Introduction The purpose of this experiment is to determine the effect that cardiovascular fitness has on the rate of the heart beating. Cardiovascular fitness refers to the extent to which the cardiac muscles are adapted to strenuous activities. The rate of the heart beating is also called the pulse rate and simply refers to the speed at which the heart pumps blood from the left ventricle to the rest of the body for circulation. Before the beginning of any exercise, the pulse rate normally increases and this is referred to as anticipatory response. In the course of the exercise, respiration rate increases require more blood supply (oxygen) to the body tissues, thus increasing the need for faster pumping of the blood. As a result, the heart has to pump more blood per time unit to meet the new demand for oxygen in the body (Plowman & Smith, 2007). Regular exercise has some adaptive impact on the rate of the heartbeat. A person who engages in frequent exercising prompts his or her muscles to get used to the strenuous activities. This makes his or her cardiac muscles exhibit an insignificant rate of beating in the case of physical activities that are quite demanding. On the other hand, an individual who exercises less number of times is bound to experience a great change in the rate of heartbeat for a less tasking exercise. As such, a person who is physically fit experiences less pulse rate in comparison to that person who exercises less number of times for the same physical task (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2010). Methods and Materials In this experiment, a stopwatch was the only equipment that was needed. Also, four individuals were required to participate in the experiment. One of the persons was the one who had previously taken part in some physically strenuous activity (athletics) and another one was that who had not participated in much of such activities. The other two members served as the personal trainers for the test subjects (Coursework.Info 2011). For the procedure, the two test subjects stepped up and down on a low platform for 3 minutes at a rate of approximately 30 steps per minute. The personal trainers then measured and recorded the resting pulse rate of each subject. The results were tabulated in a table. Results Table 1.1: Results for the test experiment Pulse Rate (beats per minute)  Athlete  Non-Athlete Before Step Test               73       71          After Step Test                105      92           Table 1.2: Athletes Pulse Rate (beats per minute)  1   2   3   4  5  6  7  9  11  12  Average Before Step Test               73  72  69                         71      After Step Test                89  90  91                         90       Table 1.3: Non-Athletes Pulse Rate (beats per minute)  1    2   3    4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  Average Before Step Test               70   69  71                                 70      After Step Test                102  98  104                                101      Table 1.4: Difference Pulse rate before and after the aerobic exercise              Average pulse rate before  Average pulse rate after  Difference Non-Athlete  70                         101                       31         Athlete      90                         71                        19          From the results obtained for table 1.3 and 1.4, it was essentially clear that individuals who are athletes experienced lesser rates of heartbeat relative to those who are non-athletes. Conclusion From the exper