What Is Aerobic Endurance? Tips to Improve Your Aerobic Capacity
Learn about what aerobic endurance is, how good endurance improves your health, how to measure your progress, and get tips to improve your capacity.
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Some days, simply climbing stairs or walking your dog can feel so tiring — especially if you've been less active lately. Why? It comes down to aerobic endurance. Aerobic endurance is your ability to exercise at a moderate to high intensity for a long duration of time (rather than short, intense bouts of activity). Both types of movement keep your heart, lungs, and circulatory system healthy.
Improving your aerobic endurance isn’t just about fitness; it’s about living your life with less fatigue and more ease. Good aerobic endurance improves your fitness ability and overall energy.
When you’ve been inactive, sick, or dealing with pain, your endurance can decrease. This can affect your ability to do chores, errands, and hobbies. Improving endurance can help you have more energy to do these activities.
Here, learn more about how to build back your aerobic capacity and endurance, even if pain has been holding you back.
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Christynne Helfrich, PT, DPT
What Is Aerobic Endurance?
Aerobic endurance is your ability to exercise at a moderate to high intensity for an extended period of time. Think of activities like brisk walking, cycling, or swimming — they require sustained effort rather than short, intense bursts. This kind of endurance relies on your heart, lungs, and muscles working together efficiently to supply oxygen to your body over time.
Why Is Aerobic Endurance Important for Overall Health?
Building aerobic endurance isn’t just for athletes — it’s important for everyone’s overall health. Here are some key benefits.
Improves cardiovascular health. Strengthening your heart and lungs helps your body pump oxygen more efficiently.
Reduces fatigue. Daily activities like grocery shopping or playing with your kids feel easier when you’re more aerobically fit.
Boosts mood and energy. Regular aerobic activity releases endorphins, which can improve your mental health and energy levels.
Eases musculoskeletal pain. When you have issues like back pain or knee pain, aerobic exercise can help retrain your pain system and improve your ability to move with more ease and less discomfort.
For people with musculoskeletal (MSK) pain or conditions, building aerobic endurance — gradually and in a way that feels sustainable for you — is important. It might seem counterintuitive, but regular movement — even at a low intensity — can help reduce pain over time by improving blood flow and strengthening muscles.
How to Measure Aerobic Endurance
Assessing your aerobic endurance can help you track progress over time. Here are a few methods.
Talk test. During exercise, you should be able to hold a conversation without gasping or breathing heavily — but not sing a song. If you’re too out of breath to talk, you’re likely pushing too hard.
Functional tasks. You can feel improvements in your daily activities, like walking longer distances without feeling fatigued.
Rate of perceived exertion. This is a self-rated scale to help you gauge how hard you feel like you’re working during exercise.
Heart rate monitoring. Tracking your heart rate during exercise can give you a clear picture of how hard you’re working (more on this below).
What Is Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE)?
The Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is a simple way to gauge how hard you’re working during exercise. Since these scales are relative, your level of exertion with different activities will be unique to you. It’s based on a scale from 1 to 10.
1-3: Light effort, like a casual stroll.
4-6: Moderate effort, where you’re breathing a bit harder but can still talk comfortably.
7-9: High effort, where talking becomes difficult.
10: Maximum effort — only sustainable for a few seconds.
Activities within the RPE of 5-6 are ideal for building back aerobic endurance. Consider shortness of breath symptoms and muscular fatigue (e.g., how heavy or tired do your legs feel?) when rating your effort levels. Aim for walking or exercising at a pace that is quick, elevates your heart rate, and lets you have a slightly breathless conversation.
What Is Target Heart Rate?
Your target heart rate (THR) is another useful way to monitor exercise intensity. It’s calculated as a percentage of your maximum heart rate (MHR), which is typically estimated by subtracting your age from 220.
To build aerobic endurance, aim for 50-70% of your MHR. Here’s how to calculate it:
Subtract your age from 220 to find your MHR.
Multiply your MHR by 0.5 to find the lower end of your target zone.
Multiply your MHR by 0.7 to find the higher end of your target zone.
For example, if you’re 40 years old:
MHR = 220 - 40 = 180
Lower target zone = 180 x 0.5 = 90 beats per minute
Upper target zone = 180 x 0.7 = 126 beats per minute
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How to Monitor Your Heart Rate
Your heart rate is how many times your heart beats per minute. To calculate it:
Use a heart rate monitor: A connected device like a FitBit or Apple Watch has one built in.
Check it manually: Check your heart rate along your neck or along your wrist.
Neck: Lightly press the side of the neck just below your jawbone to feel the pulse in the carotid artery in your neck.
Wrist: With your palm facing up, use the tip of your index and middle fingers to feel the pulse in the radial artery near your wrist bone and your thumb.
In both cases, count the number of beats you feel in 15 seconds and multiply by four. That's your heart rate.
Tips for Building Your Aerobic Endurance Gradually
For more moderate activity, aim to be in your target heart rate zone (or 5-6 on your RPE) for 30 to 60 minutes.
For more vigorous activity, aim to be in your target heart rate zone (or 7-8 on your RPE) for 20 to 30 minutes.
It’s a good idea to measure your heart rate at the beginning of your exercise session and then every five minutes to make sure you’re staying within the recommended target heart rate zone. Your heart rate should return to baseline within 10 minutes of stopping activity.
Here are some ideas for building aerobic endurance gradually:
Start with short walks. Aim for five to 10 minutes at a comfortable pace. Gradually increase the time or distance as you feel stronger.
Try low-impact activities. Swimming, cycling, or using an elliptical are great options that are gentle on your joints.
Incorporate movement into your day. Take the stairs, park farther from stores during errands, or do light chores for more movement.
Try interval training. Alternate between one minute of more moderate effort and one minute of lighter effort. This could mean brisk walking or jogging for one minute and then slower walking for one minute. Gradually increase the duration of the moderate intervals over time.
Set realistic goals. Start small and celebrate your progress, whether it’s walking an extra block or exercising an extra minute. Every little bit counts.
How Hinge Health Can Help You
If you have joint or muscle pain that makes it hard to move, you can get the relief you’ve been looking for with Hinge Health’s online exercise therapy program.
The best part: You don’t have to leave your home because our program is digital. That means you can easily get the care you need through our app, when and where it works for you.
Through our program, you’ll have access to therapeutic exercises and stretches for your condition. Additionally, you’ll have a personal care team to guide, support, and tailor our program to you.
See if you qualify for Hinge Health and confirm free coverage through your employer or benefit plan here.
This article and its contents are provided for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice or professional services specific to you or your medical condition.
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References
Helms, E. R., Kwan, K., Sousa, C. A., Cronin, J. B., Storey, A. G., & Zourdos, M. C. (2020). Methods for Regulating and Monitoring Resistance Training. Journal of Human Kinetics, 74(1), 23–42. doi:10.2478/hukin-2020-0011
Ignaszewski, M., Lau, B., Wong, S., & Isserow, S. (2017, February). The science of exercise prescription: Martti Karvonen and his contributions. BCMJ, 59(1), 38-41.
American Heart Association. (2021, March 9). Target Heart Rates Chart. American Heart Association. Retrieved from https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/target-heart-rates