Lauren Del Turco is a freelance health and wellness writer, editor, and content strategist who's work has appeared in Women's Health, Cosmopolitan, Health, and more.

She is also an ACE-certified personal trainer. When she's not on deadline, you'll find Lauren hiking with her dogs, practicing yoga, or perusing the farmer's market. To run your first 5K or just be able to ride your bike to your next yoga class without getting winded, you need to build up your cardiovascular endurance.

Cardiovascular endurance allows you to keep doing physical activity for a long time. It also comes with benefits such as overall fitness, physical health improvements, and health condition risk reductions.

If you want to focus your sweat sessions on a particular goal or just level up your fitness vocab, consider this guide your go-to for all things cardiovascular endurance.

Cardiovascular endurance refers to your ability to exercise or move for an extended period. This type of endurance is sometimes also called "aerobic endurance.

Your aerobic endurance depends on how effectively your body can deliver oxygen to your working muscles, determined by how well your heart and lungs can do their jobs, Rick Prince, CES , kinesiologist, and founder of the United Endurance Sports Coaching Academy UESCA , told Health.

To make any sort of movement, your muscle cells need the energy molecule called adenosine triphosphate ATP , said Prince. In endurance training, oxygen is the main ingredient. Your muscles need a steady supply of oxygen to convert into ATP so they can fire repeatedly if you want to walk, run, or cycle for miles.

Muscular endurance refers to how long certain muscles can do repeated actions until they're fatigued. Typically, your cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance develop hand-in-hand, explained Prince.

Your heart and muscles—as well as your lungs—are at work when you exercise. That doesn't mean these types of endurance are the same, though. If you start jogging more, for example, the challenge put on your heart builds cardiovascular endurance, said Prince.

Meanwhile, the demand on your actual leg muscles builds muscular endurance. In addition to making you feel awesome on runs around the neighborhood or bike rides with friends, improving your cardiovascular endurance has plenty of perks for your health.

Benefits can include:. You can get a sense of cardiovascular endurance with a protocol called the "Talk Test. Then, you'll increase the intensity every minute or two until you're working hard enough that you can no longer comfortably carry on a conversation.

You can't talk and breathe in oxygen simultaneously. When talking becomes difficult enough, you've hit the upper limit of your cardiovascular endurance.

Note your heart rate, and stay below these numbers during your workouts to ensure you can carry a conversation. That way, you'll work within your aerobic endurance limits. As you continue to get your endurance on, Prince recommended using a heart rate monitor or fitness tracker during your workouts to monitor your progress.

The following exercises are just a few ones that can help with building your aerobic endurance:. Pro tip: Perform the move from your knees if a full plank is too challenging. Level it up by adding a shoulder tap to work the core more. Why it rocks: It's a great warm-up move, working the hamstrings, calves, and core, Girard says.

Why it rocks: The half get-up is incredible at strengthening core and shoulder stability. However, the cardio benefits from it are more limited, Girard says. Why it rocks: A tuck jump has a lot of impact, "which is great for strong bones and joints, but also means these will be difficult to sustain to build up cardio endurance," Girard says.

That means you will really rev up your heart rate. Why it rocks: It trains your coordination and lateral movement, so feel free to modify it if you want, Girard says.

Modify it: Perform traditional jumping jacks. Why it rocks: The push press is super simple, but works your shoulders, quads, and core, Girard says.

Why it rocks: While it won't get you the most out of breath, it will strengthen your quads and glutes, she adds. Pro tip: To add a variation, load one heavier weight either contralaterally opposite side or ipsilaterally same side to add core and stability training, Girard recommends.

Consider adding a hop at the top instead, for more power. Why it rocks: It's great for building mental skills while working multiple major muscle groups.

Why it rocks: This plank move has all the benefits of a jumping jack with extra upper body and core work, so it trains your shoulders and core. Modify it: Step your feet out side-to-side for less impact and more focus on the core.

Why it rocks: Bear crawls are "great for a coordination challenge, and also help build ankle mobility, especially moving backwards," Girard says. They work your shoulders, core, and quads.

Why it rocks: This bear plank variation develops balance, stability, and major core strength, Girard says. It's especially beneficial for dancers or new parents who often carry their children at their hips. Why it rocks: First and foremost, the impact is good for our bone and joint health.

Pro tip: You can perform this move with or without an actual jump rope. The form is the same either way. If it feels like the benefits of cardio are endless, they kinda are, TBH. It's worth repeating the biggie boosts that come with these exercises, according to trainers.

Outside of topics related to lifestyle, relationships, and dating, she also loves covering fitness and style. In her free time, she enjoys lifting weights at the gym, reading mystery and romance novels, watching and critiquing!

the latest movies that have garnered Oscars buzz, and wandering around the West Village in New York City. In addition to Women's Health , her work has also appeared in Allure , StyleCaster , L'Officiel USA , V Magazine , VMAN , and more. Don't Miss Lululemon's 'We Made Too Much' Restock. It also strengthens your upper arms while working your back, core, and legs.

This cardio exercise is low impact and ideal for beginners. The sideways movement of this exercise mimics how a skater moves. For a challenge, add a jump when you move to the side. For a full-body workout, add in some jumping jacks.

This classic move works your entire body while increasing your heart rate. The regular squat is a bodyweight move that targets the lower body. By adding a jump, you can turn it into an explosive cardio workout.

Lunge jumps, which combine jumps and standard lunges , will get your heart pumping. The box jump is a cardio exercise that targets your lower body, including your butt, thighs, calves, and shins.

This exercise is like a horizontal jumping jack. It forces your arms to support your weight as you quickly move your legs. Each exercise involves greater coordination and multiple body movements. The mountain climber is an intense full-body exercise. Plank ski hops, also called plank skiers, combine planks and rotational jumps.

The turning movement of the jump will challenge your strength and endurance. The diagonal jump takes the lunge jump to the next level. Rotational jacks combine jumps, squats, and body twists. Together, these movements will fire up your muscles and heart rate. During the inchworm, the motion of walking your hands and feet forward will put your heart and muscles to work.

To make it harder, do more than one pushup. You can also skip the pushup altogether for an easier move. They can offer guidance based on your health status and fitness level. Cardio exercise keeps your heart, lungs, and muscles healthy.

Just remember to warm up and start slow, especially when trying a new move. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.