What's in it for me?
Cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise increases your energy and stamina, helps control blood pressure, improves your blood lipid profile (cholesterol) and helps you burn extra calories to maintain an ideal weight. Aerobic power helps an athlete sustain a challenging exercise pace over time. When you get tired, your sports movements are no longer fluid and efficient and you're more likely to make mistakes or get injured.

Even though you can expect benefits from engaging in cardiovascular exercise, not all exercises are suitable or safe for everyone. You should, therefore, consult with your doctor before beginning any exercise program. The information provided in this handout should not substitute for medical counseling appropriate to you as an individual.

What kind of exercise will most improve my cardiovascular fitness?

Cardiovascular exercise is any activity that involves the large muscles of the body (especially the legs), is rhythmic and continuous in nature (as opposed to stop-and-start) and challenges your heart and lungs to work harder. Activities like walking, jogging, running, cycling, swimming, aerobics, rowing, stairclimbing, hiking, cross country skiing and many types of dancing are "pure" aerobic activities. Sports such as soccer, basketball, squash and tennis may also improve your cardiovascular fitness. However, performance in these sports would be enhanced by a base of endurance training. Athletes typically use three training methods to improve their aerobic power: slow to moderate-intensity distance training, moderate to high-intensity interval training and high-intensity continuous exercise.

What's the best type of cardiovascular exercise?

The best type is what you enjoy and will stick with! Select an activity that matches your personal preferences and health/fitness status. Consider previous injuries. Mix high-impact activities like jogging or step aerobics with weight-supported activities like rowing and cycling. The more muscles involved in the activity, the greater your aerobic challenge. For example, cross country skiers have shown the highest aerobic capacity of all athletes because they vigorously use arms, legs and trunk muscles during exercise.

One of the most important adaptations to cardiovascular training takes place in the working muscles. They become more efficient at taking in and using oxygen. If you're getting ready for a road race, the majority of your preparation should involve running, using the muscles and motions required in competition. To ease the pounding on your feet, knees and hips, it's a good idea to do some cycling or swimming. But running itself provides the best "sport-specific" conditioning for a running event.

How long should my workout be?

If you're just starting out, you may improve your stamina with just 15 minutes of cardiovascular exercise. However, most studies show that cardiovascular training a minimum of 20 -30 minutes, 3 times/week will guarantee increased aerobic capacity in approximately 8-12 weeks. Athletes utilizing high-intensity continuous training to increase their lactate threshold should exercise for 25-50 minutes depending upon their level of fitness. Interval training to improve aerobic power should involve low or high-intensity intervals of at least 60 seconds duration. Work with a knowledgeable fitness professional to help you design the number and length of both training and rest intervals.

How many days/week should I exercise?

Aerobic training 3-5 days per week will improve your cardiovascular fitness. Performing a high impact activity more than 5 days/week is associated with increased risk of injury. If you'd like to exercise just about every day, pick 2 or 3 activities that use different muscles and movements to prevent chronic joint and muscle stress. Alternate high and low impact activities. A variety of exercise choices keeps exercise fun and gives you more options when circumstances or seasons change. Training just 2 days/week will help you maintain the aerobic fitness you have already achieved. High-intensity interval training should be done no more than once or twice a week, and only after you've established a good base of cardiovascular fitness. Even high level athletes need one complete rest day each week, so make sure you give your body a break.

A variety of exercise choices keeps exercise fun and gives you more options when circumstances or seasons change.

How hard should I push myself?

The intensity of your exercise session will depend on your level of fitness, age and fitness goals. In general, you must challenge your body to perform at an intensity that is higher than your normal exertion level. Your pulse or heart rate can be used as a measure of intensity, because there's a direct relationship between the oxygen needs of your body and how fast your heart beats. If you know your maximal heart rate (HRmax) from a stress test, you can accurately determine a training pace using percentages of HRmax that reflect your training goals. Otherwise, you can use various formulae to estimate your HRmax and workout intensity. See the "Training Heart Rate Worksheet". For a continuous paced workout, maintain your heart rate at the desired level. For interval training, make sure you've warmed up 15-20 mins at a low intensity aerobic pace. Then begin your intervals. (See chart below) Always listen to your body. You should feel challenged, not exhausted. Slow down or stop if you don't feel well.

How do I know when it's o.k. to add more time or distance?

Rule of thumb: Increase your time or distance by no more than 10-20% each week. For example, if you begin exercising for 10 minutes each session, add only 1-2 minutes each week for the first couple months. It's smarter to go a little slow in the beginning, because even if you feel you could progress more quickly, your muscles and joints take longer to adapt to the stress of exercise than your heart and lungs.

What about warm-up and cool down?

Warm-up makes your workout feel smoother, prevents injuries and helps your body move efficiently from a low to high metabolic state. Perform the activity you'll be doing for aerobic conditioning at a much lower level for about 5-10 minutes. Gradually increase the intensity of exercise until you're in your target training range. You can also include some flexibility exercises as part of your warm-up. After you've warmed up a bit, stretch those muscles which you will use during the activity or which you know are tight.

Cool-down is a gradual reduction in the intensity of your activity. This helps bring blood which has been sent to the working muscles back into normal circulation. If you're jogging, walk for 5-10 minutes at the end of your session. Or if you're cycling, reduce your pedaling speed or bike resistance during the last 5-10 minutes of exercise. The end of a workout is a great time to stretch to improve overall flexibility, because muscle temperature and blood flow are high. Strengthening exercises may also be done at this time.