Question | Answer |
Cardiorespiratory Exercise - "cardio/aerobics" | Any form of continuous exercise lasting 10 minutes or longer that uses the large muscles of the body and increases heart rate. Involves the steady and repetitive movement of the arms and legs, which makes the heart and lungs stronger. |
Aerobic | With oxygen |
Factors that Affect Cardiorespiratory Fitness | Genetics, Age, Sex, Environmental Influences |
Age (Factor) | 10% decrease per decade in aerobic capacity; the heart and blood vessels lose elasticity and become more rigid, these processes reduce the ability to use oxygen and make the heart work harder. |
Sex (Factor) | Men have bigger hearts with more muscles that can work harder and longer than women; men adapt more quickly to cardio exercise, prone to heart disease; men peak of fitness younger in life, women can undergo changes in fitness bc of menopause. |
Environmental Influences (Factor) | Alcohol, tobacco, drugs; caffeine (blood volume is 95% water - dehydration or ingesting caffeine lowers your blood volume, making your heart work harder, stress, poor diet, environmental pollutants, lack of exercise |
Benefits of Cardio | Decreases the risk of cardiov. disease by 30-40%; decrease stroke volume 20-27%; decrease risk of type 2 diabetes and many types of cancer; improves immune system; changes body composition, results in lost body fat; heart becomes stronger; endorphins |
Endorphins | Biomechanics substances that trigger positive feelings and well-being in the body. |
Frequency & Time | Recommendations: 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 90 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity; if you are not able to perform cardio for 30 min, you can still earn benefits of cardio if you divide your time into two/three bouts |
Intensity Level | Not measuring your intensity level is one of the most common mistakes that beginners make; not working hard enough can lead to lack of results/frustration; working too intensely can lead to burnout and injury. |
Moderate-Intensity | Causes a slightly increased creating rate and provides health benefits. |
Vigorous-Intensity | Provides not only health benefits but also greater fat loss and a higher fitness level. |
Talk Test | Method of determining aerobic intensity for beginners; should be able to complete a sentence but not comfortably; not hard enough if you can sing. |
Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) | Easiest and most effective way to measure exercise intensity; consists of estimating how hard you feel you are exercising both physically & mentally on a scale of 0-10; adults 5-6; beginners 3-4; remember to check shortness or breath and level of fatigue |
Target Heart Rate | Most common method; age-predicted method = 220-age; beginner-exercise at 40-60% of your max; intermediates-60-70%; advanced-70-85%; as your level of fitness increases, you need to recalculate your target heart rate every 2 month; beta blockers effect HR |
Progression | Depends on your starting level of fitness; 3 stage progression |
Initial Stage | Beginning of your program; 1-5 months; able to complete 25-30min, 3-4 days a week at an intensity level of 60% move to stage 2 |
Improvement Stage | Lasts 6 months to 2 years; affected by your beginning shape, illness, death, child-rearing, relocation, military, vacation, injury, school/work; able to complete 35-40 mins, 3-5 times a week at 70-80% of your target HR |
Maintenance Stage | Continue to exercise indefinitely; minimum for maintaining aerobic fitness is 3 times a week for 20-30 mins at a vigorous level |