[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Nov-07-00 AT 03:24PM (Est)[/font][p]Hi Ashes! Fast paced muscle toning exercises may accelerate your heartbeat substantailly, but only the specific muscles being worked receive the benefit, being muscular endurance, not cardiovascular endurance.
Let me try to explain: Any muscle that contracts repeatedly for more than 2 minutes requires fresh oxygen and is therefore drawing on energy that is aerobic, meaning "with air". But the common meaning of aerobic endurance (cardiovascular endurance)is the ability of the heart and lungs to deliver EVER-LARGER amounts of oxygen to working muscles during activities like running, brisk walking, cycling, etc. So to build up your cardiovascular system, you need to sustain activities such as these for at least 20 minutes, rather than participate in muscular endurance activities.
To summarize: Sure, working in your target heart rate zone during muscular endurance activities will improve your fitness level, and burn fat and calories. But it cannot be viewed as a cardiovascular conditioning program, since weight training, does not encourage the body to handle oxygen in the manner in which it does during cardiovascular activities.
