During cardiovascular exercise, your heart beat increases to deliver oxygen-rich blood to your muscles. As a result, your heart grows stronger and pumps more efficiently, reducing your risk of heart-related ailments. Exercise offers other benefits such as weight loss or control. For these benefits to occur, you need to exercise at a specific intensity for 20 to 30 minutes three to five days a week.
Target Heart Rate
Heart rate provides a great measure of whether you are exercising hard enough to reap the benefits of exercise. Exercisers who aren't pregnant and do not suffer from heart issues can calculate their target heart rate range by subtracting their age from 220 to determine their maximum heart rate. Exercising between 65 and 85 percent of your maximum heart rate ensures you are working hard enough to build heart strength and burn fat, and are within an intensity level you can sustain for a period of time. A 40-year-old's target heart rate would be 117 to 153 beats per minute (220 - 40 = 180, 180 X 0.65 = 117, 180 X 0.85 = 153). Pregnant women should exercise at a moderate rate that allows the ability to talk. People with heart issues should not let their heart rates rise above 30 beats per minute more than their resting heart rate.
Sustained Aerobic Activity
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that exercisers perform 30 minutes of moderate cardiovascular activity five days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous activity three days a week. Moderate activity is exercises that increases the heart rate up to 65 percent of your maximum heart rate, whereas vigorous activity increases the heart rate to 85 percent. While it is possible to exercise at a higher heart rate than 85 percent, it cannot be sustained for 20 to 30 minutes.
Interval Training
Recent studies have shown that interval training is effective in burning calories in less time than regular sustained aerobic activity. During interval training, you alternate your exercise between high and low intensities. During the low phase of the interval workout, you exercise at a target heart rate of 65 percent or lower. During the high phase, you exercise as close to maximum, 90 to 95 percent of your maximum heart rate. Intervals can range from 30 seconds to one minute in length depending on the exercise and how fit you are. For example, running intervals would involve jogging for 30 seconds or a minute, sprinting for the next 30 seconds or minute, and continuing the pattern for 20 minutes.
Measuring Heart Rate
Keeping track of your heart rate will help you meet your exercise goals. Most cardiovascular gym equipment such as treadmills and elliptical trainers have sensors that measure heart rate. Or you can buy a heart rate monitor that you wear. This option allows you to exercise outdoors or on equipment that doesn't measure heart rate. You can calculate your heart rate by taking your pulse on your wrist or carotid artery for 10 seconds and multiplying the result by 6. For example, if you count 23 beats in 10 seconds, your heart rate is 138 (e.g. 23 x 6 = 138). A final option for measuring the intensity of your workout is through perceived exertion on a one-to-10 scale, with one being no exertion and 10 being maximum exertion. For sustained activity, you should have a perceived exertion of 5 or 6 . During interval training, your perceived exertion should alternate between 2 and 9.
References
- American Heart Association: Target Heart Rate
- American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: Exercise During Pregnancy
- University of Wisonsin School of Medicine and Public Health: Exercise and Activity
- American College of Sports Medicine: Guidelines for Healthy Adults Under Age 65
- MayoClinic.com: Interval Training -- Can It Boost Your Calorie Burning Power
- Cleveland Clinic: Rate Perceived Exertion Scale
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