Human bodies are meant to move!
Regular aerobic training improves your cardiorespiratory fitness, meaning activities such as walking, jogging, and cycling or swimming will become easier, as will the everyday activities of life.
By performing cardiovascular activities regularly, the heart will become stronger, which results in improved health and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers.
Consistent aerobic exercise will improve cardiovascular fitness, the heart becomes more efficient at pumping blood around the body and the body become more efficient at using the oxygenated blood.
You will also be able to undertake these activities for longer (known as endurance) and at a higher intensity as your fitness or physical capacity (ability for you muscles to take up oxygen) increases.
How to do aerobic training?
There are many ways to include aerobic training in your program at the ARC and also around your local area, which includes:
- Using our 50 pieces of programmable cardio equipment in the health club
- Complete one of our 100 group fitness classes running per week
If you're new to aerobic exercise here are some tips to begin your journey:
- Build gradually, start with low to medium intensity for 3 to 4 weeks
- Try a variety of exercises to find what you like and also things you are good at, enjoying your training makes it easier to do it on a regular basis.
- As your endurance and physical capacity increases, include 2-3 sessions of higher intensity per week. These can be included in your gym program or through group fitness classes such as RPM/Spin, Body – Combat and Attack, GRIT or GYMfit/ARCfit sessions.
Measuring exercise intensity
Exercise intensity can be measured by taking your heart rate either manually or by using a heart rate monitor, easier methods can be using the talk test or exertion scale.
If you can talk or sing you are at a low intensity, gasping for breath and can’t say more than a few words you are at a high intensity.
The exertion scale is rated in levels of 1-10, using physical signs during exercise including increased heart rate, respiration and sweating as well as fatigue.
| Level | Exertion | Physical Signs |
|---|
| 0 | None | None |
| 1 | Minimal | None |
| 2 | Barely There | Sensation of movement |
| 3 | Moderate | Stronger sensation of movement |
| 4 | Somewhat hard | Warmth or light sweating |
| 5 | Hard | Sweating |
| 6 | Harder | Moderate sweating |
| 7 | Very hard | Moderate sweating, can still talk |
| 8 | Extremely hard | Heavy sweating, can't talk |
| 9 | Maximum effort | Very heavy sweating, can't talk |
| 10 | Maximum effort | Exhaustion |
Low intensity vs high intensity
- Low intensity, generally more than 40 minutes. If you can carry out a conversation easily without puffing, exertion level of 0 – 2, you at exercising at a low intensity
- Medium intensity, 20 to 40 minutes. Characterised by heavier breathing but you can still talk, exertion level of 3 – 7
- High intensity, 5 to 20 minutes. Anaerobic threshold training. Can’t say more than a few words without gasping, exertion level 8 – 10
- Fartlek training, meaning speed play combines points 1, 2 and 3 in the one session. For example medium for 5 minutes, high for 30 sec, low for 2 minutes to recover, then repeat through the training session
- Interval Training, alternating bouts of high intensity work with low intensity recovery. Training is based around a set number of repeats. Workouts can be pre-programmed through My Wellness.
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