How does exercise help my heart and lungs function more efficiently?

How does exercise help my heart and lungs function more efficiently?

Exercise helps your entire body work better. Two of the main areas that are benefitted most are your heart and your lungs. From cardiovascular exercise, your heart is able to push out more blood per beat. That's why a conditioned athlete can have a lower resting heart rate because each time the heart beats (this is called the stroke volume), the amount of blood that's pushed out is enhanced. That happens in the left ventricle primarily and it's called left ventricle hypertrophy, growth of the left ventricle. Resistance training, on the other hand, actually thickens the myocardium; the heart muscle, the power to push out and create the power. So your heart benefits two different ways. Your lungs also benefit. Ironically, people think that their lungs get bigger if you are a cyclist like Lance Armstrong. That's not the case. Your lungs don't change in size. They may become more pliable and be a little more elastic, and they function better but their primary change is their ability to extract oxygen from air and get it to the working muscle and expire waste products carbon dioxide. That's how your lungs benefit and that's the physiological change that takes place which also improves our performance.