 WEB EXTRA
Cardio lessons for beginners
Q&A with Doc Wilson,
Ph.D.
Starting a new exercise routine can be tough. You might wonder
how often you should exercise, how long sessions should last
and what is most effective. In this article, Doc Wilson provides
a primer for beginners.
Click on topic below or scroll down to read more.
Q: What types of cardio exercises are good for beginners?
A: The best choice for cardiovascular exercises depends on a combination
of personal preference and health issues, if any. For example,
if there are back or other joint issues (especially for the
knees, hips, ankles or feet), then the cardio exercises should
be limited to bikes and elliptical or elliptical-like machines — with
no walking or running, including no use of treadmills. Also,
be aware that many, but not all, who have knee problems should
avoid arc trainers.
In addition, note that there is a major
myth that walking on a flat surface at a relatively slow pace
is great for weight loss. This kind of pace does not boost
heart rate to levels that are highly effective for weight loss
for the average person. However, if there are significant hills,
then walking very fast up the hills and slowly down the hills
is a good form of interval training. The walking must boost
your heart rate sufficiently high to be effective.
The bottom
line is to choose one or more cardio exercises or cardio exercise
machines that you like, and work at increasing your endurance
by developing a demanding interval training program. The program
should drive your heart rate very high briefly in response
to bursts of 30 seconds to two minutes of more intense exercise
(most of the time, I use a one-minute period). Once you have
reached a good level of cardio conditioning, your recovery
periods in between the bursts will be down to only a minute.
Initially, you might need two minutes or so if your level of
conditioning is not high. One of the great benefits of a superior
interval training program is that your cardio workout need
not be long: 12 to 18 minutes or so will be sufficient for
many people.
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Q: How do I pace myself? How do I find out if my heart rate
is in the right zone?
A: If your physician does not recommend
an upper limit on your heart rate while exercising, and if
you have no underlying cardiovascular disease, then you will
want to drive your heart rate as high as possible (even if
it is high only for a few seconds) because you will achieve
much better weight loss and health improvement results. If
you have no cardiovascular disease, your skeletal muscles will
tire out before your heart will, so don't target a simplistic
upper limit for your heart rate.
The classical formula for maximum
heart rate as a function of age (max heart rate = 220 ” age;
and other similar formulas) should not be used if you desire
the best in health and weight loss because they usually will
underestimate your optimum heart rate training zone and underestimate
it even more as your age increases. There is a very large amount
of scatter in the data from which the formula was derived,
which implies a large variation from person to person. A personal
trainer will be able to help determine what a good range is
for you! Once you are well conditioned, you will likely be
able to drive your heart rate to the 140s or preferably higher
(150s, more preferably 160s or 170s).
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Q: How often should I exercise? How long should each exercise
session last?
A: Generally, the optimum exercise program will
consist of exercise on just three days a week on an every-other-day
schedule. The length of each session usually will be between
45 minutes and an hour and a half. However, a duration of about
one hour is typical, but it is possible to have a 30-minute
to 40-minute program that is outstanding and that will leave
you crying for mercy.
You may have heard the recommendation
to exercise at least 30 minutes a day at least five days a
week. There are at least three flaws in this recommendation.
First, it is based on doing a very low level of cardio exercise,
one that is far from optimum. Second, it is far better for
you to have three great workouts each week where each workout
is so demanding that your body needs a day off before the next
workout. Third, a great interval training program doesn't
need to be 30 minutes; the rule is that the more demanding
the level, the fewer is the number of interval cycles you will
need to constitute a great workout. Most people will be able
to work up to an interval training program that is only 12
to 18 minutes in length (five to eight interval cycles) for
ideal aerobic capacity, weight loss and overall health. The
rest of the workout should be spent on strength training. Learn
more about strength training here.
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For more information about personal training at CA, click
here.
Always check with your physician before starting any exercise
regimen or change in diet.
 About Doc Wilson
Doc Wilson is a physiologist, biochemist,
nutritionist and personal trainer who does personal training
and nutritional counseling at Columbia Association. He earned
a Ph.D. in physiology and biochemistry from the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also holds a Master of
Arts in physiology from SUNY at Buffalo, and he conducted a
post-doctoral fellowship in biochemistry and physical chemistry
at Duke University. He is a past faculty member of the University
of Maryland Schools of Medicine (Department of Medicine, Division
of Nephrology) and Dentistry (Department of Physiology).
Wilson's
areas of specialization include weight loss and weight control,
preventing and reversing type 2 diabetes, preventing and reversing
high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases, and
exercise and nutrition for optimum overall health. His first
book, "Total Health in a Nutshell," is
slated for publication in the near future.
Have a question for a CA expert?
E-mail your questions to CAmonthly@ColumbiaAssociation.com.
Please include your full name, village of residence, phone
number and e-mail.
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