Category Archives: Aerobics

Aerobic activity is long in duration, but low in intensity. Aerobic exercise elevates the heart rate and breathing for a sustained period. Aerobic activity improves the efficiency of
your heart and lungs, helps control weight, and increases muscle and joint flexibility. Aerobic exercise will improve your health and fitness.

Common examples of aerobic activities include: aerobic classes, aerobic dancing, basketball, bicycling, brisk walking, calisthenics, cross-country skiing, dancing, downhill skiing, exercise classes, hiking uphill, jogging, jumping rope, racquetball, roller skating, rowing, running, running in place, singles
tennis, squash, stair climbing, stationary cycling, step exercise classes, swimming, volleyball, and walking,

Aerobics is the form of physical exercise, that most people need to concentrate on first. It should leave you feeling that you have labored with your heart beating faster and your breathing stimulated.

Aerobic exercise will improve your health and fitness.

Cycling for Fitness

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Back when we were kids riding a bike was all about having fun or simply getting from A to B. But we grew up, as kids do, and we discovered cars were a more effective form of transport. Not surprisingly our trusty two-wheelers were left to rust away. But perhaps that was a mistake. Even adults need a little fun every now and again and cycling still involves plenty of it. If that’s not enough to tempt you back on to the saddle, then think about this. Biking will help you build the body of your dreams and in no time at all. “Biking is a full body workout,” says Michael Kamahl, owner of Woolys Wheels in Paddington, Sydney. “It burns lots of kilojoules, tones all of your muscles and there’s no impact so it’s easy on your joints. It’s great for your butt, thighs and calves and, if you include some hills, you’ll also get an upper body workout, and it’s fun.” Before you hit the road, there are a few things you’ll need. Number one – a bike. Today’s shiny machines come in a range of prices. However, you’d be hard-pressed to find a quality, brand new bike for under $500 and many cost more than $2000.

On Your Bike

If you’re new to the sport, your best bet is a bike in the lower price range. There’s no point going the whole hog at this stage. That said, don’t skimp on quality. Do that and you risk injuring yourself or having to replace the bike at a later stage, both of which will cost more in the long run. So, what’s the difference between a $500 bike and the $2000 version? According to Suzanne Schlosberg and Liz Neporent, authors of Fitness For Dummies (Wiley Books), generally the more expensive the bike, the stronger and lighter its frame. “A heavy bike can slow you down, but unless you plan to enter the Tour de France, don’t get hung up on a matter of grams,” they say. “As you climb the price ladder, you find materials such as aluminium, carbon fibre and titanium. The price of the bike also depends on the quality of the components.”

Before you buy your bike, have a chat to staff members at reputable cycle stores. Explain what you want to use your bike for (long distance rides, commuting to work) and they will be able to tell you which bike you’re best suited to. If you buy from them they will also ensure your bike is adjusted to fit you. This will make a massive difference in terms of enjoyment and comfort. “There are now more sizes than ever,” says Kamahl, “and you need to have the right size for you. A bike specialist will help you select the right size and also the right style. You might want a racing bike, but if you’re just riding for fitness, perhaps you’d be better suited to a bike that’s built for comfort.” Before you hit the road you’ll also need a helmet. If you plan to ride for lengthy periods of time, consider gloves to protect your hands and padded cycling shorts to protect your butt. A water bottle that can be clipped to your bike’s frame will come in handy, as will a spare tyre kit – just make sure you learn how to use it.

Once you’ve got all the necessary gear you’re ready to get out there. But to get the most from your workout there are still one or two things you need to think about. If you want maximum benefit from your cycle, pedal at an easy cadence (the number of revolutions you peddle). An easy cadence means you should be able to spin the pedals without too much trouble. If you use too much tension you’ll be forced to turn the pedals in slow motion. Do this and you risk knee damage (not to mention aching thighs) and you’re likely to tire prematurely and miss out on a good workout. “The more revolutions the better,” says Kamahl. “This will increase your aerobic fitness and it will ensure you don’t get big thighs. On today’s bikes, the gears are numbered. All you have to remember is that the lower the numbers, the easier it is.”

One of the greatest things about cycling is that even beginners can (and will) quickly build up to 25 kilometre rides. Do this a few times a week (three is optimal) and your fitness levels will soar. Not only that, but your fat levels will drop dramatically and long, lean muscles will begin to appear. Remember to begin with a distance you’re comfortable with. Not sure what level you’re at? Try the talk test. While cycling you should be able to talk at all times. If you can’t spit out a couple of words, you’re pushing yourself too hard. If you can belt out the latest Delta Goodrem hit you need to crank up the pace. Each week increase your distance by no more than 10 per cent. This will help you avoid injuries and also physical (and mental) burnout. Once your fitness increases you can add interval training to your workout program. This means pushing hard and then easing up to allow recovery. Try cycling hard for four minutes and then taking it easy for two. Repeat five times for a 30 minute workout. Do this at least once a week and you’ll see dramatic changes in fitness, strength and body shape.

basic program A long-distance ride (begin with 45 minutes) three times a week. Once your fitness has increased, add one 30 minute interval training session.

If you’d like all the benefit of cycling, but are not the outdoor type, consider spinning. This group class taught on stationary bikes is available at most major gyms, and involves pedalling a stationary bike while an instructor talks you through a workout. During the class you vary pace and intensity. Most classes run for 45 minutes to an hour. That may not sound like long, but be warned – they can be exhausting. Having said that, it is also great fun and it burns fat like nothing else. It also strengthens the butt, thigh and calf muscles and builds great abs.

basic program Try a class first. If you like it, build up to two or three classes a week.

Forget the fat burn zone

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“Fat burn is greater when exercise intensity is high.” Izumi Tabata

I believe in high-intensity aerobics. In Ripped 3, for bodybuilders, I recommended “a variety of relatively short and infrequent aerobic sessions interspersed with explosive muscular effort.” In Lean For Life, published six years later, I emphasized high-intensity aerobics even more; I reduced the frequency of aerobic sessions to two times a week (in Ripped 3 I recommended up to four) and substantially increased the intensity. But it wasn’t until recently, when my friend Richard Winett, Ph.D., publisher of Master Trainer, called my attention to new research findings, that I came to fully appreciate the superiority of high intensity aerobics compared to the usual prescription that heart rate be maintained between 60% and 80% of maximum.

As explained in the nearby FAQ (Low intensity aerobics?), high intensity aerobics burns the same amount of fat as low intensity, but the expenditure of calories is substantially greater; plus, intense aerobics produces a higher level of fitness. Importantly, the more fit you become, the more likely you are to use fat as fuel for any given activity. And now, research in Japan and in Canada shows that short, very intense aerobic sessions are amazingly effective for both fitness and fat loss.

Maximal oxygen uptake, or V02max, is generally regarded as the best single measure of aerobic fitness. As the rate of exercise increases, your body eventually reaches a limit for oxygen consumption. This limit is the peak of your aerobic capacity, or your V02max. As intensity increases beyond V02max, your body must shift to anaerobic (without oxygen) energy production. An oxygen debt begins to build at this point and blood lactate levels climb. In general terms, one’s ability to continue exercising in the face of rising oxygen deficit and lactate levels is called anaerobic capacity.

This is important because many high-intensity sports (including basketball, football, soccer and speed skating) require a high level of both aerobic and anaerobic fitness. Clearly, total fitness involves both high V02max and high anaerobic capacity. A training protocol that develops both would be a godsend.

Izumi Tabata and his colleagues at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan, compared the effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on V02max and anaerobic capacity. (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (1996) 28, 1327-1330). Interestingly, the high-intensity protocol had been used by major members of the Japanese Speed Skating team for several years; it’s a real-world training plan. As you will see, however, the protocol is unique among aerobic training programs for its intensity and brevity.

Many studies have been done on the effect of training on V02max, but little information has been available about the effect on anaerobic capacity. That’s because until recently methods for measuring anaerobic capacity have been inadequate. This study used accumulated oxygen deficit to measure anaerobic energy release, and is one of the first to measure the effect of training on both aerobic and anaerobic capacity.

Notice that the duration of the moderate-intensity and the high-intensity protocols are drastically different: (excluding warm-ups) one hour compared to only about 4 minutes per training schedule

Tabata’s moderate-intensity protocol will sound familiar; it’s the same steady-state aerobic training done by many (perhaps most) fitness enthusiasts.

Here are the details (stay with me on this): In the moderate-intensity group, seven active young male physical education majors exercised on stationary bicycles 5 days per week for 6 weeks at 70% of V02max, 60 minutes each session. V02max was measured before and after the training and every week during the 6 week period. As each subject’s V02max improved, exercise intensity was increased to keep them pedaling at 70% of their actual V02max. Maximal accumulated oxygen deficit was also measured, before, at 4 weeks and after the training.

A second group followed a high-intensity interval program. Seven students, also young and physically active, exercised five days per week using a training program similar to the Japanese speed skaters. After a 10-minute warm-up, the subjects did seven to eight sets of 20 seconds at 170% of V02max, with a 10 second rest between each bout. Pedaling speed was 90-rpm and sets were terminated when rpms dropped below 85. When subjects could complete more than 9 sets, exercise intensity was increased by 11 watts. The training protocol was altered one day per week. On that day, the students exercised for 30 minutes at 70% of V02max before doing 4 sets of 20 second intervals at 170% of V02max. This latter session was not continued to exhaustion. Again, V02max and anaerobic capacity was determined before, during and after the training.

In some respects the results were no surprise, but in others they may be ground breaking. The moderate-intensity endurance training program produced a significant increase in V02max (about 10%), but had no effect on anaerobic capacity. The high-intensity intermittent protocol improved V02max by about 14%; anaerobic capacity increased by a whopping 28%.

Dr. Tabata and his colleagues believe this is the first study to demonstrate an increase in both aerobic and anaerobic power. What’s more, in an e-mail response to Dick Winett, Dr. Tabata said, “The fact is that the rate of increase in V02max [14% for the high-intensity protocol – in only 6 weeks] is one of the highest ever reported in exercise science.” (Note, the students participating in this study were members of varsity table tennis, baseball, basketball, soccer and swimming teams and already had relatively high aerobic capacities.)

The results, of course, confirm the well-known fact that the results of training are specific. The intensity in the first protocol (70% of V02max) did not stress anaerobic components (lactate production and oxygen debt) and, therefore, it was predictable that anaerobic capacity would be unchanged. On the other hand, the subjects in the high-intensity group exercised to exhaustion ,and peak blood lactate levels indicated that anaerobic metabolism was being taxed to the max. So, it was probably also no big surprise that anaerobic capacity increased quite significantly.

What probably was a surprise, however, is that a 4 minute training program of very-hard 20 second repeats, in the words of the researchers, “may be optimal with respect to improving both the aerobic and the anaerobic energy release systems.” That’s something to write home about!

What About Fat Loss?

Angelo Tremblay, Ph.D., and his colleagues at the Physical Activities Sciences Laboratory, Laval University, Quebec, Canada, challenged the common belief among health professionals that low-intensity, long-duration exercise is the best program for fat loss. They compared the impact of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and high-intensity aerobics on fat loss. (Metabolism (1994) Volume 43, pp.814-818)

The Canadian scientists divided 27 inactive, healthy, non-obese adults (13 men, 14 women, 18 to 32 years old) into two groups. They subjected one group to a 20-week endurance training (ET) program of uninterrupted cycling 4 or 5 times a week for 30 to 45 minutes; the intensity level began at 60% of heart rate reserve and progressed to 85%. (For a 30-year-old, this would mean starting at a heart rate of about 136 and progressing to roughly 170 bpm, which is more intense than usually prescribed for weight or fat loss.)

The other group did a 15-week program including mainly high-intensity-interval training (HIIT). Much like the ET group, they began with 30-minute sessions of continuous exercise at 70% of maximum heart rate reserve (remember, they were not accustomed to exercise), but soon progressed to 10 to 15 bouts of short (15 seconds progressing to 30 seconds) or 4 to 5 long (60 seconds progressing to 90 seconds) intervals separated by recovery periods allowing heart rate to return to 120-130 beats per minute. The intensity of the short intervals was initially fixed at 60% of the maximal work output in 10 seconds, and that of the long bouts corresponded to 70% of the individual maximum work output in 90 seconds. Intensity on both was increased 5% every three weeks.

As you might expect, the total energy cost of the ET program was substantially greater than the HIIT program. The researchers calculated that the ET group burned more than twice as many calories while exercising than the HIIT program. But (surprise, surprise) skinfold measurements showed that the HIIT group lost more subcutaneous fat. “Moreover,” reported the researchers, “when the difference in the total energy cost of the program was taken into account…, the subcutaneous fat loss was ninefold greater in the HIIT program than in the ET program.” In short, the HIIT group got 9 times more fat-loss benefit for every calorie burned exercising.

How can that be?

Cardiovascular Exercise Principles and Guidelines: Part two

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For maximum effectiveness and safety, cardiovascular exercise has specific instructions on the frequency, duration, and intensity. These are the three important components of cardiovascular exercise that you really need to understand and implement in your program. In addition, your cardiovascular program should include a warm-up, a cool-down, and stretching of the primary muscles used in the exercise. The last article, part one of this two part series, explained the proper methods of warming-up, stretching, and cooling-down and discussed the frequency and duration of a sound cardiovascular routine.

You learned that cardiovascular exercise should be done a minimum of three times a week, a minimum of 20 minutes per session and should be done after a 5-10 minute warm-up (at a low intensity of 50-60% of max HR) and a 5-10 minute cool-down (at a low intensity of 50-60% of max HR) should follow. Once your muscles are warm (after warm up) and after the cardiovascular exercise, you should stretch those muscles used in the exercise.

This article, part two, discusses how to monitor exercise intensity and heart zone training.

There are several ways to monitor the exercise intensity. The best way to test the intensity is to take your heart rate during the exercise, within the first 5 minutes of your cardiovascular exercise session and again just before the cool-down.

There are two ways in which you can check your heart rate during exercise. The most accurate one is to purchase a heart-rate monitor that you strap around your chest. It will give you feedback on a digital watch that tells you exactly what your heart rate is at a specific time in the exercise session. The other way to obtain your heart rate is by palpating (feeling) either the carotid artery, the temporal artery, or the radial artery. The easiest site is either the cartoid or the radial artery. The cartoid artery may be felt by gently placing your index finger on your neck, between the middle of your collar bone and jaw line. Palpating the radial artery is done by placing your index and middle finger on the underside and thumb-side of your wrist.

When you’re taking your heart rate you measure it in beats per minute (counting the number of beats for 60 seconds). For convenience, many people take their pulse for 6 seconds and multiply that number by 10, or simply add a 0 behind the number just obtained. So, if in 6 seconds you counted 12 beats, that would mean your heart rate was 120 beats per minute (bpm). Although counting for 6 seconds is most convenient, keep in mind that the longer the time interval used, the more accurate the results will be. For example, counting your heart rate for 30 seconds and then multiplying that number by 2 will give a slightly more accurate reading than counting your heart rate for 15 seconds and multiplying by 4, or 10 seconds and multiplying by 6. What ever time interval you use, be consistent.

Heart Zone Training

How do you know if you are training too intensely or not intensely enough for what you want to achieve? This is where Heart Zone Training comes in. Refer to the chart below. The top of the chart reads “Maximum Heart Rate,” which is 100% of your heart rate (the fastest your heart will beat). This is different for everyone. To use Heart Zone Training you must first determine your maximum heart rate (max HR).

You can determine your max HR one of two ways. One way is to use the age predicted max HR formula, whereby you subtract your age from 220. So, if you are 40 years old, your predicted max HR would be 180 bpm. The other method, which is much more accurate and more individualized, is actually having a medical or fitness professional administer a max HR test for you, which is usually done on a stationery bicycle or treadmill for several minutes and requires very hard work. Thus, only those cleared by a physician should do this test. We do not explain how to administer this test because only trained professionals should do so. Please refer to the Global Health and Fitness Personal Training Directory for professionals in your area (may or may not be trained in administering a max HR test).

Once you have determined your max HR, you will need to decide what zone you want to train at. There are five different training zones separated by 10% increments, each having different characteristics and benefits.

Healthy Heart Zone

The first zone is called the Healthy Heart Zone. This is 50-60% of your max HR. This is the easiest and most comfortable zone within which to train and is the one that is best for people who are just starting an exercise program or have low functional capacity. Those of you who are walkers most likely train at this zone. Although this zone has been criticized for not burning enough total calories, and for not being intense enough to get great cardiorespiratory benefits, it has been shown to help decrease body fat, blood pressure and cholesterol. It also decreases the risk of degenerative diseases and has a low risk of injury. In this zone, 10% of carbohydrates are “burned” (used as energy), 5% of protein is burned and a whopping 85% of fat is burned.

Fitness Zone

The next zone is the Fitness Zone, which is 60-70% of your max HR. Once again, 85% of your calories burned in this zone are fats, 5% are proteins and 10% are carbohydrates. Studies have shown that in this zone you can condition your fat mobilization (getting fat out of your cells) while conditioning your fat transportation (getting fat to muscles). Thus, in this zone, you are training your fat cells to increase the rate of fat release and training your muscles to burn fat. Therefore, the benefits of this zone are not only the same as the healthy heart zone training at 50-60% but you are now slightly increasing the total number of calories burned and provide a little more cardiorespiratory benefits. You burn more total calories at this zone simply because it is more intense.

Aerobic Zone

The third zone, the Aerobic Zone, requires that you train at 70-80% of your max HR. This is the preferred zone if you are training for an endurance event. In this zone, your functional capacity will greatly improve and you can expect to increase the number and size of blood vessels, increase vital capacity and respiratory rate and achieve increases in pulmonary ventilation, as well as increases in arterial venous oxygen. Moreover, stroke volume (amount of blood pumped per heart beat) will increase, and your resting heart rate will decrease. What does all this mean? It means that your cardiovascular and respiratory system will improve and you will increase the size and strength of your heart. In this zone, 50% of calories burned are from carbohydrates, 50% are from fat and less than 1% is from protein. And, because there is an increase in intensity, there is also an increase in the total number of calories burned.

Anaerobic Zone

The next training zone is called the Threshold or Anaerobic zone, which is 80-90% of your max HR. Benefits include an improved VO2 maximum (the highest amount of oxygen one can consume during exercise) and thus an improved cardiorespiratory system, and a higher lactate tolerance ability which means your endurance will improve and you’ll be able to fight fatigue better. Since the intensity is high, more calories will be burned than within the other three zones. Although more calories are burned in this zone, 85% of the calories burned are from carbohydrates, 15% from fat and less than 1% are from protein.

Red-line Zone

The last training zone is called the Redline Zone, which is 90-100% of your max HR. Remember, training at 100% is your maximum heart rate (maximum HR), your heart rate will not get any higher. This zone burns the highest total number of calories and the lowest percentage of fat calories. Ninety percent of the calories burned here are carbohydrates, only 10% are fats and again less than one percent is protein. This zone is so intense that very few people can actually stay in this zone for the minimum 20 minutes, or even five minutes (you should only train in this zone if you are in very good shape and have been cleared by a physician to do so). Usually, people use this zone for interval training. For example, one might do three minutes in the Aerobic Zone and then one minute in this Redline Zone and then back to the Aerobic Zone (this is called interval training and will be discussed further in a future article).

I hope you have found the information in this article helpful. You now have the knowledge to achieve the results you desire and the benefits your body deserves.

Your greatest challenge, however, is not learning new cardiovascular exercises or the proper technique; it’s not learning the heart rate zone to train at for your goals and interests or how to monitor the intensity. Nor is it deciding when to try new cardiovascular exercises. The greatest challenge facing you at this moment is deciding whether you are willing to take action and make time for yourself and make cardiovascular exercise a priority.

When you begin achieving great results, the excitement and fun you experience will make the change well worth the effort. Action creates motivation! Good luck: I hope you enjoy all the wonderful benefits of an effective cardiovascular exercise program.

Cardiovascular Exercise Principles and Guidelines: Part One

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For maximum effectiveness and safety, cardiovascular exercise has specific instructions on the frequency, duration, and intensity. These are the three important components of cardiovascular exercise that you really need to understand and implement in your program. In addition, your cardiovascular program should include a warm-up, a cool-down, and stretching of the primary muscles used in the exercise. This article is part one of a two part series discussing the very important principles and guidelines of a safe and effective cardiovascular exercise program. Part one will explain the proper methods of warming-up, stretching, and cooling-down and discuss the frequency and duration of a sound cardiovascular routine. Part two will discuss how to monitor exercise intensity and heart zone training.

Warming Up and Stretching
One very common mistake is stretching before muscles are warmed-up. It is important to stretch after your muscles are warm (after blood has circulated through them). Never stretch a cold muscle. First warm up. A warm-up should be done for at least 5-10 minutes at a low intensity. Usually, the warm-up is done by doing the same activity as the cardiovascular workout but at an intensity of 50-60% of maximum heart rate (max HR). After you’ve warmed-up for 5-10 minutes at a relatively low intensity, your muscles should be warm. To prevent injury and to improve your performance, you should stretch the primary muscles used in the warm up before proceeding to the cardiovascular exercise.

Cooling Down

The cool down is similar to the warm-up in that it should last 5-10 minutes and be done at a low intensity (50-60% of max HR). After you have completed your cardiovascular exercise and cooled-down properly, it is now important that you stretch the primary muscles being used. Warming-up, stretching, and cooling-down are very important to every exercise session. They not only help your performance levels and produce better results, they also drastically decrease your risk of injury.

Frequency of Exercise
The first component of cardiovascular exercise is frequency of the exercise, which refers to the number of exercise sessions per week. To improve both cardiovascular fitness and to decrease body fat or maintain body fat at optimum levels, you should exercise (cardiovascularly) at least three days a week. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends three to five days a week for most cardiovascular programs. Those of you who are very out of shape and/or who are overweight and doing weight-bearing cardiovascular exercise such as an aerobics class or jogging, might want to have at least 36 to 48 hours of rest between workouts to prevent an injury and to promote adequate bone and joint stress recovery.

Duration of Exercise
The second component of cardiovascular exercise is the duration, which refers to the time you’ve spent exercising. The cardiovascular session, not including the warm-up and cool-down, should vary from 20-60 minutes to gain significant cardiorespiratory and fat burning-benefits. Each time you do your cardiovascular exercise, try to do at least 20 minutes or more. Of course, the longer you go, the more calories and fat you’ll “burn” and the better you’ll condition your cardiovascular system. All beginners, especially those who are out of shape, should take a very conservative approach and train at relatively low intensities (50-70% max HR) for 10-25 minutes. As you get in better shape, you can gradually increase the duration of time you exercise.

It is important that you gradually increase the duration before you increase the intensity. That is, when beginning a walking program for example, be more concerned with increasing the number of minutes of the exercise session before you increase the intensity, by increasing your speed or by walking hilly terrain.

Please check back for Part Two, where I’ll discuss how to monitor your training intensity and how to use heart zone training to achieve the specific results you desire. Until then, remember that cardiovascular exercise should be done a minimum of three times a week and a minimum of 20 minutes per session. Once your muscles are warm (after warm up) and after the cardiovascular exercise, you should stretch those muscles used in the exercise. For example, after bicycling, stretch your quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, hips, and low back. After doing the rowing machine, stretch your legs, back, biceps, and shoulders. Good luck and enjoy all the wonderful benefits of cardiovascular exercise.

Cardiovascular Exercise Safety Precautions

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Cardiovascular exercise has received a lot of attention over the last 15 years as the centerpiece of physical fitness, weight management, and cardiorespiratory (heart and lung) health. The terms cardiovascular exercise, cardiorespiratory fitness and aerobic exercise are all synonymous. This kind of exercise requires large muscle movement over a sustained period of time, elevating your heart rate to at least 50% of maximum level. Examples include walking, jogging, biking, swimming, and any other repetitious activity that can be performed over an extended period of time.

Cardiovascular exercise has numerous benefits. They include a decreased blood pressure, increased HDL (good) cholesterol (high-density lipoproteins responsible for removing LDL (bad) cholesterol from the cells in the arteries and transporting it back to the liver for removal from the body), decreased LDL cholesterol, decreased body fat, decreased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (this increases capillary density and blood flow to active muscles), increased heart and lung function and efficiency, and decreased anxiety, tension, and depression.

All of these benefits combine to help lower your risk of cardiovascular disease by reducing risk factors like obesity, hypertension, and high blood cholesterol. In addition, cardiovascular exercise serves as a foundation for the activities of daily living, sports, and other outdoor activities. Activities such as tennis, golf, skiing, dancing, basketball, volleyball, boxing, hiking, and strength training programs all benefit from cardiovascular exercise. Your enjoyment of day-to-day and physical activities will also greatly benefit because you will have more stamina, less fatigue and less risk of injury. However, there are several precautions you should take to help maximize exercise safety.

Post-meal Exercise
Cardiovascular exercise soon after a full meal can compromise oxygen and nutrient delivery to the working muscles, and cause gastric discomfort. Thus, you should wait at least 60-90 minutes after a full meal before engaging in cardiovascular exercise. The level of exercise and the amount and type of food consumed affect the time required for digestion to be completed before beginning exercise. The higher the exercise intensity and/or the greater the amount food consumed, the longer the time should be between eating and exercising.

Exercising in Hot Weather
Another factor that increases the risk of injury and complications is exercising in hot weather. The following are guidelines to prevent heat stress:

1. Allow 1-2 weeks for acclimatization to a hot environment

2. Avoid training in the hottest part of the day, usually between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., during the summer.

3. Drink water before, during and after exercise. During prolonged cardiovascular exercise, drink 4-6 ounces of fluids (preferably water) every twenty minutes.

4. Wear loose-fitting clothes that allow for evaporation of sweat.

5. Decrease training intensity by monitoring heart rate in hot environments.

6. Take a 10-15 minute rest for every 45-60 minutes of physical activity.

7. Give special consideration to, and use caution if you are a heat-sensitive person (obese, unfit, history of heat stroke, etc.).

Pollutants
Pollutants can also have adverse effects on the body. This is of concern if you exercise outdoors in or near big cities. Some common ones include ozone, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide. The most problematic of these pollutants is ozone, or smog, which is caused by the combination of ultraviolet light and emissions from internal combustion engines. Ozone exposure may impair lung function during cardiovascular exercise. Carbon monoxide is another common air pollutant that can reduce exercise safety and effectiveness. This is caused by exposure to crowded freeways or smoke filled rooms. Sulfur dioxide is not a major irritant for most people, but those with asthma or bronchospasms tend to be adversely affected by it.

Cardiovascular exercise provides many important benefits that cannot be achieved by any other exercise or activity. Cardiovascular exercise is also very convenient; you can do it in the outdoors or inside while watching television or reading a book. However, when enjoying this great form of physical activity, be sure to adhere to these precautions so that your program is not only effective, but safe as well. Good luck: I hope you enjoy all the wonderful benefits of a safe and effective cardiovascular exercise program.

By Chad Tackett