Cardiovascular Training Protocols and Benefits

Cardiovascular training is important for overall health and fitness, weight loss, and sport specific training. Cardiovascular training trains the heart and lungs to become more efficient at supplying oxygen and nutrients to the muscles when the skeletal muscular system is at work, whether it be walking up a set of stairs or playing a game of football. Also, cardiovascular training helps you burn extra energy to lose weight.

Cardiovascular training Protocols:
To develop a base for training, start out exercising for 25min at 55%-70% of your maximum heart rate for 2wks.
*Reminder:
Maximum heart rate= 220-age;
Desired heart rate for X% of intensity= max hr x desired intensity %
Example: 50 year old adult
220 - 50 = 170 beats per minute is the calculated maximum heart rate
170 x 0.55 = 94 beats per minute (at 55% of maximum heart rate)
170 x 0. 70 = 119 beats per minute (at 70% of maximum heart rate)

After developing a base to improve cardiovascular endurance you need to keep you heart rate above 70% of your maximum heart and increase the duration or intensity 5-10% every 1-2wks. Keep heart rate between 70%- 90% of maximum heart rate and keep the duration above 25min. Do not increase more than 10% each week, so you can prevent injuries.

Other cardiovascular protocols after developing a base:

Interval Training:
It is intervals of high intensity bouts and lower intensity bouts. The high intensity bouts are 85-100% of your maximum heart rate and last for at least 60 seconds and the lower intensity bouts should last just as long and should be about the same intensity of moderately fast walking (~55%-65% of your maximum heart rate).
- Benefits of interval training:
o Allows you to burn more calories in a short period of time with lower intensity “rest” breaks (intervals)
o Improves aerobic capacity
o Most realistic exercise protocol for untrained individuals
o Great for athletes who play sports that have shorter plays, like, football, basketball, hockey, etc. If doing this for training purposes make sure you high intensity bouts are up around that 100%.

Fartlek Training:
It is a combination of distance training and interval training. The intensity and duration of intensity is based on how you feel instead of a watch and heart rate monitor. The best example of this is running with music. As the music speeds up and slows down your pace tends to change.
- Benefits of Fartlek training:
o Depending on whether you are going more speed or distance depends on the aerobic benefits, but they are a combination of both
o Great for athletes who play sports that have varying intensities through out performance or game
o Very flexible and easy to do on your own
o I find it to be more interesting and enticing to do than a set protocol

High-Intensity, Continuous Exercise:
It is cardiovascular exercise that is done for 25-50min at 80% - 90% of maximum heart rate.
- Benefits of high-intensity, continuous exercise
o The best method of improving aerobic capacity
o Burn the most amount of calories in a shorter period of time (downfall is that it is a very intense and there are not any rest intervals)

Continuous Exercise:
It is long slow distance training and consists of moving at 60% -80% of your maximum heart rate for long distances and periods of time (> 60min).
- Benefits of continuous exercise:
o Has been shown to be the best way to improve long term endurance and most beneficial to maintain pace towards the end of the race (or distance)
o Trains the body to more efficient for long distance running

All of these different types of cardiovascular protocols are dependent on what benefits you want to achieve. For someone wanting to be more fit and/or lose, mix it up a bit and try all the different protocols to see which one works best for you. By mixing it up you will improve all different aspects of your cardiovascular without getting bored. My personal favorite is Fartlek training because it gives me the freedom to do what I want without having to think about it all the time.

Let me know if you have any questions about these protocols.

-Alexandra Jasinowski