Is there any evidence that running improves the cardiovascular system?

It appears that too much Crossfit has gone to your head.

Also, a newline or two would make your post easier to read.

Can you have improvement in one without the other? Running improves both. I think "oxygen delivery" adaptations max out before "oxygen utilization" adaptations. Sorry no studies to support my opinion.

Christ, it must have been five f***ing years ago if it was a goddamn day. Saw in the results of some f***tacious rootytoot West coast track meet that some son of a bitch named after a bluecollar trade and a mancock respectively had run for a friggin' "team" called Letsrun.com. And fast as all f***spit was he! Like 28 minutes fast! "C***fire!" I yelled, bashing my prong against my wifeslut's cheek in my rigid-dicked excitement, "I'm gonna surf to that f***in' URL and see what this hotshit team is all about!" So I pointed my tittybitched ass at this site and what the hell happened? Little did I was opening up a huge f***ing goddamn can of what the F***!?! Dinkbrained f***holes talking shit straight outta their barking spiders about every decent f***ing American runner out there on this side! Halfwit twatjammwers chattering about f****** and hotness on the other! But luckily, a couple of real f***ing gems, the sort of shit worth saving to your f***ing hard drive, in the middle! But mostly just filthy f***in' bullshit from overgrown teenage f***tards and assorted bungpuppies purposely out to offend anyone with half a f***in' eye open. Luckily those retarded piss-sprayers have mostly blown the straight the f*** away into the shitbin of the internet.

I'll be glad when all these fads die off, like Crossfit, P90X etc....there were fads before and they died off too. Running has outlived them all and will continue to go on long after.

I don't know why people keep getting sucked into these generation after generation. Notice that fads always cost you money or require special equipment or you have to go to a special Crossfit gym. Running remains cheap and accessible just about anywhere you live. I'm thankful for it. I enjoy other forms of exercise but not the kind that require expensive equipment, videos, gym memberships etc. It's a big rip off. Push-ups, pull-ups and ab work can be done at home for free, just like running.

do a medline search. You'll get thousands of physiology articles that quantify all of the minute details which lead to aerobic improvement. Mitochondrial density increases, increased concentrations of aerobic enzymes and increased myoglobin concentrations would probably fall into the "skeletal muscle adaptation" category of which you speak.

You will also find gobs of articles quantifying the changes in left ventricular contractility, muscle capillarization, stroke volume, and lowered diastolic bp which are all cardiovascular adaptations.

Go ahead, train up the muscles all you want. If you can only deliver 20 L/min of fresh blood and I can deliver 35 L/min. I win.

I had to re-read this to appreciate the full magnitude of this post.

Four replies and not one link to a study showing that running has any cardiovascular benefit. Only red herrings attempting to criticize non-runners.

Could it be that members of the running community have simply been taken by a fallacy and are now unwilling to consider the possibility that their beliefs are wrong?

CoachB wrote:

do a medline search. You'll get thousands of physiology articles that quantify all of the minute details which lead to aerobic improvement. Mitochondrial density increases, increased concentrations of aerobic enzymes and increased myoglobin concentrations would probably fall into the "skeletal muscle adaptation" category of which you speak.

You will also find gobs of articles quantifying the changes in left ventricular contractility, muscle capillarization, stroke volume, and lowered diastolic bp which are all cardiovascular adaptations.

Go ahead, train up the muscles all you want. If you can only deliver 20 L/min of fresh blood and I can deliver 35 L/min. I win.

What search terms should I use? So far I have searched for "effect of exercise on the heart," "cardiovascular fitness," "stroke volume," "left ventricular contractility" and a few other terms and I have not found any studies demonstrating that exercise improves the function of the heart.

Yes, running increases capillary density in the muscles, and increases the number of mitochondria in cells which improves the ability to deliver oxygen to muscles in need. It increases cardiac output, allowing the heart to pump more blood than an untrained heart.

2 posts by you and not one link to a study showing that running doesn't have any cardiovascular benefit. Only weak attempts to criticize runners.

Could it be that members of the non-running community have simply been taken by the fallacy and are unwilling to accept their belief that running has no cardiovascular benefits is wrong?

Just because you suck as a runner or don't like to run because it is difficult and you are looking for the easy way out don't try to make it look like you are asking a legitimate question. Evidence of a weak mind when you do that.

I can't believe this thread even exists, there has been evidence showing improved cardiovascular function as a result of endurance training for decades now. Ill go dig some up in the next 5 minutes

Groudhog wrote:

http://valleyexercisegroup.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Benefits_of_Cardiorespiratory_Endurance_Exercises.12213954.pdf

This isn't a study; it's just a document that contains the assertion in question.

Running is bad for your cardiovascular. You should do it.

shouldnt

Possibly. Most of the running community believe that they are decades ahead of the scientists, at finding what works, before explaining why it works.

Running is more than a "steady state activity". Interval training is the key to unlocking better performance.

Running brings cardiovascular, aerobic, anaerobic, enzymatic, skeletal, structural, physical, psychological, economical, efficiency, connectivity, neurological, muscular, ... benefits.

But runners are usually interested in running times, places, and maybe simple health factors, like body weight, and body fat percentage.

Bill E. has been on a hiatus from the boards, which medically, I believe, means he ruptured something. Welcome back Bill.

To the original poster: actually, increases in stroke volume is a sign of improved cardiovascular function, or "function of the heart". Just search for terms like end diastolic volume, Frank Starling effect, ejection fraction, and left ventricular function. There are TONS of studies to prove that performing at least 6wks+ of steady state aerobic exercise can improve stroke volume, etc....

http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/101/3/336

increases in Maximum expiratory pressure (Paomax), maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) are indicators of a rise in cardiovascular fitness. Also, lower heart rate the pumps the same amount of blood. You do the math.