Aerobic activity for overall health & longevity

The health of your heart and lungs is so important! Aerobic activity is vital not only for heart health, but for overall health and longevity. Let's get into it...

Aerobic means with or using oxygen. Aerobic activity is also referred to as cardio which is short for cardiovascular activity. It is vital for your cardiorespiratory health, meaning the health of your heart (cardio) and lungs (pulmonary/respiratory).

Aerobic activity helps prevent and manage chronic diseases and reduces the risk of developing diseases and medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain types of cancer.

Most of us are not meeting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for aerobic activity and this is a big deal. The CDC recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise per week or a mix of both for cardiorespiratory health.

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Three big misconceptions about cardio are:

1. That anything that elevates your heart rate counts as cardio.

   1. Unfortunately this is not the case. Your heart rate rises when you go from sit to stand, when you get startled during a scary movie or hear a weird sound in the middle of the night, or when you are anxious. This not the same as when your heart rate is elevated for a sustained period during a true cardio effort. Also note that yoga, pilates, and strength training can all include moments where heart rate is elevated, but they do not count as cardio.

2. That running is the best or only option for you to do cardio.

   1. There are so many other amazing ways you can get your cardio in! I mention a few down below.

3. That you have to or need to do all the minutes that the CDC recommends in one or two sessions per week.

   1. Definitely not! It is super helpful to break it up in multiple bouts throughout the week!

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So what counts as cardio?

Cardio counts as anything that is:

• Repetitive

• Rhythmic

• Can be sustained for a period of time

• Uses large muscle groups

• Gets you breathing deeper & faster

• Gets your heart rate up to 50-85% of your heart rate max (HRmax).

  • This is good target for moderate-vigorous intensity cardio exercise

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So let's talk about how to determine what your HRmax is and how to figure out what is moderate and vigorous intensity is for you.

A subjective scale like the BORG Rate of Perceived Exertion Scale is one way you can gauge what moderate and vigorous intensity is for you. It isn't perfect, but with practice and getting more comfortable and familiar with varying amounts of effort as you exercise, you can use it to help assess and rate how hard you are working during any given day/exercise session.

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In terms of HRmax, a fast way to determine your HRmax is to subtract your age from 220:

HRmax = 220-age

It is not as accurate as other methods (mentioned below) but is a good rough estimate. After you get that number you want to aim for 50-85% of it for your cardio bout. For example, I am 35 and want to exercise at 70% of my HRmax (a high end of moderate intensity):

220-35 = 185

185 x 70% = 129.5

I will aim for my HR to be around 130 bpm for the duration of my cardio session.

(I could track or monitor this using a smart watch on the wrist or by using a wearable heart rate monitor strapped around the chest.)

Other methods for determining HRmax that are more accurate include this one:

HRmax = 206.9 - (0.67 x age)

And this formula can help you calculate your target heart rate for a given cardio session using your max HR (MHR) and resting HR (RHR):

Target Heart Rate = ((MHR-RHR) x Training%) +RHR

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Now, you don't need to run to accomplish your cardio needs. You could bike, swim, hike, dance, walk on an incline or at a quick clip, jump rope, do step aerobics or zumba, or get on the elliptical or stairmaster if you have those accessible to you.

If you know me, you know I am a huge fan of hiking/mountain lover!!

Aim for a continuous and steady effort for about 10 to 40 minute bouts a few times a week. This is a good starting point especially if you are shorter on time or newer to aerobic activity. You can spread it out:

1. Example A: 2 sets of 10 minute bouts of fast walking that you perform 4x a week.

2. Example B: 30-40 minutes of biking that you perform 3x a week.

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IN SUMMARY:

Don't forget about your cardio!

Here is a YouTube video that sums this written post up:

Thanks for reading/watching and reach out with any questions!