The Cardiorespiratory Endurance component of fitness utilizes large muscle movement over prolonged periods of time.

This component of fitness helps your heart and lungs work together more efficiently to deliver oxygen to the working muscles and brain.

Generally, the more fit we become in this component, the better able we are to carry out everyday tasks without getting winded as easily.

When designing your fitness plan, follow the guidelines in the following slides for safe and effective exercise.

Guidelines

MODERATE
5+ days per week

VIGOROUS
3+ days per week

Frequency

Intensity Time

Noticeably increases heart rate (lower end of target heart rate zone)
30+ minutes/day in bouts of no less than 10 minutes each (150+min/week) Any moderately intense activity

Significantly increases heart rate and breathing (upper end of target heart rate zone)
10+ continuous minutes/session (75+ minutes per week) Aerobic activity such as jogging, cardio machines, etc.

Type

If you havent exercised in awhile or you feel particularly out of shape, dont despair! Try some of the following ideas.

Utilize the minimum recommendations:

For example, if you work all day, park your car 1/2 mile from work and walk in, followed by a 10 minute walk during your lunch hour, and then back to the car after work.

If you have a dog, walk the dog for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening and youve met the recommendation!

If your main goal is to improve general health, choose a workout level that falls within the guidelines that is an appropriate level according to your current fitness level. General health can be attained through either moderate or vigorous levels.

To become more fit means being able to do more work without becoming out of breath or unduly fatigued, A vigorous intensity level is recommended to improve fitness (breathing hard or 15-16 on the RPE scale). You will record your Target Heart Rate Zone in the Exercise Program Assignment by following a link. The upper half of this target heart rate zone represents vigorous intensity (60-85% of HRR). It may take several weeks to become fit enough to workout at higher intensities.

Normally, high intensity exercise is performed by athletes, like a team sport or someone training for a specific race (like a marathon).

There are several ways to monitor your exercise intensity level. Intensity is determined by finding a level that is related to your current fitness level. Using heart rate, rate of perceived exertion, or the talk test all indicate relative intensities.
In other words, if you are really out of shape, your heart rate will go up a lot just doing mild activities.

If you are in great shape, it requires a much greater effort to get your heart rate up.

Utilizing exercise heart rates to monitor cardio intensity helps the exerciser to know if they are working hard enough, or too hard.
Calculating the appropriate heart rate to workout at can be accomplished by using an established formula. The Target Heart Rate Zone is called a Zone because there is a lower limit and an upper limit where your heart rate should be for optimal benefits of exercise. We will be using the Karvonen Formula, a.k.a. Heart Rate Reserve method found on the next slide.

Find your Resting Heart Rate (RHR) by counting your pulse for 60 seconds after resting for a prolonged period of time...the most accurate measure is usually in the morning before you get out of bed or after laying down watching TV for awhile (assuming no stimulants such as caffeine have been ingested).
Use your resting heart rate in the calculator link.

Plug in your age, resting heart rate and the calculator link does the rest.
Write down this heart rate range for use later in your Fitness Plan Assignment and subsequent logs.

Sometimes it is impractical to take your heart rate, such as during a pick-up basketball game, or when you dont have a watch handy.
In that case you can use either the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale or the Talk Test These two methods allow you to assess how hard you feel you are working. These methods are also appropriate for those who are on medications that affect your heart rate, such as those used to control blood pressure.

Moderate workouts are done at a rating of 12-13 and your breathing will feel somewhat hard
Vigorous workouts are done at a rating of 14-16 and your breathing will feel hard

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20

VERY, VERY LIGHT VERY LIGHT

LIGHT
SOMEWHAT HARD
(Moderate physical activity level)

HARD
(Vigorous cardiovascular fitness level)

VERY HARD VERY, VERY HARD

Determining how hard you are working can be determined by talking while you exercise. Use the chart below to help you determine the recommended level of intensity.

Intensity

Talk Test
Comfortable speech is possible Speech possible with some difficulty
Speech limited to short phrases Speech is very difficult

Light Moderate Vigorous/ Hard Very Hard

Moderate:
Beginners often do not realize that they are working out too hard. Keeping your heart rate in the moderate level (lower half of target heart rate zone i.e. 40-60% of your heart rate reserve or an RPE of 12-13) is helpful in making sure you don't overdo it.
Even if you are an experienced exerciser, moderate intensity exercise is still very beneficial. Studies indicate that moderate exercise is especially appropriate for chronic disease prevention.

Vigorous: If you are fairly active, a vigorous routine is probably the most appropriate. Examples of vigorous activities: Walking briskly (4.5+ mph), jogging, hiking, cycling (12 +mph), swimming laps, playing basketball, soccer, etc. Generally working out in the vigorous range involves working at the upper half of your target heart rate zone (60-85%) or an RPE of 14-16. The guidelines recommend 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week over a minimum of 3 days throughout the week.

You can choose a combination of the two levels of intensity.

For example, you could play a vigorous pick-up game of basketball twice a week, and walk your dog at a moderate level twice a week to meet the guidelines for health.

An important step in developing your exercise plan is writing effective ACTION goals. A good goal will indicate the when and where the activity will take place, plus Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type (FITT) of activity. Sample cardio goals appear on the next few slides.

I will go to my health club before my classes on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. I will start with 20 minutes on one of the cardiovascular machines (treadmill, eliptical, bike, rowing machine) and increase my time 10 minutes every 2 week until I get to 60 minutes. I will keep my heart rate in the middle of my target HR zone between 150-160 bpm.

I will play basketball with my teenage sons on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (we have a hoop in our driveway) for 45 minutes. I will maintain an average intensity of 15 (hard) on the Rate of Perceived Exertion (the scale that goes from 6-20).

I will walk around the soccer field for at least 30 minutes while my daughter has soccer practice everyday (Mondays through Fridays, plus games). I will maintain a heart rate of about 130 bpm.

I will workout to an exercise video Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays before I go to work. Each tape I have has at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity. I will maintain a heart rate in the middle of my target heart rate range. Note:

Exercise videos may be available on-demand if you have cable TV. Wii-Fit and Dance-Dance-Revolution have been popular fitness choices for many students.

Weekly exercise: Accumulating 200-300 minutes per week are recommended. You can achieve this by participating in cardio activities 30 minutes everyday.
Exercise Intensity: Working at about 60% your target heart rate zone appears to be the most effective fat burning zone, although there is new evidence to suggest that vigorous activity provides additional calorie burning potential through afterburn (calories burned as part of the bodys recovery process) . Moving throughout the day plays a key role in weight loss by burning more calories throughout the day. Consider wearing a pedometer and choosing to be more active throughout the day by taking stairs instead of the elevator, parking your car farther away from school or work, gardening, housework, etc.