180823 The basics of aerobic  conditioning

Simply put aerobics means improving the efficiency of your cardiovascular system through exercise. Increased cardio fitness improves your body’s ability to distribute oxygen to every cell in your body.

Sitting around all day or being inactive reduces your body’s ability to maintain what little cardiovascular reserves you may still have.

Many think that running or riding a bike is the primary source of improving their health. But many other means are frequently used to improve your circulatory and respiratory systems. For instance, walking, swimming, biking (stationary (recumbent, or upright), or on the road, skipping rope, upper body ergometer[1] (priced from $46 up 3900), step ups….and numerous other useful aerobic exercises.

To put the proper stress needed to improve your aerobic resources a continuous rhythmic motion using large muscle groups is necessary. The lower body and upper contain just these large muscle groups.

According to current literature improvements in your cardiovascular system results in these benefits:

In my opinion the most important of these begins with a goal of reducing the numbers of your blood pressure, cholesterol, and reduced stress levels. Along with these advantages of becoming heart fit are increased bone density, reduction in fatigue, and better posture. The latter may reflect the increase in confidence coming from exercising.

Our life expectancy may increase as well as raising our ability to do the average living activities, and we may all relax easier and sleep better. This is not the end of the benefits resulting from enhancing the ability to physically keep going.

Before beginning your cardio exercise consider the following factors.

For moderate-intensity physical activity[2], your target heart rate should be between 64% and 76%^1,2 of your maximum heart rate. You can estimate your maximum heart rate based on your age. To estimate your maximum age-related heart rate, subtract your age from 220. For example, for a 50-year-old person, the estimated maximum age-related heart rate would be calculated as 220 – 50 years = 170 beats per minute (bpm). The 64% and 76% levels would be:

• 64% level: 170 x 0.64 = 109 bpm, and
• 76% level: 170 x 0.76 = 129 bpm

This shows that moderate-intensity physical activity for a 50-year-old person will require that the heart rate remains between 109 and 129 bpm during physical activity.

Taking Your Heart Rate

Generally, to figure out whether you are exercising within the target heart rate zone, you must briefly stop exercising to take your pulse. You can take your pulse at your neck, wrist, or chest. We recommend the wrist. You can feel the radial pulse on the artery of the wrist in line with the thumb. Place the tips of the index and middle fingers over the artery and press lightly. Do not use your thumb. Take a full 60-second count of the heartbeats or take for 30 seconds and multiply by 2. Start the count on a beat, which is counted as “zero.” For example, if this number falls between 109 and 129 bpm in the case of a 50-year-old person, he or she is active within the target range for moderate-intensity activity.

[3].Deborah Riebe, Jonathan K Ehrman, Gary Liguori, Meir Magal. Chapter 6 General Principles of Exercise Prescription. In: ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. 10th Ed. Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA: 2018, 143-179.

Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee [PDF-4.6MB]. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Report, 2008. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services; 2008.

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[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=upper+body+ergometer&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS947US947&oq=upper+body+ero&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqDQgBEAAYChgWGB4Y8QQyBggAEEUYOTINCAEQABgKGBYYHhjxBDIKCAIQABiGAxiKBTIKCAMQABiGAxiKBdIBCTE4MTkwajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[2] https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/measuring/heartrate.htm

[3] https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/measuring/heartrate.htm