Cardiovascular endurance is a health-related component of physical fitness and is directly related to the strength of your heart. Your cardiovascular endurance can be negatively affected by heart disease. Heart disease is directly associated with the cardiorespiratory and cardiovascular systems. One of the primary signs of heart and lung.

The aerobic capacity is the ability of the heart and lungs to provide the body with oxygen for exercise. This is important in many sport in order for the cardiovascular system to continuously provide the muscle with adequate levels of oxygen.

The maximal aerobic tests, in which the participants are required to push their body to the limit, usually provide more accurate measures of aerobic capacity. The submaximal tests usually involve heart rate measurements which are then extrapolated to estimate performance at maximum effort. Which one to use? See more information about Aerobic Fitness Testing.

Maximal Aerobic Tests

Continuous tests to exhaustion

• Multistage Shuttle Run Test (see also the similar 15m Bleep, Aero Test, and PACER test. Also called the beep, bleep test etc. - see variations)
• Yo-Yo Endurance Tests — a beep-type test with rest periods developed for intermittent sports.
• Maximal Oxygen Consumption Test (VO_2max) — also VO2max tests for runners, cyclists and swimmers.
• Vmax — simplified version of the VO_2max test.
• University of Montreal Track Test — the precursor beep test.
• VAMEVAL Test — running around a track at increasing speeds
• 1200m Shuttle Test — to and from a start line to 20, 40 and 60-m marks, 5 times without a break.

Intermittent Tests (more about Testing Intermittent Sports)

• Yo-Yo intermittent tests — 20m shuttles with a 5 or 10 second break after every 40m run
• J.A.M. intermittent test — for Rugby Union players
• 30-15 Intermittent Fitness Test — 30 sec run/15 sec walk
• Interval Shuttle Run Test — 30 sec run/15 sec walk
• Gacon Test (Running 45'/15') — 45 sec run/15 sec walk
• Soccer FIT Interval Test — two consecutive runs decreasing from 30 seconds, then resting for 30 seconds.
• Footeval Test — a football (soccer) specific test with one minute intervals incorpoarting ball dribbling.
• FIFA Interval Test 2 — 150 run/50 walk
• Dynamic Yo-Yo Test — a modified yo-yo test designed specifically for football referees
• Andersen Test — 15 seconds run, 15 seconds rest.

Walking / Running Tests (more about walk and run tests)

• Run tests for set time or distance (General)
• 1 km (1000m) Run (IPFT)
• 1.5 Mile Run (PRT)
• 2 Mile Run (APFT)
• 3 Mile Run (PFT)
• 20m Run (Miller) - 5 minutes

Sport or Group Specific

• 10m Beep Test — designed for children with cerebral palsy (CP).
• 10m Incremental Shuttle Walk Test for people with COPD.
• Rowing Beep Test — incremental test performed on a rowing ergometer
• 2 km Rowing Ergometer Test, 5km Rowing Ergo Test
• Shuttle Swim Test — for water polo players.
• Swimming Beep Test plus a simple version Swimming Beep Test (Willaims)
• 1 km Swim time trial — for triathletes.
• 450 yd / 500m swimming test or the Elliptical Trainer Test — an alternative to the 1.5 mile run (Navy PRT)
• A Multistage Field Test (MFT) for wheelchair users.
• Wheelchair Shuttle Ride Test for those with CP
• 12 minute Wheelchair Aerobic Test
• J.A.M. intermittent test — a test based on the intensities of a game of Rugby Union.
• Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test for soccer players.
• FIFA Interval Test 2 for soccer referees - alternating 75m run and 25m walk, repeating this for 10 laps.
• Assistant Referee Intermittent Endurance Test (ARIET) - an intermittent yo-yo type test involving forwards and sideways running created specifically for football assistant referees.
• Modified Beep Test for Rugby League referees.

New (unvalidated) Tests

• Lucas 12 test, a modification of the original Cooper test to include running, rowing and cycling modes.

Submaximal Tests

Cycle Tests

Step Tests (see general Step Test procedures)

• A simple step test that can be done at home
• The Canadian Home Fitness Test (CHFT)

Other

• Chester Treadmill Police Walk Test - walking at 6km/hr on a treadmill, increasing gradient by 3% every 2 minutes.
• Chester Treadmill Test - walking at 6.2km/hr on a treadmill, increasing the gradient by 3% every 2 minutes.
• Chester Treadmill Police Run Test - run at 10.4 km/hr on a treadmill, increasing the gradient every 2 minutes.

Non Exercise Aerobic Fitness Tests

• Polar Fitness Test - based on heart rate variation.
• Non-Exercise Fitness Test - VO_2max using regression equations.

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Brian Mac Cardiovascular Endurance Center

Related Pages

• About aerobic fitness testing
• Discussion about the Alternatives to the Beep Test
• Table of VO_2max norm values
• Fitness test records for the VO_2max and Shuttle Run Test
• VO_2max test scores from different sports.
• what are the highest ranking endurance sports?

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The cardiovascular system consists of your heart and blood vessels and is responsible for transporting oxygen and nutrients throughout your body. Physical activity strengthens your cardiovascular system — 'Some is good; more is better,' according to the 'Guidelines for Prescribing Exercise' set in 2010 by the American College of Sports Medicine. To improve your cardiovascular fitness, the ACSM recommends increasing your exercise duration, increasing your exercise intensity and incorporating interval training into your workout routine.

Cardiovascular Fitness

Cardiovascular fitness is related to aerobic capacity. Aerobic capacity is the maximum amount of oxygen you can use while engaging in an activity. During exercise, the demands on your cardiovascular system increase as your muscles require more oxygen in order to maintain their output. Your cardiovascular system responds by increasing your heart rate, blood pressure and redirecting blood flow in order to maximize the amount of oxygen delivered to your muscles. The capacity of the cardiovascular system to regulate blood flow and supply oxygen to working tissues is critical to exercise performance.

Exercise Duration

Healthy adults should engage in a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise each week, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For additional and more extensive health benefits, the department recommends you increase your aerobic physical activity to 300 minutes or more per week. The accumulation of the total amount of exercise is more critical to improving fitness than the duration of an individual exercise session. The ACSM suggests that you set a daily minimum goal of 30 minutes of exercise, which may be completed in a single exercise session or during shorter sessions of at least 10 minutes each interspersed throughout your day.

Exercise Intensity

The higher the exercise intensity, the greater cardiovascular benefits, according to a study published in the journal 'Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise' in 2010. Participants engaged in either 20 minutes of sprints or an hour of jogging two to three times per week. While both exercise groups showed improved aerobic capacity after 12 weeks in the exercise program, the sprinters showed a two-fold increase in fitness compared with the joggers. Conversely, exercise below a minimum intensity will not challenge your body sufficiently to increase cardiovascular fitness. The ACSM suggests vigorous-intensity activities to optimize cardiovascular fitness. The intensity of any exercise is relative to your level of fitness, but a good example of vigorous-intensity exercise is running at a 10-minute-per-mile pace, or 6 miles an hour, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Brian Mac Cardiovascular Endurance Center

Interval Training

Exercises For Cardiovascular Endurance

Interval training consists of alternating short bursts of high-intensity exercise and lower-intensity rest periods. An interval-training routine, for example, would alternate between a 15-second sprint and a 15-second jog and then repeat for a total of 25 to 30 intervals. High-intensity interval training is significantly more effective at increasing aerobic capacity than prolonged continuous exercise, although both can improve cardiovascular fitness, according to a study published in 2006 in the 'Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.' Researchers found that sprint training three times per week for eight weeks increased participants' aerobic capacity to a greater degree than 45 minutes of slow running over the same time period. A combination of prolonged, low-intensity and short, high-intensity training is optimal to improve cardiovascular fitness and overall exercise performance.