Understanding your body’s limitations is important, and testing your cardiovascular endurance is essential to know how fit you are. You can test your cardio endurance through exercise, and various workouts will help you determine your level of cardio. Use these exercises to test your body’s cardio endurance and learn the workouts you should do to improve.

What Is Cardiovascular Endurance?

The cardiovascular system that takes oxygen and supplies it to our muscles has limitations on how well it will deliver oxygen. Cardiovascular endurance measures how long you can sustain physical activity that relies on your cardio levels.

Your heart rate, physical limitations of muscles, and maximum oxygen consumption are defining factors of your endurance level. By focusing on these factors, you’ll improve your cardio endurance levels. Exercise is an important part of your cardiovascular endurance, and performing the following workouts will both improve and test how long you last performing a cardio exercise.

A Mile Run

Running is a great way to determine your body’s cardio capacity. This exercise will rely heavily on your lung’s ability to pull in oxygen and supply it to the rest of your body while you’re in constant motion. Running for long stretches will put your endurance to the test by gauging how long your lungs and leg muscles will sustain the effort.

Run a mile and notice how much air you draw in during the quarter, half, and three/fourth milestones. If your lungs feel as if they can’t get enough oxygen, this is an indicator that you need to exhale more carbon dioxide. The imbalance shows that your lungs don’t have the strength to maintain a proper breathing cycle for long periods.

Perform frequent runs to improve your chance of staying in good shape throughout the run and not running out of breath. If your breathing remains steady after the run and you only need a little time to recuperate, your endurance is higher.

Rowing

Using the tools at your disposal is important to gain more knowledge of your cardiovascular endurance levels. Rowing is a great way to gauge your endurance since it requires you to maintain a constant pace as you pull and relax your body.

Perform a certain amount of reps that push you to your limits, and notice if you feel out of breath by the end of the set. Row for a set amount of time to determine how long your body will perform at its best. Use a rowing machine to test your body’s capabilities and determine how long you’ll last using your lungs and muscles with each row.

Jumping Jacks

Jumping jacks are effective in helping you understand your body’s cardio limitations. Although the movements of this workout are simple, you will feel the importance of endurance after a few dozen reps. Your blood will rush and require more exhalation of carbon dioxide. So if you’re struggling to take in more breath, you may not have as good an endurance level as you need.

Perform each jumping jack moderately fast without moving too quickly and tiring yourself out. Rushing through this exercise will result in a poor representation of your cardiovascular endurance.

Burpees

A more challenging calisthenic exercise is burpees. The combination of jumping, squatting, and doing push-ups is tough. The amount of burpees you can perform in a set amount of time will inform you of your endurance level.

Since burpees require significant stamina and energy to perform, your cardio system will be imperative in this workout. Performing burpees helps you understand how well oxygen travels through the body and determines if your cardiovascular endurance provides enough energy to your body to perform sufficient reps.

Cycling

Riding a bike is a great cardio workout effective for testing your endurance. Pedaling your bike, staying upright, and matching your breathing to the rhythm of your movements takes great endurance, especially when riding for more than a mile. Use the distance traveled before taking a break to test your body’s cardiovascular endurance. Riding longer without a break will show how good your endurance is.

Steady breathing and full breaths are good signs of a healthy cardio endurance level and will show in your cycling. Home exercise bikes are an excellent option for an accessible setting that puts you in the mood for a long ride from the comfort of your home.

Swimming

Swimming requires numerous muscles to work in tandem, ensuring you stay afloat and moving. Breathing is essential for this exercise, making it an excellent way to observe the stamina of your lungs and how much breath you draw in with every other stroke. Holding your breath will challenge your lungs to sustain the physical effort with less oxygen intake.

When you begin to feel your chest tighten and it becomes harder to hold your breath for longer periods, you’ve reached the end of your rope. This tapering is the defining point of where your cardiovascular endurance needs to improve. Take regular dips in the pool and swim back and forth to train yourself for better breathing.

Dancing

Dancing is a fun physical activity that tests your rhythm and cardio. Dancing requires constant movement as you perform various dance moves to upbeat music. After a few songs, you may feel more out of breath than when you originally started having fun, meaning your endurance may have run out.

When you hit the dance floor and stay for an hour or more, your cardiovascular endurance is in good shape. But if you feel out of breath from a 30-minute dance session, you may need to practice your moves by yourself and get used to the movement.

Stair Climbing

Although many of us use stairs regularly, it takes significant effort to climb upstairs at a continuous pace. Climbing up a large flight of stairs will cause you to feel winded, so you could use this activity to test your cardio. Find a large flight of stairs and step up to the top and down to the bottom.

Avoid running or stepping briskly for a better understanding of your endurance level. When you’ve gone up and down the stairs a few times, take inventory of your body and whether you feel out of breath. If your heart rate beats double as when you started or you feel light-headed from the activity, you may need to practice stair climbing to improve your cardiovascular endurance.

Knowing your body and how much physical activity you can sustain is essential for a healthy lifestyle. Use these exercises to test and improve your cardiovascular endurance to become less winded and more active.