Having good cardiovascular fitness has many health benefits. For example, it decreases your risk of cardiovascular diseases, stroke, high blood pressure and other diseases. Cardiovascular fitness is best improved by activities, which employ large muscle groups working dynamically. Such activities include walking, jogging, running, swimming, skating, cycling, stair climbing and cross-country skiing. The heart is like any other muscle - it becomes stronger and more efficient after practice.
Heart rate is a quantitative measure of heart's work.
At rest a healthy heart of an average individual beats approximately 70 beats per minute. A conditioned heart beats much less at rest, only 40 to 50 beats per minute or even less. Heart rate variability is a quality measure of heart's work. The lower the resting heart rate the higher the heart rate variability, and thus the better the quality of heart's functions. Cardiovascular fitness is related to age, gender, exercise habits, heredity and cardiovascular clinical status.