Cardiorespiratory Training
heart Cardiorespiratory Fitness:
Ability to perform repetitive moderate to high intensity,
large-muscle group movement for a prolonged period of time.
lungs
Among others, benefits are:
Improvement in cardiovascular and respiratory function
Reduction of coronary heart disease risk factors
Decrease of anxiety and depression
Improvement of well-being, performance, sleep,
immune function and quality of life.
ACSM 2006 Guidelines for Cardiovascular Stimulus
Mode Type Frequency Intensity Duration Progression
Any activity that uses large muscle groups, can be maintained continuously for a prolonged period of time and is rythmical and aerobic
Activity performed with a constant supply of oxygen at a low-to-moderate intensity.
Fuel used is glucose, fat and protein.
in nature.

Examples: Walking, running, cycling, swimming, stepping, aerobic dance, ...

Low-impact activities are recommended for beginners and those vulnerable to orthopedic problems to avoid injury.
3 to 5 days a week

For weight-reduction purpose:
4 to 5 times a week


Note that more than 5 days a week increases the risk of injury and has small effect on VO2 max.
40-85% of HRR
HRR = Heart Rate Reserve

- 220 - Age = Estimated Max HR
- Estimated Max HR x percentage (e.g. 70%) = Target Heart Rate

64-94% of max HR
max HR = Maximum Heart Rate

Karvonen Formula:
- 220 - Age = Estimated Max HR
- Estimated Max HR - Resting HR = HRR
- HRR x percentage (e.g. 70%) = Percent of HRR
- Percent of HRR + Resting HR = Target Heart Rate

12-16 range in RPE scale
RPE = Rate of Perceived Exertion

RPE Borg Scale:
7   - Very very light
9   - Very light
11 - Fairly light
13 - Somewhat hard
15 - Hard
17 - Very hard
19 - Very very hard



For the deconditioned: 40-50% of HRR
64-70% of max HRR
12-14 in RPE scale

20-60 minutes of continuous or intermittent aerobic activity


For the deconditioned:
Several low intensity - short duration bouts (<10 minutes)
Depends on functional capacity, health status, age, preferences and goals of the exerciser.


3 stages:
- Initial Conditionning
This stage is critical for the less fit and/or inactive persons
As a result, during this period, activity must be enjoyable,
with realistic goals and must minimize the risk of injury
and soreness.

- Thorough warm-up
- Light muscular endurance exercises
- Low-level aerobic activities (40-60% of HRR)
of 12-15 minutes or less
with a gradual progression.
- Extended cool-down
This stage lasts 4 to 6 weeks for the less fits

- Improvement
The progression is more rapid (50-85% of HRR)
Mode, Frequency, Intensity and Duration are manipulated
to cause a gradual overload to the cardiorespiratory system.
A good balance must be found in order to avoid injury.
One of these factors must be increased every 2 to 3 weeks.

- Maintenance
Fitness goals are reached.
New goals: Maintenance and adherence.
Use cross-training and a wide variety of exercises.
Intensity and Duration are inversely related.
Together, they determine the total calorie cost of an exercise session.

Low-to-moderate-intensity training programs with longer duration are recommended for most adults (ACSM, 1998)

Calorie Expenditure
A minimum of:
150-400 kcal of physical activity and/or exercise energy expenditure per day.
or 1.000 kcal of physical activity per week.

Ideally:
300-400 kcal per day
or 2.000 kcal per week
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NOTE
Do not forget to consider proper a warm-up
A proper warm-up:
- increases blood-flow, oxygen and energy substrates to the working muscles,
- increases core-temperature,
- increases HR,
- increases metabolic rate from resting to exercise levels,
- decreases heart problems.

A proper warm-up should last 8-12 minutes divided into:
- 5-10 minutes of limbering (walk, cycle or run at moderate pace 10-30% of HRR),
- 2-3 minutes of static stretching of muscles that will be targeted
during the exercise session and/or muscles that are commonly tight
(each stretch should be held for 10 seconds).
and a proper cool-down
A proper cool-down:
- prevents blood pooling in the extremities,
- reduces the feeling of dizziness,
- lowers HR and BP to near resting levels,
- helps dissipate lactic acid,
- helps minimize potentially threatening cardiac arythmias.

A proper cool-down should last 8-10 minutes or more divided into:
- 3-5 minutes of gradually decreasing intensity,
- 5 minutes or more of stretching
(each stretch should be held for 10-20 seconds or more)

Some Cardiorespiratory Training Systems
Continuous Training Interval Training Fartleck Training Super Circuit Training Cross Training
Long-Slow-Distance Training (LSD)
Same worload for a prolonged period of time.

Advantages/Drawbacks
- Safe, easy-to-do, better for beginners
- Repetitive and may be boring.
Repeated bouts of harder work interpersed with periods of easier work (or eventually rest).

Advantages/Drawbacks
- Progressive overload,
- Greater total of work performed,
- Less boring,
- Adapted to all levels.

Example
For less-fit:
- 3 minutes at 3 mph
- 1 minute at 3.5 mph

For extremely-fit:
- 4 minutes at 9mph
- 1 minute at 8 mph
Speed play training
Same as Interval Training but less structured.


Advantages/Drawbacks
- Very demanding,
- Fit, low-risk, motivated exerciser.
Alternance of aerobic exercise stations with resistance exercise stations.


Advantages/Drawbacks
- Fun,
- Large amount of total work,
- Exerciser must be familiar with the stations.
Variety of cardiorespiratory equipment
- within one session
- or throughout the week
- or throughout the year
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