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Writer's pictureMeg Solomon

Is Cardiovascular Exercise a Dirty Word (or 2 words)?

Note: This post is geared to those who are not extremely knowledgeable about the mechanics or facts about exercise. If you are a seasoned athlete and train for particular sports performance, this is not for you!


Note2: If you do not exercise at all, it is important to get clearance to do so from your healthcare provider, hopefully someone who knows your health history.


This content will be focused on cardio exercise to strengthen your heart and lung muscles.


Are you a couch potato that is experiencing a low energy level or other medical issues? This post is for YOU! 🥱


SCENARIO:

All of a sudden you start experiencing twings and twangs in your body (do you love my terminology or what?) It may happen when you get out of bed and you are stiff or a joint aches. It may have started gradually and you have been ignoring it or it might come on suddenly. Maybe in your annual physical your doctor notices that your blood pressure is rising or that you are pre-diabetic. It can even be as simple as opening your refrigerator in the morning and 'OUCH' your back seizes and you can't stand up.


You have choices about how to react to these findings and feelings. You can:

  • ignore or decide not to change anything

  • be proactive and methodically take actions to prevent further problems

  • go overboard and start looking for miracle vitamins, treatment, homeopathics


The bottom line is that no one can escape aging but we can delay or escape the chronic conditions associated with aging. It is also important to know that you don't have to be old to experience aches and pains. I know several people much younger than me who are much older in terms of their health.


Change is hard. Inactivity is not a solution!! The couch is not your friend. I have posted about this before. You must MOVE MOVE MOVE!



Dance Dance Dance


It is a myth that you should rest if you have arthritis, sore muscles, or a minor injury. It is more imperative in these situations that you move those joints.


Please note: I am not including in this a broken bone, torn tendon such as a rotator cuff, or achilles rupture or a knee injury such as an ACL, MCL or meniscus tear.


So, acknowledging that change is hard, I highly recommend you jump into the discomfort so you can minimize the deterioration of the aging process and general health issues and ensure that the quality of your life will be as high as possible.


Only a few changes can get the ball rolling:


  • Start eating healthier

  • Stop smoking, drinking and participating in other dangerous behaviors

  • MOVE your body!


I know this all sounds good but it is anything but easy. However if you don't persist with these changes, you can't reap the benefits!


Remember that all of the muscles of your body need exercise to be their fittest and that includes your heart and lungs which is the focus of this post.. Here is the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) (1) recommendation for aerobic exercise to achieve beneficial fitness levels. This is where you want to ultimately be.


Frequency and Intensity

Moderate intensity aerobic exercise done at least 5 days per week or vigorous intensity exercise done 3 days per week or a weekly combination of 3-5 days a week of moderate and vigorous intensity exercise is recommended for all healthy adults. Light to moderate aerobic exercise is recommended 5 days a week for completely deconditioned adults.


Note 3: I highly recommend using a certified Personal Trainer for at least a few sessions if you are just getting started. It will be well worth the cost.


Here is an example.

Scenario: 50 year old deconditioned female


Your maximum heart rate is the upper limit of what your heart and blood vessels (your cardiovascular system), can handle during physical activity. Maximum heart rate varies with many factors; age, gender, current fitness level, medications, medical conditions, and others.


An estimate of this woman's max heart rate is 220-age (you can estimate yours by taking 220-your age) so in this case her max heart rate is 170.  If she were to get to this heart rate, she would not be able to sustain it because she is deconditioned. Her goal should be 60-80% of her max. For steady state or continuous aerobic exercise, she would want to get her heart rate to from 102 - 136 and maintain it for 20-30 continuous minutes minimum. The easiest way to measure this is by using a fitness tracker of some sort. If you do not have one and cannot access one you can use Rating of Perceived Exertion or RPE. This is an arbitrarily assigned scale, for example from 6-20 (20 being the hardest). You can also

use the talk test - it is a subjective measure of your ability to have a consersation while exercising or to measure how hard you are breathing. The harder it is to have a conversation the harder you are working. To be in a continuous aerobic exercise cycle, you should be able to carry on a conversation. You will be winded but not to the extent that talking is impossible.


Of course, if you do not exercise at all, you may not be able to achieve this goal immediately. I suggest building up to this. Start by doing only 10 minutes of an exercise that causes you to be slightly out of breath but is attainable. You must be pushing your own boundaries at each level. So, if you start by walking 10 minutes at an easy to moderate pace, you would want to increase the distance and/or intensity as soon as the light to moderate walk seems easy.


There is a common saying used by many personal trainers, including myself. Challenge your body to change your body. If you get too comfortable in your exercise routines, your measures of fitness will level out and you will not continue to see beneficial gains. The body wants to be confused (crazy bodies!!!) It is critical to push to higher levels or modify your program every 3-6 months. I will talk more about this later.


REMINDER:

Components of every training session should include:

  1. Active warm up and stretch (5-10 min of light intensity exercise where you are moving all of the joints and muscles in your body.

  2. Your actual exercise session

  3. Cool Down - getting your heart rate under 100

  4. Static stretching


Once again assuming you are at the beginning of your fitness journey here are some tips:


  • Pick a cardio exercise that works the large muscles in your body such as your quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes.

  • Get your arms involved - the more you move your arms, especially above your heart, the greater the benefit of the exercise(s) you are doing.

  • Pick an activity you enjoy so it feels less like work. Do you like to dance, do group classes, walk/run, ride a bike, play tennis, pickleball or squash, golf (if you walk the course)? You are more likely to stay engaged if you are enjoying the activity

  • If you are the type of person that is gung-ho to get started but then when it gets tedious or hard, you quit - you should seriously consider working out with one or more people who will hold you accountable like family, friends, or a trainer.

Here are 2 examples of a beginner program.


Example one:

  1. Warm up for 5 -10 minutes by walking wherever is convenient while also doing arm circles forward and backward. Complete 5 mini-squats and 3 pushups. Complete 5 arm circles and 5 leg circles on each side. Perform a Good Morning 5 times. See References. You will know you are ready to begin your main exercise activity when your heart rate is rising and you are feeling warmer.

  2. Take a brisk walk or slow jog ( aim for an eventual goal of a 15 minute mile). Per the above, if this is too hard initially start at a pace you can manage but still feel like you are pushing your own boundaries. If you love nature, go for a hike. Keep going for 20-45 minutes if possible. Start at 5-10 minutes if you are completely deconditioned.

  3. Cool down - repeat your warm up activities until your heart rate falls below 100. The faster your heart rate recovers the more fit you are. Do not lower your head below your heart or lie down until your heart is below 100.

  4. Stretch statically - perform stretching exercises for your large muscle such as a runners stretch, quadPIX OF STRETCHES



We all know we should be doing this on a daily basis but who really wants to? We are all so busy that taking a chunk out of your day to sweat, breathe hard, and become exhausted does not sound like fun. On the other hand, it should feel good to sweat and know you are performing an important function for your health. What feels better than that?


Being honest, I would have to say that, for me, exercise is more like addiction than sport. I have many other things I could be doing during my work-out time. It's definitely like a drug to me. At least it's a healthy one. I didn't always feel this way. It took time and discipline to get there. I didn't start exercising until I was 28 and it started with walking around the block with a friend.



REFERENCES

  1. ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, Ninth Edition, Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

  2. https://www.medicinenet.com/target_heart_rate_zone_and_chart/article.htm

  3. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2QFYwKET5xw for a demo of the Good Morning exercise.


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