Introduction
Definition of Aerobic Exercise
Typical Training Goals of an Aerobic Exercise Program
Determinants of an Aerobic Exercise Program
The Importance of Heart Rate Monitoring
Proper Nutritional Support
Cross-Training
Rest and Recuperation
Training Environment
Summary
I have always found it to be quite ironic that in a day and age when fitness enthusiasts frequently debate which piece of high-tech exercise equipment provides them with the best workout, I'm still training effectively on an old stationary bike I saved from the trash collectors. In a tribute to the individual who has forsaken good ol' Nellie for a newer piece of exercise equipment that supposedly gives you a better workout, or, to the individual who gave up on exercise altogether because it didn’t provide the expected results, I would like to provide my easy recipe for obtaining the training results we all strive to achieve.
Definition of Aerobic Exercise
Your body is a complex yet very efficient machine that runs on energy provided by three different engines. All three engines run all of the time; each engine runs on a different fuel, and each fuel tank is a different size. The fuel in each tank is created from and replenished by the foods we eat. The level at which each of your engines provides energy for the production of force in your muscles is determined by the intensity and duration of the activity or exercise.
- One engine is responsible for the rapid production of a large amount of energy for your muscles in a very short period of time. This engine has a very small fuel tank. Its fuel is derived from a substance called creatine phosphate and does not require oxygen to run; therefore, it is anaerobic. For example, this engine will predominate when lifting weights.
- The second engine is also responsible for the rapid production of energy, but needs a little more time than the first engine. This engine's fuel tank is larger and it can provide energy for your muscles during a short period of time. Its fuel is the sugar glucose and, like the first engine, it does not require oxygen to run; therefore, it is anaerobic as well. This engine will predominate, for example, during a half-mile run.
- The third engine that provides energy to your muscles takes longer to do so. However, it can provide large amounts of energy over a long period of time. Because of this long time frame, this engine needs a very large fuel tank. The fuel is the carbohydrate glycogen and does require oxygen to produce energy; therefore, it is aerobic.
Health
Typical Training Goals of Aerobic Exercise Programs
Why do you choose to perform aerobic exercise? If your answer is to increase caloric expenditure to achieve weight loss, aerobic exercise is an excellent choice. Aerobic exercise burns more calories over a longer period of time. Other responses might be to improve overall health, fitness, and cardiopulmonary function. During aerobic energy expenditure, your heart and lungs work harder and the systemic effects of increased blood circulation are significant. Regular aerobic exercise may aid in the prevention of obesity, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and depression. Some of you may also want to perform regular aerobic exercise to increase performance in activities that require endurance. The training effects of an aerobic exercise program are many. However, in order to achieve your desired goals, you must understand the importance of the components or determinants of any aerobic exercise program.
Determinants of Your Aerobic Exercise Program
Your aerobic exercise program must be tailored to meet your specific training goals in consideration of your baseline fitness level. As mentioned earlier, aerobic exercise is achieved by performing an activity with enough intensity and duration to increase energy demand in your muscles to the level that requires energy production by the engine that uses oxygen. Frequency, duration, and intensity are the three determinants. How many times per week are you working out? For what period of time? At what level of intensity? These determinants will establish the overall effectiveness of your exercise program. By your assessment of exercise intensity, duration, and frequency, you can determine your approximate caloric expenditure and your performance level or work capacity.
Let me give you a few examples. If you are a sedentary individual and you want to initiate an aerobic exercise program, you should start with a low-intensity program. Starting out slowly allows your heart and lungs to become conditioned and then you can gradually increase your frequency and length of exercise sessions. If you are exercising frequently (five to seven days a week), but you are having trouble achieving your training goals, you may want to increase your training intensity while maintaining the duration, and decrease the frequency to avoid the effects of over-training. If you are a fit individual who is having difficulty finding five days a week to exercise, cut your program back to three days and increase intensity and duration. You may be surprised how quickly you will achieve your training goals.
The Importance of Heart-Rate Monitoring
Now that you are familiar with the determinants of an exercise program and can easily determine your exercise frequency and duration, I will highlight the most important aspect of this article: determining and tracking intensity through heart-rate monitoring.
During aerobic exercise, your body is using oxygen to burn the fuel in your engine, thus, supplying your muscles with energy. As your muscles require increased energy production as your exercise intensity increases, your heart and lungs must work harder to carry the necessary oxygen supply to your muscles. Your heart rate will accurately determine your aerobic workload during prolonged, steady exercise. Performing aerobic exercise without monitoring your heart rate is like lifting weights without knowing how much weight you are lifting.
In order to determine your baseline exercise tolerance and create a program that is based on progressive, weekly, short-term goals that will lead you toward your ultimate training goal, you must monitor your heart rate. Attempting to gauge your exercise intensity based on perceived exertion is very inaccurate, since many factors can increase your perception of exhaustion without reaching true physiological fatigue. When you first start heart-rate monitoring, you will be surprised at the workload and intensity you thought you were achieving during exercise versus what the heart-rate monitor actually tells you.
Baseline aerobic exercise capacity
In order to determine your baseline aerobic exercise capacity, subtract your age from 220. If you have never monitored your heart rate you should start at 55 to 65 percent of that number during your prolonged exercise session. For example, if you are 20 years old, your maximum heart rate is 200 (220 – 20), so you would exercise for 20 to 30 minutes with your heart rate between 110 and 120 beats per minute. You would then establish your progressive, short-term training goals based on how you felt exercising at this level.
Heart-rate monitors
So how do you measure your heart rate? The least expensive method is taking your pulse during exercise. You can count your pulse beats for 15 seconds, then multiply by four, which requires concentration and can interrupt the rhythm of your activity. I highly recommend using commercially available electronic heart rate monitors that consist of a chest band and wristwatch display. Heart-rate monitors range significantly in price, depending on special features. The most basic model, which provides a continuous heart-rate readout, may cost about $75. Fancier models can cost up to $300 or $400 based on features that may include: computation of target heart-rate zones based on maximum heart rate, as well as heart-rate averaging capability during each workout session. Some heart-rate monitors have the ability to interface with your computer so you can save your data and review your progress. I use my old stationary bike and the most basic monitor. The rest I can do with pencil and paper.
Whether you are beginning an aerobic exercise program, or you are already on a steady program and monitoring your heart rate, there are several nutritional considerations that you should take into account to assist you in achieving your training goals.
The duration of your exercise session is influenced by your work intensity and the amount of fuel that is available in your aerobic engine's tank. If you have not replenished your fuel stores from workout to workout, or if you used up your fuel stores during exercise, your training intensity will be limited, and your body may start breaking down muscle tissue for energy. This will lead to decreased performance and difficulty in achieving exercise goals. It also may lead to injury to your joints, connective tissue, or muscles due to fatigue. You may be dieting while participating in an aerobic exercise routine to achieve your weight-loss goals faster. However, caution must be taken to gradually and slowly decrease caloric intake while increasing your frequency, duration, and intensity of exercise. I recommend eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet that includes food sources containing carbohydrates, fats, and protein, as well as vitamins, minerals, and fiber. If you eat well you will be able to increase your training frequency, intensity, and duration while reducing the risk of over-training or injury. If you are able to exercise with greater frequency, duration, and intensity, you will achieve your training goals more easily. Undernourishment will limit these factors and your ability to achieve your training goals.
Liquid and gel fuels
During prolonged exercise sessions of moderate to high intensity, your body may also run out of fuel that is stored for on-demand energy production. Use of gels containing glucose, or drinking sweetened fluid containing salts will allow you to prolong your workout session and maintain increased intensity.
The importance of fluid intake during your workout cannot be overemphasized, either. Your body uses fluids to cool and maintain core temperature during exercise. If you run out of fluids you can become dehydrated, overheat, and limit the duration and intensity of your workout.
As you gradually increase your workout intensity by setting consistently progressive short-term goals for your average heart rate and duration during your workouts, you can also increase your caloric expenditure by increasing the size of your engines so they burn more fuel. If you have larger muscles and you are working out at the same intensity level, you will require more oxygen to meet the energy demands of your increased muscle mass. Increased muscle mass will also provide an increase in your caloric expenditure at rest. If you train with greater intensity during your aerobic workouts three to four times per week, and perform progressive resistive exercise two times per week, you will meet your short-term goals faster and get better results from your aerobic workouts.
It is imperative however, that you gradually and consistently increase your resistance and perform a sufficient number of sets to build increased muscle mass. The same concept of setting progressive short-term goals for your aerobic workouts applies to resistance training. One common flaw I frequently observe in the gym is the workout routine where individuals consistently use the same resistance, the same number of repetitions, and the same number of sets, without pushing forward. Again, training with high intensity is the key. Although some literature states that one set of each exercise until exhaustion will provide you with a large percentage of your strength gains, I do not believe you will experience an optimal increase in your metabolically active muscle mass. I have never known a successful bodybuilder or power-lifter who used this principle. It is also important to remember that as you increase your muscle mass, caloric intake must be increased to prevent the effects of over-training or injury. If you try to speed up your time frames for short-term goal achievement by severe dieting and increased resistance training, you will achieve a paradoxical effect of slower gains toward aerobic and resistance-training goals with an increased risk of injury to your muscles, connective tissue, and joints.
More is not always better. Listen to your body. I believe you can achieve excellent results from the three-day-a-week aerobic and two-day-a-week resistance-training routine. I also believe that occasionally your body will tell you to cut your routine back to two-day-a-week aerobic and one-day-a-week resistance training—especially if you consistently increase your aerobic and resistance-training intensity levels without increasing your nutritional support. Over-training can limit your ability to work out with increased intensity, thereby limiting your potential to achieve your training goals. You can’t train very well if you’re injured or burned out.
Sleep hygiene
The importance of proper sleep hygiene cannot be underestimated either. Sleep is divine; enjoy it. If you attempt to increase your training goals while maintaining a schedule that promotes chronic sleep deprivation, you’re struggling against yourself. It is more difficult to increase your training intensity if you are chronically sleep-deprived. Once in a while you may be able to get in a good workout despite only having a few hours of sleep the night before. However, if you consistently push your envelope in this way, you will limit your ability to achieve your goals and increase the risk of injury.
Do you like loud music, trees and grass, or lots of spandex and treadmills lined up in a row? Whether you are in a garage gym, riding your bike in the park, or sweating away at your nearest health club, you must choose an environment that is inspirational to you. Since training intensity and duration are effort-dependent, and effort depends on mental tenacity, you must ensure that you are sufficiently stimulated to train hard. If you don’t like where you’re working out or the people that work out around you, are you going to want to stay longer and work out harder, or finish as quickly as possible and go home and relax? The more stimulated you are, the more your brain will maintain the effort level required for a good workout.
Here are my recommendations—to the good soul who left Nellie on the curb, and to all others looking to improve the results of their hard-earned labor:
- Monitor your heart rate, set short-term goals, and gradually yet progressively, increase your average heart rate from 60 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate for two to three 30- to 45-minute workouts a week.
- Maintain a balanced nutritious diet. Don’t starve yourself while you’re increasing your caloric expenditure. Try to maintain sufficient caloric intake.
- Allow yourself sufficient rest and recuperation and maintain proper sleep hygiene. I recommend an average of seven to eight hours of sleep per night for maximum exercise performance.
- Inspire yourself by working out in an environment you enjoy.
Good luck, and may the treadmill rise to meet you, and may the breeze of your wind trainer be always at your back.
