When you regularly participate in an aerobics exercise program, there are both internal and external benefits. Ohio's Wright State University, College of Education and Human Services identifies improvements in cardiac output and lung capacity, increased metabolic efficiency and blood oxygenation as some internal benefits of regular aerobic exercise can provide. Performing a few simple calculations as you perform aerobic exercise can provide the information you and your doctor need to evaluate these unseen benefits.
Pulse
Your pulse is a basic calculation that determines your current heart rate. At rest, a normal adult heart rate is about 60 to 100 beats per minute. As you exercise, your heart rate increases according to how hard the heart must pump to supply blood to your body and muscles. The stronger your heart, the less hard it has to work. The Cleveland Clinic Health Information Center identifies a four-step process to calculate your pulse on your wrist. Turn one hand palm-side up and lightly press the tips of the index, second and third fingers of the other hand just below the base of the thumb. Adjust your finger position, if necessary, until you feel the pumping motion of your pulse. Count the number of beats you feel for 10 seconds and then multiply this number by six.
Target Heart Rate
Calculating your target heart rate can help you stay within the general recommendation of 60 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate for aerobic exercise. This is also a way to gauge the benefits aerobic exercise provides your heart. The more fit your heart becomes, the longer you can exercise before reaching maximum limits. To calculate your target heart rate, subtract your age from the number 220, then multiply your result by .60 and .80. For example, if you are 28, subtract 28 from 220, and then multiply 192 by .60 and .80. Your target heart range is 115 to 154 beats per minute.
Putting It Together
To make sure you stay within your target heart range while exercising, stop and check your pulse at regular intervals. After checking your pulse, the CCHS recommends increasing exercise intensity if your pulse is below your target limits and decreasing exercise intensity if your pulse is close to upper limits. Stop exercising if your pulse goes beyond your target heart rate.
Cardiac Output
Cardiac output is a measure of how efficiently your heart is pumping blood. Although this is not a calculation you typically perform at home, your doctor will use it as part of a treadmill, or stress, test. He may order this test if you are new to exercise and or if he suspects you have heart disease. To calculate cardiac output, your doctor multiplies your resting heart rate, or resting pulse, by stroke volume. Stroke volume, according to SportsFitnessAdvisor.com, is the amount of blood, or milliliters per beat, that your left ventricle ejects with each beat of your heart.Cardiac output rises according to the increase in your heart rate and stroke volume until you reach about 40 to 60 percent of your maximum heart rate if your heart is healthy. Then your stroke rate will either level off or increase at a much slower rate.
References
- Wright State University College of Education and Human Services: Aerobics -- Purpose of Aerobic Activity
- Cleveland Clinic Health Information Center: Your Pulse and Your Target Heart Rate
- Sports-Fitness-Advisor: The Cardiovascular System and Exercise
- Montana State University Bozeman: Physiology and Psychology -- Performance Benchmarks: Introduction to Cardiac Output
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