Cardiovascular Training: Making Life Healthy One Beat At a Time

Last week in Fitness Resolution Myths, we examined the amount of activity an American adult needs each week. Some methods of cardiovascular training include treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, arc trainers and group exercise classes.

Fitness facilities’ cardiovascular equipment have heart rate monitors built in. Other consumer products can be worn to monitor heart rate. According to the American Heart Association, “Approximately 2,400 Americans die of CVD each day. This means that on average there is one death every 37 seconds from CVD.” Cardiovascular Disease is one of the main causes of death in America today.

In The Heart Rate Guidebook to Heart Zone Training, Edwards discussed the value of elevating the heart rate and how different levels of rate affect your body. Edwards explains five zones of training, and each zone is a percentage of your maximum heart rate. To accurately determine your maximum heart rate, a sub-max stress test is needed. The formula 220 - your age = max HR has been used to estimate maximum heart rate.

Zone 1: Healthy Heart 50%-60% Max HR - improves cholesterol, lower emotional stress, and lower blood pressure.

Zone 2: Temperate 60%-70% Max HR - burns more calories from fat, participant may begin to sweat.

Zone 3: Aerobic 70-%-80% Max HR - improves endurance by increasing mitochondrial density, zone where difficulty begins to set in.

Zone 4: Threshold 80%-90% Max HR - improves aerobic capacity, typically for athletes only.

Zone 5: Red Line 90%-100% Max HR - can only be sustained 2-5 minutes; requires all-out effort.

Next time we will discuss HIIT training as an advanced type of cardiovascular training.