Five simple components to designing your personal cardio fitness program …

I recently wrote a couple posts on designing your personal strength training program (you can find those here and here). Designing a personal cardiovascular exercise program is easier and less complex.

In fact, there are only five simple components you’ll want to flesh out in putting together a cardio workout regimen, but before we get to those …

First, a few notes …

When it comes to a complete and effective personal exercise program, it’s not an “either/or” between strength training and cardio training, it’s an essential “both/and” (in fact, there are four key types of exercises for a well-rounded exercise program, something I wrote about previously here). You’ll want as part of your personal exercise program a complete strength training program AND a complete cardio training program.

What is cardiovascular exercise (generally referred to as either cardio or aerobic exercise)? Amy Kroger, adjunct professor in anatomy and physiology, explains: “Cardio refers to any activity that increases heart rate and respiration while using large muscle groups repetitively and rhythmically. The root word ‘card,’ or ‘heart,’ provides a clue as to why this type of exercise is so important — by providing training that progressively challenges your most vital internal life support network, cardio can improve both the function and the performance of your heart, lungs, and circulatory system.”

The benefits of cardio exercise are numerous, significant, and include:

• • Improves cardiovascular conditioning and endurance.
  • Decreases risk of heart disease.
  • Lowers blood pressure.
  • Increases HDL or “good” cholesterol.
  • Helps to better control blood sugar.
  • Assists in weight management and/or weight loss.
  • Improves lung function.
  • Decreases resting heart rate.

Broadly, cardio exercise is classified into there different categories — high-intensity, low-intensity, and no-intensity. Let’s look at those in light of the seven most common cardio training types:

1. Low Intensity, Long Duration. This involves intensities of around 40 to 60 percent of Maximum Heart Rate (MHR). It is basically something slow, easy, continuous and long (over 40 minutes). This can be walking, cycling, jogging, etc. You should be able to converse comfortably while doing it (called the “talk test”). This type of training is good for people just getting started with cardio exercise. It is reasonably good for fat loss, especially in very obese people. It is also the least demanding form of cardio training.

2. Medium Intensity, Medium Duration. This involves cardio exercise done at around 70 percent of MHR. It is harder, therefore it cannot be done as long, usually between 20 to 40 minutes. This type of training can be used for fat loss and for increasing cardio capacity. It is characterized by the beginning of heavy breathing but not so much that you are soon out of breath and must stop.

3. High Intensity, Short Duration. This version of aerobic work is done at around 80 to 85 percent of MHR. That point, at 85 percent of your MHR, is generally considered to be the Anaerobic Threshold, though this can vary depending on genetics and fitness level. This is a demanding form of training that is done for between five to 20 minutes generally, depending on fitness level and intensity.

4. Aerobic Interval Training. The first way of doing aerobic interval training involves doing a period of moderate to high intensity cardio exercise, alternating with a period of rest of low intensity work, e.g. three minutes of fast running then one minute of slow walking, repeated four times. You can vary the intervals and intensities to your liking, e.g. 10 minutes of moderate exercise, two minutes easy, one minute hard, or perhaps five minutes hard, five minutes easy. The key is variation during the exercise while not working so hard that you must stop completely.

5. Anaerobic Interval Training. This training involves exercising hard for short periods of time, then resting for equal or longer periods of time. It is done at intensities of 85 to 100 percent of your MHR. Here is an example of how it works: Sprint as hard as you can for 30 seconds, walk for 30 seconds, sprint 30 seconds, walk 30 seconds, etc. Repeat three to six times depending on fitness level.

6. Fartlek Training. Translated from Swedish, this means speed play. In this training type you mix all of the above types of training into one session. You might run for 10 minutes, sprint for 30 seconds, walk for two minutes, run fast for two minutes, jog slowly for five minutes, then sprint again. It is a good way to work through the entire intensity spectrum as well as to prevent boredom.

7. Circuit Training. Circuit training is a type of aerobic weight training. Circuit training is a combination of six or more exercises performed with short rest periods between them for either a set number of repetitions or a prescribed amount of time. One circuit is when all of the chosen exercises have been completed. Multiple circuits can be performed in one training session.

Circuit training will usually involve 6-12 exercises and should be structured in a way that enables you to keep performing the exercises with good technique and very short rest intervals. Here is an example of how it works:

• • Set up a number of stations with a variety of exercises that work the entire body, e.g. bench, curls, pulldowns, leg curls, etc.
  • Use a weight that you can lift without going to failure for a preset period of time.
  • Do each exercise continuously for a specified time interval, e.g. one minute at each station and go through the cycle one to three times.
  • You can mix in treadmill, skipping, cycling, etc. to add variety.

Circuit training can be a good way to do cardio training and strength training at the same time. It also has the advantage of working the entire body instead of just the legs as most forms of cardio training do.

The Golden Rule to all program design …

Now, before designing a personal cardio training program — or any kind of exercise program — first know what your goal or goals are.

Is it primarily to lose weight?

Or build your overall fitness and health?

Improve your cardiovascular endurance?

Maintain your current cardio fitness level?

Or a mix of motivations?

What your purpose or goal for cardio exercise is will drive the content of your personal cardio exercise program.

With all of these “initial notes,” there really are only five simple components to actually designing your cardio program …

Five components of a cardio training program …

1. Frequency. How often you will engage in the cardio exercise each week. Lower-intensity cardio workouts can be performed more frequently, while higher-intensity cardio may require fewer sessions during the week, with more rest between them, to avoid the risk of overtraining.

According to National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Essentials of Personal Fitness Training (Jones & Bartlett Learning 2018), for general health, cardio should occur daily for short amounts of time, and for fitness gains, it should happen three to five days per week at higher intensities. Beginners should start slowly by performing one to three days of cardio a week. See how quickly you recover, then slowly add more days as fitness levels improve.

2. Intensity. How hard you work out (high intensity, low intensity, no intensity).

3. Time. How long you will spend doing cardio exercise. For substantial health benefits, the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults perform at least 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75–150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic (cardio) physical activity, or some combination of the two, each week.

4. Type. Type describes the mode of exercise or specific equipment used to perform cardio. Cardio can be inclusive of any activity as long as the client’s exertion level is within the proper zone of training.

If you have a specific cardio goal (such as running a marathon), this may guide your choice of modality. However, if the goal is simply to improve cardiovascular fitness, you can employ a variety of modalities to keep things fresh.

5. Enjoyment. This refers to how much you enjoy a specific activity or exercise. If you enjoy an activity, you’ll be more likely to continue doing it. But challenging yourself with other activities and/or exercises can help you make gains toward your desired fitness goals and mix up your routines to keep your program fresh and effective.

So, based on your personal goal or goals for launching a personal cardio training program, fill in the following:

• • Frequency.
  • Intensity.
  • Time.
  • Type.
  • Enjoyment.

Chances are, the more disciplined you are in executing your program, the more you’ll learn to enjoy it and will want to make cardio exercise part of your permanent lifestyle.

Scotty