Children and Cardiorespiratory Endurance: What You Need to Know

Cardiorespiratory endurance exercises increase the ability to perform vigorous physical activity, utilizing large muscle groups. During these workouts, the lungs and the heart need to give your muscles sufficient oxygen. Since they improve your cardiovascular and respiratory health, they’re a staple of every fitness regimen. This type of exercise is often referred to as aerobics or cardio and it’s beneficial for the whole family. Even children can engage in these activities, as long as they are supervised and within a safe environment such as an indoor playground. Children should be encouraged to do it from a young age, so they grow up healthy and strong.

Why is cardiorespiratory endurance important?

Cardiorespiratory endurance describes how long someone can stay active, in a state of elevated breathing and heart rates, without rest. The longer you’re able to sustain such vigorous activity, the fitter and healthier you are. When coupled with a healthy diet for a strong heart, improved cardiorespiratory endurance is a recipe for a long life.

How much cardio should children do?

Experts recommend a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity daily for children. Most of it should be aerobic, but they also need some strength-focused exercise. Also, children should mostly engage in moderate to intense exercise to get the maximum health benefits. During moderate workouts, you can talk but not sing, while high-intensity exercise keeps you from saying more than a couple of words at a time.

What are some good cardio exercises for children?

Cardiorespiratory Endurance: Tests and Exercises

Cardio exercise can be included in your family’s schedule in a number of different ways. Along with enhancing everyone’s health, including your children in your workouts can strengthen your connection.

If you make your family’s cardio training fun, kids may find it more appealing. These kinds of activities can encourage everyone to engage in regular physical activity while enjoying themselves.

Here are a few ideas to use:

  • Jumping, skipping, and hopping: These activities raise the heart rate while also being super fun for kids. To make them extra fun, they can be a part of a game, such as hopscotch. To practice jumping, visiting a trampoline playground could be a great idea.
  • Going to the playground: Spending a day out on a playground can be lots of fun, especially since kids can socialize with peers. There are many opportunities to do aerobic exercise here, from playing tag to climbing the jungle gym.
  • Ball games: Since they typically involve a lot of running around, ball games offer plenty of chances for aerobic exercise. You can teach your little ones how to play soccer, basketball, or tennis.
  • Walking: While it doesn’t get much simpler than this, walking is a great start, especially if your little one isn’t used to being very active. Go from slow strolls to brisk walks over time and you’ll see their fitness improve very soon.
  • Jogging: Once you’ve mastered walking fast, you can start jogging. It’s a more intense form of exercise and will get your heart pumping fast, which is great for cardiovascular health and overall fitness. Plus, kids usually love racing and seeing who’s faster!
  • Climbing the stairs: If your day gets too busy and you don’t have time to do any other type of exercise, climbing the stairs instead of taking the elevator is an excellent idea. Encourage your kids to do this as often as they can.
  • Dancing: This is another fun and creative activity that will get your heart rate up. Play some of your favorite music and throw a dance party for the whole family. Everyone will enjoy it!
  • Housework: You’ll get two birds with one stone if you get the whole family to do chores as a team. Not only will the house look amazing, but you’ll also be healthier since housework can be a great workout.