Cardiovascular exercise goes way beyond just increasing your heart rate and feeling out of breath. Whether you are tacking “cardio” onto the end of your strength workout, hitting a group class, or programming a conditioning day into your weekly routine, there are many factors to consider when training your heart. Since the New Year typically means more people hopping on and off treadmills, ellipticals and stairmasters, it’s a good idea to educate yourself on the best approach to cardio in order to see results and keep yourself motivated to stick with it.
Think about it this way: when we strength train, we want to establish a baseline of good movement before lifting progressively heavier loads. Similarly, when conditioning, we want to establish a baseline of aerobic capacity before we put too much stress on our systems. Basically, if you want to train hard by placing a high demand on your heart, be sure you’ve spent the necessary time building a good aerobic base to avoid crashing and burning hard.
The truth is, most people will probably benefit by just checking the general sweat box for a SHORT period of time. But, like everything in fitness, one-size doesn’t fit all. If you want to make real, sustainable, lifelong changes to your health and wellness while at the same time limiting your risk of injury, here are a few factors to consider when determining your individualized approach to cardio:
#1. Cardio does not stand alone. Most people will see the biggest improvement in how they feel and perform when they couple cardio with strength training. It is nearly impossible to significantly increase your aerobic threshold without a good baseline of strength.
#2. Know your resting HR. If you are an active adult, your resting heart rate can be a good (but not the only) indicator of overall health, so knowing it is a good place to start. Your true resting HR should be taken first thing in the morning before you get out of bed. If yours is below 60, congratulations. You’ve earned the right to train at a high intensity when needed. If you are between 60 and 80, you are in the normal range, but would probably still benefit more from low level conditioning than a HIIT class. If your resting HR is above 80, let’s get to work on building up your strength (which will essentially be conditioning too).
#3. Recovery rules. Anyone can get into the red zone (some more easily than others). The real question is, how quickly do you recover from the red? In the minute immediately following a high intensity effort, your heart rate should drop at least 30 beats if you have a decent aerobic base. If not, you need to spend more training time in your aerobic zone. Generally, this means working at an effort where you can hold a conversation. Boring, but necessary.
#4. Consider your goals. Always move with purpose and measure your progress. The gym is no place for aimless wandering, so if you’re not sure what to do, ask! A purposeful approach to cardio will yield results that can be measured by your ability to sustain higher levels of power output for longer periods of time, specifically control your heart rate within a variety of training zones, and recover quickly from high intensity efforts.
It really doesn’t matter if you are training for the Olympic Games or the game of life — a healthy, high-functioning heart will improve your performance and enhance how you feel each and every day.
If you’re looking to dive a bit deeper, a great resource is James Breese’s book Maximum Aerobic Power. A must read, in our opinion, for anyone who aspires to move with purpose and live with strength :)