Progressive Cardio Training For Continuous Improvement By Glenn Greer, Co-Owner Gables
Fitness
In order to achieve the fitness goals you desire, you must continually challenge yourself and manipulate parameters of cardio training.
- Frequency- For a positive training effect, Gables Fitness recommends a minimum of 3 days of cardio training and a maximum of 6 days. This is dependent upon your fitness goals and your fitness level. For beginners we recommend 3 days of cardio training for the first week along with our 30 minute full body workouts. Each week we recommend adding an additional day until you have reached what we feel is the optimal frequency for optimal results, 5 to 6 days. Cardiovascular improvements and body composition changes (loss of body fat) occur with this amount of frequency as long as you are complimenting this with supportive nutrition and resistance training. Advance exercisers should consider a higher intensity when performing their cardio. The question is, can you handle 90% intensity? If not, we recommend to work towards that percentage with 30 second to 1 minute intervals.
- Intensity- Based upon your age and fitness level, we recommend first starting at a comfortable training zone. Observe the chart above. Go to your age so you have an idea of your training zones. Over the years we have found that a good starting point is from 70 to 75 percent. From there, we recommend intervals to test what intensity allows you to sustain the challenge for 1 to 3 minutes.
How do we manipulate intensity?
1. Increase the speed of the movement.
2. Increase the incline or the resistance of the movement. Recheck your heart rate by using the sensors of the machine or by using a Polar Heart Rate Monitor. Are you at a higher training zone? Can you reach 80% to 92 % for one minute, 2 minutes or 3? If so, and you do not feel dizzy, or shortness of breath, you can work towards reaching these zones more frequently and ofcourse follow this with recovery. Recovery phases allow you to catch your breath, lower your heart rate so you can get ready to start increasing the workout intensity again.
Interval training is providing more efficient results because your body burns calories during the training and after the training. This is known as the EPOC effect of training and you can read more about this at our website, www.gablesfitness.com
Example: If you are performing your cardio on the treadmill, keep a notation of what speed and incline are providing a 70% training effect. Then, increase the intensity till you get to 80 to 85 percent of your intensity. Try to sustain for 1 minute to 3 minutes. Then, lower the intensity, recover and start the process again. We recommend performing this for 20 minutes, then over the weeks manipulate the duration. Our clients who achieve fantastic results are progressing to 30 and 45 minutes.
- Duration- Another parameter to manipulate is duration. We have had some clients with very low aerobic training start as low as 12 minutes of cardio duration (Common sense is that 12 minutes is better than no minutes. A simple example of progression). Once a client finds the intensity that really challenges themselves based upon the above chart provided, we work to increase their duration. A simple rule is 5 minutes more per week until they have reached a duration of 20 minutes, 30 minutes to 45 minutes.
- Type- Another change you can make besides the parameters listed above, is to change your training mode. If you are use to walking or running on the treadmill, try the elliptical or cross trainer. Changing modes of cardio training by trying different equipment can provide a new stimulus because your body has to now adapt to a new mode of training.
Questions for you to ask yourself about your cardio training.
- Am I achieving results from my cardio training?
- Can I work a bit harder when performing my cardio?
- Am I tapping into higher target heart rate percentages?
- Am I doing the same amount of cardio duration, frequency and intensity?
- What settings on the treadmill, elliptical or cross trainer are challenging me to achieve a higher target heart rate percentage?
- Am I using different cardio equipment to keep challenging myself and create less boredom?
Before performing any exercise please consult a physician. This information is for educational purposes. If you have a heart condition or believe you may, please do not refer to this article. Seek the help of your health care professional for their recommendations.
Progressive Cardio Training For Continuous Improvement By Glenn Greer, Co-Owner Gables Fitness
