demanding Sports On The Cardio Vascular System
Posted by blogger on October 9th, 2009
For those of you who dont know CV (cardio vascular) fitness refers to the ability of the heart and lungs to provide the body with enough nutrients (mainly oxygen) for it to function during activity and remove waste products such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid also. A CV system that is in good shape will allow an athlete to work harder and for longer periods of time. Some sports such as weight lifting dont develop the CV system very well as very little oxygen is required by the muscles. However, there are a good few sports that require the CV system to be working well. Below we look at three of the best sports for developing CV fitness.
Skiing. The variety of this sport known as cross-country skiing is actually the most demanding off all sports on the CV system. This is down to the fact that not only do skiers have to ski for unbelievably long distances, but also the cold air makes it harder for the lungs to extract oxygen. Additionally, because almost all the muscles of the body are working at the same time in this sport, the CV system need to be in great shape to make sure each of them gets the nutrients they need. So if youre looking to build your CV system, switch your snowboards for skis next time youre on the slopes.
Cycling. Racing bikes at high level puts vast amounts of pressure of the heart and lungs due to the large muscle groups that are required to work. The 7 time Tour De France winner Lance Armstrong is testament to that, having one of the highest VO2 max scores of any athlete. This refers to the amount of 02 that the body can take in and the muscles can use in 1 minute. Based on that evidence, if youre thinking about getting rid of your old cycling machine or second hand bikes, you might want to think again.
Kayaking. Despite the fact a kayaker uses their lower body very little in this sport compared to most aerobically demanding disciplines, his or her CV system still gets a pounding. This is because during middle to long distance races, the upper body and torso work so hard that incredible amounts of oxygen are required to keep going and muscle waste products are also produced in bucket loads. For second hand kayaks and extreme sports equipment check out EST.