A woman’s Heart: The Benefits of Cardiovascular Training for Women

Endurance or Aerobic based training is sustaining something longer than 2 minutes! It is moving the body in a manner that challenges the bodies ability to sustain a task for a period of time that then supplies the body with sufficient amounts of oxygen for the task.

When we think of aerobic based training, we may often think of any form of running, cycling, swimming, hiking, or the like yet more than simply being a physical event. However, based on my lived experinces, there is certainly a mental component to endurance training. Being able to sustain such a task for a period of time and keeping the mind sharp and stimulated not only allows one to build muscular endurance, build cardiovascular strength, but also helps to build the ability to build mental and emotion resilience. When the mind says yes, the body will obey!

I can recall when I first got into doing endurance or aerobic based training. When I was in high school, it was required that I attend 6 classes and 1 study hall however as a senior, I was able to opt out of study and leave school an hour early. As such, I began my 45-60 min track run before softball practice. I choose to do this not necissarly for the muscle durance but the mental stamina of paying softball. This was part of me choosing to build mental endurance that was going to be required of me and my responsibilities as a senior catcher on the great falls high school’s varsity softball team. I was not a team captain but, I was very much a leader on the field. Having spent time developing endurance, helped to develop this leadership skill. Another time was a few years later, when I had the wild hair in my back side to go for a bike ride. This desire ended up with me riding the city and I just really enjoyed it. I became hooked to cycling. I found it as a great alternative to running and it was this that lead to me to finding enjoyment in doing cardiovascular based training not only for events, but for the cardiorespiratory benefits, and mental endurance challenge.

All humans have muscle that is comprised of different fiber types. Those fiber types are type I and type II fibers. The type I fiber type is in high proportion in the areas of the body that require endurance such as postural muscles like the paraspinals and the soleus muscle and the type II are in high proportion in areas of the body that require speed and strength such as the quadriceps. What’s more about fiber types is that women have type one and type two but tend to carry a higher percentage of type I fiber types. All the more reason, I believe women are truly meant for endurance! Men also have type I fiber type but tend to carry a higher percentage of type II fibers which makes them better equipped for speed and strength events. What is important is that everyone can train their fiber types to do what we ask of them. Woman can develop type II fibers and become faster and stronger and men can build their type I and build endurance. That is the beauty of training!

Benefits of Cardiovascular Training for Women

Physical Benefits

1.     Reduced adipose tissue: Yes, women should have more adipose tissue than men however, that does not mean there is not a healthy level for woman to maintain. The thing about adipose tissue or body fat, is that it does serve a good role for organ protection, it does have the capacity to secrete some hormones and as women it helps provide nutrients for the possibility for a developing fetus. However, when women are not pregnant and just training to stay fit, less adipose means less overall body taking up space which thus means overall better health and function.

2.     Improve performance: When training for endurance events, working on multi variation of cardiovascular training routines allows for not only adaptability to such events but also allows her to maintain a higher level of performance in those various modalities.

3.     Heart Health: When a woman is pre-menopausal, she has a healthy amount of circulation of the hormone Estrogen, which is heart protective. However, when she becomes menopausal and post-menopausal, her estrogen levels drop and do so dramatically. By maintaining a routine of cardiovascular training can help maintain her heart health status.

Mental and emotional benefits

1.     Reduced anxiety and depression: What I find so appealing about cardiovascular training is that I can set out on a hike and to some degree get lost inside my own mind. When I do this, I am able to think through some of my own issues and find some resolution and or questions to my own problems. By doing this type of training, I come out of it with a little more peace and understand of myself which allows my mental or emotional state to calm down.

2.     Improved confidence: When I spend time training aerobic or endurance, I know that I am adding an improved ability to perform task that in society we tend to not spend much time thinking about until we can’t do it. It is one thing to be able to “power up 1 step” but being able to go up flights of steps is a huge functional capacity. Knowing that I am becoming functional is a large sense of confidence.

Types are aerobic training

1. Low-Intensity Steady-State (LISS) Training

   • Involves prolonged, moderate-intensity exercise.

   • Examples: Walking, slow jogging

     , or cycling at a steady pace.

   • Ideal for beginners and those focusing on fat burning.

   • 70% VO2 max

   • 30-120 minutes Duration

2. Moderate-Intensity Aerobic Training

   • Involves activities that raise your heart rate but still allow for conversation.

   • Examples: Brisk walking, swimming, dancing, or moderate cycling.

   • Recommended for general fitness and heart health.

   • 3-5-minute work to rest ratio and close to VO2max

3. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

   • Involves alternating short bursts of intense activity with rest or low-intensity recovery.

   • Examples: Sprinting for 30 seconds, then walking for a minute.

   • Effective for improving cardiovascular fitness and burning calories quickly.

   • 30-90 seconds  at greater than VO2 max

   • 1:5 work: rest ratio

4. Cross-Training

   • Combines different aerobic activities to prevent boredom and reduce injury risk.

   • Examples: Alternating between running, cycling, and swimming.

   • Helps engage different muscle groups.