Humans can live for weeks without eating and for days without drinking—but barely a few minutes without breathing.
And yet, people spend much more time on their diet than they do on exercise—specifically, on exercise that’s help build their endurance and bolster cardiopulmonary health. But the benefits of focusing on the latter are numerous. Not only can one push themselves for longer in sport, but the increased oxygenation means one also recovers faster—meaning more time exercising, which leads to better fat-loss, as well as better lean gains.
So how can one develop cardiopulmonary health?
As counterintuitive as it sounds, the best exercises for this are the ones that get people panting—like CrossFit.
National Rugby and American football player Kit Guerra, who coaches at Primal Ape CrossFit, tackles stress everyday. Literally. And his favorite way to get stronger—is by taking it out with workout in the box…
“CrossFit develops most of the body’s metabolic pathways, and all of these depend on a high-functioning cardiovascular system.” He also adds that, “CrossFit also improves endurance by increasing a person’s power—that is, a higher power output means a person can run or cycle easier, and for longer—since the body more efficiently utilizes every breath.”
He’s spot on. Multiple papers, including a 2013 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning, found that CrossFit significantly improved a person’s VO2max after a few weeks of training. A Men’s Health article also cited CrossFit’s constantly shifting menu of workouts, as well as focus on compound movements, as the reason for why athletes developed their endurance. In a way, it, perhaps, had to do with keeping the brain guessing—as since there wasn’t a routine it could readily acclimatize to, it had to adapt in a way that allowed for the highest chance of survival—by creating the highest amount of physical gain.
CrossFit staples that require little to no training, but demand a lot from the body, include thrusters, burpees and kettlebell swings. These, combined with more advanced olympic lifts—guarantee athletes end each workout sweating and panting long after the workout is over—with the implicit promise that they will rarely find themselves short of breath in everyday life.
Train and never be the same at Primal Ape CrossFit in Chino Roces, Makati City with their Deal Grocer promo of 45 days unlimited passes for only P2995. Follow them on Twitter and IG @weareprimalcf; Facebook: Primal Ape CrossFit.