The focus of this lesson is for you to understand a term that is known as cardiovascular training.
In this lesson, you will learn
- what is cardiovascular training
- what is considered cardiovascular training
- why it is essential to your health to do cardiovascular training
- why it is crucial to your weight loss journey to do cardiovascular training
- your aerobic/anaerobic thresholds and your aerobic training zone
What is cardiovascular training?
Cardiovascular training is purposely exercising at a level of intensity that will keep your heart rate between 50-85% of your maximum heart rate anywhere from 20-60 minutes. The main focus of cardiovascular training is to
- increase the strength of your heart
- improve the way blood flows throughout your body
- enhance how your blood interacts with your cells.
The range of 50-85% of your maximum heart rate is known as your aerobic training zone.
Cardiovascular training is done by keeping your heartbeat within your specific aerobic training zone while doing things such as walking, running, biking, or weight lifting inside or outside of the gym. The term aerobic exercises come from the focus of keeping your heartbeat within this range. Therefore, another popular term for aerobic exercises is cardio exercises. When you hear people say something about doing cardio exercises, they will be referring to doing exercises that will keep your heart rate within this target training zone.
The term aerobic exercise itself means that a person is fueling their exercises with oxygen. I know this does not sound very clear because your body always needs oxygen in every circumstance while working out. However, this term focuses on how the body receives energy to fuel your muscles to keep going. The oxygen in your blood will use your body’s stored fat and glucose to produce the necessary energy to create more fuel.
Doing exercises above two minutes will activate this system. Doing exercises below the two-minute mark does not use the oxygen in the blood to fuel the energy. Instead, anything below the two-minute mark uses the creatine in your muscles and the carbohydrates you eat to give you the energy necessary to fuel your workouts.
What is considered cardiovascular training?
As mentioned above, aerobic training focuses on activating a person’s cardiovascular system to use the oxygen in the blood and the fat and glucose in your body to produce the energy it needs to fuel itself. To benefit from doing cardiovascular training, you will want to stay within a range of what is known as your aerobic/anaerobic threshold levels, which is similar to your aerobic training zone.
*Side note: These terms are synonymous; however, your target rate zone by some worldwide organization is figured out with a 5% less percentage of your maximum heart rate level than what is considered your aerobic threshold level. This 5% difference considers genetics, how long you have been training, and your training intensity levels.
Your body will activate the system that uses oxygen, glucose, and fat in your body to start fueling your muscles with energy when you exercise for more than two minutes in your aerobic training zone. However, you will need to keep your intensity and heart rate in that range for more than 20 minutes to affect your body and receive the benefits to your cardiovascular system.
You will need to know your maximum heart rate to determine the aerobic/anaerobic threshold range and your aerobic training zone. You can calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. Your maximum heart rate represents the full amount of times your heart will beat per minute. Once you have that number, you can calculate your aerobic and anaerobic thresholds to figure out your aerobic/anaerobic threshold levels and aerobic training zone. These numbers also are represented in hearts beats per minute.
Heart rate formula
220 – age = Maximum heart rate
Example: My age is 36. 220-36 = My maximum heart rate equals 184 beats per minute.
Aerobic Threshold
Your aerobic threshold is the lowest intensity you need to put out to gain the benefits of cardiovascular training when performing aerobic exercises. Therefore, this number represents the lowest number in your aerobic/anaerobic threshold range. You can figure out your aerobic threshold by multiplying your maximum heart per minute by 55%.
Aerobic Threshold Forumla
Maximum heart rate x 0.55 = Aerobic Threshold
Example:
My age is 36. 220-36 = My maximum heart rate equals 184 beats per minute.
184 (Maximum heart rate) x .55 = 101.2 => 101 after rounding to the closest number
I need to go at a pace of 101 heart beats per minute to reach my aerobic threshold. Therefore, I need to be above 101 heartbeats per minute to see any benefits that cardiovascular exercise offers for longer than 20 minutes at a minimum of three times per week.
Anaerobic Threshold
Your anaerobic threshold is the highest intensity you need to work out to gain cardiovascular training benefits when performing aerobic exercises. It can be harmful to dangerous consequences to exercise over 85% of your maximum heart rate. Your anaerobic threshold represents the highest number in your aerobic/anaerobic range and your aerobic training zone. You can figure out your anaerobic threshold by multiplying your maximum heart rate by 85%.
Anaerobic Threshold Formula
Maximum heart rate x .85 = Anaerobic threshold
Example:
My age is 36. 220 – 36 = My maximum heart rate per minute is 184.
184 x .85 = 156.4 => 156 after rounding to the closest number
I need to stay around 156 heartbeats per minute to stay aerobic threshold. Therefore, I need to keep myself around or under 156 heartbeats per minute to see the benefits that cardiovascular exercise offers for longer than 20 minutes at a minimum of three times per week.
Aerobic Training Zone
Some well-respected organizations calculate the aerobic training zone to be between 50%-85% of your maximum heart rate. I learned to calculate the aerobic training zone using the International Sports Science Association’s aerobic/anaerobic range at 55%-85%. To keep things simple, throughout the rest of this course, I will refer to the aerobic training zone that calculates the range of 50%-85% calculation of your maximum heart rate. I do this because I attached a Maximum Heart Rate Calculator below and account for the various factors mentioned above that can affect this number. However, you can still calculate your aerobic/anaerobic threshold range by using the formulas above and stick within that if you would like. You will want to perform at the intensity level of the 50/55% – 85% range while performing exercises to be within the aerobic training zone.
Performing anywhere over 20 minutes consistently at this level will force your body, lungs, and heart to make them physically stronger while improving their endurance at the same time. This is what is known as the aerobic training effect. You will cover more of the benefits of your aerobic training in the Low-intensity steady-state cardio Vs. High-intensity interval training course in the lesson.
I consider my aerobic training zone to be between 101-156 heartbeats per minute. Therefore I need to stay within that range to benefit from any cardio exercises I do to see the aerobic training effect in my exercise plan.
You can calculate your maximum heart rate and target heart rate zone in either two ways in this lesson if you would like.
To calculate your aerobic and anaerobic threshold zone, follow the steps below.
Steps and Formulas to calculate your aerobic/anaerobic threshold range
Step 1: 220 – your age = Maximum heart rate zone
Step 2: Your maximum heart rate zone x .55 = Aerobic threshold in beats per minute
Step 3: Your maximum heart rate zone x .85 = Anaerobic threshold in beats per minute
Step 4: Aerobic threshold – Anaerobic threshold = Aerobic-Anaerobic Threshold Range in beats per minute
You can also use the calculator below, which uses the 50-85% range.
Why is it important to your health to do cardiovascular training?
Many reasons are essential to do cardiovascular training within your workout regime. One of the most critical aspects of doing cardio is to make your body more efficient. Improving your cardiovascular condition will help your body deliver oxygen at a faster rate, enhance the blood flow throughout your body, dispel toxins quicker, and make your lungs and heart stronger. Research has shown that cardiovascular training can
- increase your life span
- give you more energy throughout the day
- aids in lower the risk of cancer and heart disease
- improves mental sharpness
- enhances body-image perception
The benefits listed are only a few. Cardio will also have numerous benefits to help you along your weight loss journey.
Why is it important to do cardiovascular training for your fitness journey?
There are many reasons why cardiovascular training is vital for your fitness journey:
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- Cardio uses the fat in your body to produce oxygen. Therefore it helps you deplete the fat in your body.
- It helps you burn calories as you are exercising. Thus, you create a deficit of the energy intake of that day when considering your energy balance.
- Doing cardio exercises helps build lean muscle. As mentioned in a previous lesson, building muscle endurance through aerobic exercise helps your muscles function more efficiently and reduces fatigue.
You need to understand cardiovascular training to succeed in your fitness journey.
How much cardiovascular training do I need to become aerobically fit?
Your heart, lungs, and muscles will get stronger the more you consistently exercise. However, as your body adapts and becomes more conditioned, the same intensity levels will not affect your body as they once did. Therefore, whether you are weight training or aerobic training, you need to increase your intensity to become more physically fit to see progress. Anything less than that may impede your progress on your fitness goals.
To become aerobically fit, you need to continuously
- work out in your heart zone of 50%-85% of your maximum heart for 30-60 minutes
- at minimum three days a week
Starting, you should stay within the 50-65% range of your maximum heart rate for at least a few weeks when you do cardiovascular training. After a few weeks, you should increase the intensity to 75%. You could push more toward that anaerobic threshold level as your body adapts at 85%. Remember, any more than that can become unproductive and dangerous.
If you do not see the results you want or hit a plateau, there are three choices.
- You can choose to pick up the intensity. An example of this would be exercising at 60% of your maximum heart rate to 75% of it.
- You could spend more time doing cardiovascular exercises than you have been. An example would be doing 30 minutes of cardio and changing it to 45 minutes each time you go.
- You could do it more frequently. An example of this would be doing cardiovascular training three days a week and changing it to 4 days a week instead.
These small incremental changes can make a big difference when you do not see the results you desire.
I will go more in-depth on aerobic exercising in the lessons called Low-intensity steady-state cardio Vs. High-intensity interval training.
This lesson’s focus was to explain cardiovascular training, its importance, and how to safely implement it into your life. By the time you finish this course, I hope you understand cardiovascular training on a deeper level so you can confidently speak about it to whoever may ask. I also want you to be able to incorporate it into your life somehow each day without overthinking it. You will learn more about this in the following few lessons. Lastly, I wanted you to understand the importance of cardiovascular training to your overall health and fitness journey.
Side note of the entire lesson: You will still need to keep what you eat in check to remain fit. Cardiovascular training through aerobic exercise can only go so far if you do not eat properly. Likewise, you will never see the results you may want if you do not follow through with your meal plan with 100% accuracy.