Cardio Basics

We all agree that cardiovascular exercise is important. Although there are a few who would argue that cardio is necessary, they are the extreme minority and they are wrong.

The question most people have is how much, how hard, and what type. Let's review a few basic principles first...

Cardiovascular exercise is defined as anything that raises heart rate, respiration, and systolic blood pressure for any period of time. This could be running to chase a purse snatcher or completing an iron man.

Aerobic exercise that is defined as anything rythmic in nature that raises the heart rate, respiration, and systolic blood pressure, and can be maintained for over 10 minutes with no break. The word rythmic is important and denotes a repetition of movement.

Although the lay person will use these terms interchangeably, they are very different indeed!!

Aerobic endurance is the ability to use oxygen efficiently at moderate to heavy workloads over time. Anywhere from 10 minutes to all day long.

Anaerobic ability refers to the heart and lungs ability to withstand high intensity workloads without the presence of oxygen. The longest you can maintain a true anaerobic state is 3 minutes. Beginners are lucky to hold on 30 seconds!

So which one is more important??? Both! It is like choosing food or water as more important for survival. All good cardiovascular exercise programs include both, and intensity, duration, and mode are dependent on:

1. Current Fitness Level
2. Individual Goals
3. Time constraints
4. Medical History
5. Personal Preference

Review the "Exercise Principles" blog in order to familiarize yourself with how to organize a safe and effective exercise program. Long term studies of people who engage in regular cardio exercise have proven that:

1. It reduces or eliminates the risk of cardiovascular disease (heart attack, stroke, etc)

2. Assists in the management of chronic and acute stress

3. Reduces and eliminates the risk of deadly metabolic diseases (diabetes, high cholesterol, etc)

4. Increases functionality throughout all phases of life

5. Improves mood and outlook

6. Assists in keeping body weight at appropriate and healthy levels

Please contact me if you have questions on how to best design an exercise program that is right for you!

mindyourbody@cox.net

Strength Training I What you need to know!

Strength training:

Everyone needs it. Period, don't argue.

If you don't believe me, then you probably consider Kathy Ireland a fitness expert in which case you don't need to read any further, you can pick up her DVD's pretty cheap.

WHY you need it is twofold:

1. To create a structurally and functionally strong frame on which to rely on until the day you die.

There is no reason for you to break a hip, slip a disc, or freeze your shoulders, becoming dependent on others to complete basic daily tasks...yikes.

2. Increase your lean body mass (LBM) and maintain it in order to keep the metabolism moving at an appropriate speed and have a little extra in case of emergency.

If you get into a car accident or need surgery, and you don't have enough muscle and bone to survive and recover without becoming frail, you bring your quality of life down many notches unnecessarily. Forget playing golf for a while.

So how much, how often, and what kinds of exercises???

The answer is as individual as you are. For me, I like to keep it basic and focus on what your greatest needs are. Women, increasing LBM and increasing functional strength usually. Men, increasing mobility around a joint and functional strength. Everyone is different and your workout is not your neighbor's workout.

Many people learn as they go and take classes. Others prefer to work with a trainer until they are comfortable with the concepts and considerations. Either way, if you are not lifting weights or doing some kind of conditioning work to fatigue, you need to get busy.... NOW!!!

My subsequent posts will describe the basic variables associated with traditional and functional strength training. Both of which are necessary and beneficial to you! See me for questions, it is never too early and it is never to late to get into a simple strength routine that pays major dividends down the road!

Discomfort

I think over the last 60 years American's have become increasingly resistant to discomfort. I blame this for a lot of the problems we are now facing. We are so accustomed to having our needs met immediately, that we have no patience.

We are a SOFT NATION!! Yuck.

Once upon a time in school, I loved learning about WW II. Particularly the part about rationing and doing without. Women left their kids and went to work, made food out for the family out of very little, grew vegetables in the back yard, while their husbands sat in trenches or slept in cots with scratchy blankets with many other snoring, dirty men. We were a tough country back then and we were admired for it.

Fast forward to 2000's......we have zero tolerance for heat (crank up that A/C baby) , cold (set that thermostat to the 80's), aches (pass the tylenol please), mild sickness (it's a cold, not cancer), and small things like traffic delays and irritating coworkers can raise our blood pressure.

Our perception of what is normal human living has been altered to the point that we are physical babies incapable of sucking up a little hardship. We wonder why the rest of the world disrespects us...hmmm.

Discomfort makes us strong, adversity makes us wise, exercise makes us healthy, junk food will never fix that coworker...

Next time you catch yourself whining about something, I highly recommend a conversation with a WWII Veteran and his wife.

CONTEST week of April 5

Write me an email at mindyourbody@cox.net and tell me what your 5 fitness principles currently are and what you think you need to do to change you body for the better.

This is for former/current clients and class participants only.

Win a free 30 minute PT or nutrition consult for best answer!!!

Fitness Principles I

Ok class, last week we learned about the 5 different principles of fitness:

Frequency

Intensity

Duration

Modality

Progression

I provided guidelines on frequency and duration in my blog last week, so let's start talking about intensity.

Intensity can me measured in a couple of ways.

HR: Heart rate monitoring (with metabolic data that is accurate and up to date)

RPE: Rate of Perceived Exertion (subjective feeling rated on a 1-10 scale)

When you are first starting out with exercise, an RPE scale is a valuable tool that a trainer can use to make sure you are working hard enough for benefit, but not so stressful that there is a diminished return situation.

As you grow and evolve with your fitness, a heart rate monitor and exercise testing become much more valuable and necessary in order to continue to improve performance.

How hard you are working during a given workout is directly tied to duration and frequency, progression and modality. If you are not sure how hard to work, my suggestion is err on the side of caution and progress accordingly...remember...

Your body responds to consistency over time, not one single super hard workout.

Confused? Good, start asking questions, I am here to help!

How much is enough?

Ok, I know some of you don't actually LIKE to exercise...it seems like too much work and takes too much time. But as previously discussed, regular exercise pays significant dividends in the short and long term! Do I really need to list them all??? You know you will sleep better, eat better, feel better, and look better...

Soooo...How much exercise is enough?

Honestly? There is no magic number of hours per day or days per week. I wish there were because it would clear up a lot of confusion.

The first thing you need to ask yourself is: What is my main goal? Weight loss requires more exercise than cardiovascular health. Training for a specific sport requires more time than weight loss. This is where a knowledgeable fitness pro comes in handy.

The variables of exercise are set in stone as follows:

1. Frequency: 3 days per week for cardiovascular health, 4 days per week for improved performance/fitness, 5 - 6 days for weight loss and sports specific training.

2. Intensity: This should vary based on the above. I never recommend more than 2-3 super high intensity days per week. Especially for those over the age of 35.

3. Duration: 60 minutes minimum...don't argue, deal with it.

4. Modality: Cardio, strength, core, flexibility, and performance should all factor in based on goals.

5. Progression: This is the most overlooked aspect of fitness. Start slow and easy. Progress each week and be prepared for back slides. Just keep banging away at it and for goodness sake...

Get professional advice if you aren't sure of what you are doing!

ps. there is such thing as too much training...if you exercise more than 2 hours a day 6-7 days a week, there is a point of diminished return and significant risk of overuse injury, overtraining, and burnout, which will all lead to lower levels of fitness and performance. The exception to this is Ironman preparation...which a whole new level of crazy.

Have a great day! Quiz tomorrow...