To strengthen the cardiovascular system you will need to overload the heart, lungs and complete respiratory system. This is done by stressing the body with high intensity training. High intensity training is different for everyone and is based on your current fitness level and amount of training you are currently doing. High intensity for a beginner may have you starting out with your normal walking pace and then walking faster for 30 seconds before returning to your normal pace. A more advanced individual will need to make the 30 second interval a sprint to truly overload the cardiovascular system.

Once you have determined the intensity that is right for you, you can use a variety of exercises to achieve results. If you prefer to exercise outside, simply walking with changes in pace (jog, run or sprints) will work. When using cardio equipment you will be looking for equipment on which you can change the workload (speed, incline, level, watts) easily. The goal is to change the workload for a period of time to overload the cardiovascular system before returning to an easy recovery pace. Depending on your timeframe and fitness level, you can continue this overload / rest routine for 30- 60 minutes. This could also be done by adding weight training and cardiovascular exercise in the same time period. By repeating bouts of weight exercise followed by bouts of cardiovascular exercise you can also achieve the overload you need. This type of training is referred to as circuit training.

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