Cardiovascular Workouts + Weight Training
We're keen on weight training as a way to improve your health and fitness. However, we would be remiss if we didn't stress that aerobic exercise is a necessary complement to weight training. In other words, if you want to get strong, lift weights; if you want to be truly fit, add cardiovascular (CV) exercise into the mix.While it may come as a revelation to most of you, it's a misconception that aerobic exercise tones and firms muscle. Aerobic exercise helps you to decrease your level of body fat, which helps improve the muscle definition by thinning out the layer of fat that obscures the muscles, but weight training is what makes the muscles worth looking at. Theoretically, you can be thin from doing tons of aerobic exercises, yet still be flabby and/or weak. In order to achieve a balanced physique, you must include both aerobics and weight training in your routine.
Take Deidre's early foray into the world of endorphins. She started off doing aerobics without weight training; then weight training without aerobics. Next she did both, though she paid no attention to nutrition. Finally, she hit pay dirt when she combined aerobic exercise, weight training, and proper nutrition. Not only did she look strong, lean, and muscular, she felt great as well. (It was only after she'd been competing as a powerlifter for several years that her body said, "No more!")
Unlike weight lifting, there are an infinite number of aerobic activities that one can choose from: cross-country skiing, swimming, in-line skating, hiking, running, cycling (on- or off-road), stair climbing, and walking. Given this wide range of activities, almost anyone who enjoys working up a sweat can find something he or she derives joy from.
This isn't to suggest you have to become a marathon man like Joe or Jonathan. Consider one of Deidre's friends who would rather have rusty tacks driven under her fingernails than exercise aerobically indoors. Instead of making it a dreaded chore, she cycles or blades from her apartment in Brooklyn to her office in Manhattan and back several times a week. Integrating her working out into her workday leaves her feeling fit, virtuous, and on time. She's lucky enough to have access to a shower at her job, and brings a stack of work clothes in every Monday.
Deidre, on the other hand, prefers doing her aerobic workouts indoors rather than dealing with traffic, unruly dogs, and/or the aggressive cyclists one often finds in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. (It's bad enough that she lives with an aggressive cyclist.) Because she is basically a fast-twitch muscle person – no genetic predisposition to endurance in that muscular body – long periods of aerobic activity are not her idea of fun. In turn, unless she's jogging through a flowery meadow to soothe her urban soul, she'd just as soon escape to a treadmill in the gym and grind away as she listens to her Walkman.
Jonathan is another case study. He'll exercise wherever he can find pavement, a treadmill, or virtually any piece of aerobic exercise equipment. Tell him you have a new machine that works your anterior hip abductors called a floppy-loop, and he's sure to give it a try. He'll train in any kind of weather and at any time of the day or night. He loves it when it's 90 degrees; he loves it when it's raining. Call him noble, call him maladjusted, or just call him a true exercise junkie.
Joe is in the Jonathan camp. However, unlike Jonathan, who sinks even looking at water, you'll find Joe wherever kayaks lurk. He also has a penchant for climbing mountains and/or running or biking on trails. By the way, did we mention snowshoe marathons and winter triathlons? In fact, pick a cardio exercise that is long, hard, or stupid and he's generally game. (In fact, on Jonathan's insistence he trained for and competed on the Concept II rowing machine in an indoor regatta known as The St. Valentine's Day Massacre.)
Before we continue, let's define what we mean by aerobic exercise for adequate cardiovascular fitness and weight loss. This is any activity that sustains an elevated heart rate for at least 20 minutes, preferably at least three or four times per week. Once you are comfortably able to sustain 20 to 30 minutes of a CV activity, try to extend your aerobic exercise session to 45 minutes. Of course, don't try to do this all at once. Rather, up the ante five minutes per week. What we really hope to avoid is you attempting more than you can handle at one time. That's one way people get frustrated and stop.
Lub Dub: Heart Rates
To get a good cardiovascular workout, it's helpful to know how hard to push yourself. (Going too slow loses the training benefit; training too hard is often unnecessary, counterproductive or even dangerous.) As a result, the best way to monitor your pace is by figuring out your heart rate and knowing at what level of exertion to train.
Although it initially may seem complicated, figuring out your heart rate while you exercise is quite easy. In fact, before you know it, you'll be monitoring your heart rate like Jonathan. A number cruncher at heart, he often checks his heart rate after a shower, while watching a scary movie, or when waiting in line at the bank. (Please don't ask why he does this. While he's extremely knowledgeable on all aspects of fitness, he is rather, how shall we say, unique.)
To make the heart rate number crunching game worth your while, you'll need to know a few basic things.
To maximize weight loss, you want to exercise at 60 to 75 percent of your maximal heart rate (MHR).
For cardiovascular fitness, you want to increase this to about 85 percent of your MHR. Elite athletes, like Olympic sprinters, often push the envelope and exercise at nearly 100 percent of their MHR.
Figure It Out
The simplest way to determine whether you're exercising aerobically or anaerobically is the talk test. If you can carry on a conversation with your training mate while you're jogging around the park, you're training aerobically; you may be huffing and puffing, but you can be understood and respond without gasping for breath. If your partner asks, "How ya doin'?" and you reply like a breathless mugger wearing a ski mask, well, you're in the anaerobic range.
You can also use what is called your rate of perceived exertion (RPE). This is a chart that attempts to quantify for you how hard you're working when you're exercising. This is very often used with patients who are participating in cardiac rehabilitation after suffering a heart attack or cardiovascular surgery. The RPE scale is imperfect because it's so subjective, but it can be a useful tool to go along with monitoring your heart rate.
The following is the scale for rate of perceived exertion (RPE):
| 0 | Nothing at all |
| 0.5 | Very, very weak |
| 1 | Very weak |
| 2 | Weak |
| 3 | Moderate |
| 4 | Somewhat strong |
| 5 | Strong |
| 6 | Strong |
| 7 | Very strong |
| 8 | Very strong |
| 9 | Very strong |
| 10 | Very, very strong |
| Maximal |
The first formula to figure out your MHR is as follows:
- 220 minus your age.
- Take that figure and multiply it by 60 percent. This represents the low end of your target heart rate.
- Multiply your predicted maximum heart rate by 85 percent. This is the high end of your target heart rate.
- 220 minus your age is your predicted maximum heart rate (MHR).
- MHR minus your resting heart rate (RHR).
- Multiply that number by 60 percent and 85 percent.
- Add your RHR to each of these values for the low end and high end of your target heart rate zone.
Sounds complicated but it's not. For example: Deidre Johnson-Cane, age 39 (and holding). Resting heart rate, 72. Here's how she would figure out her target heart rate
- 220 - 39 = 181
- 181 - 72 = 109
- 109 X .60 = 65.4
- 72 + 65.4 = 137
There are two places that you can use to take your pulse: your radial pulse, which is on the thumb side of your wrist, or your carotid pulse, which is located on your neck on either side of your throat. Use your index and middle finger to check your pulse at either site.
Once you find your pulse, count the first beat you feel as zero, the next as one, then two, and so on, for 10 seconds. Multiplying that figure by six will tell you your heart rate in beats per minute.
If you find that your pulse is ticking along comfortably at 138 beats per minute, say 5 beats or so above your calculated target heart rate, keep going. If, however, you're unable to mutter your name three consecutive times, slow down until you can tell someone what you had for dinner last night. In other words, use common sense. Jonathan recently saw a new gym member running on a treadmill like a business-man sprinting for the last train home. It seemed like only a matter of minutes before he was expelled from the revolving belt like a watermelon seed squeezed from one's fingers. When Jonathan asked this ambitious but misguided chap what he was doing, the wheezing runner explained that he was five beats below his target zone. (Jonathan checked his pulse and found out that in fact he was over his target zone by a wide margin.)
The moral of this story is this: Check your heart rate a few times to get an accurate reading. Second, listen to your body. Target heart rates are good guides, but they're not written in stone. If, you're cruising along comfortably at the top end of your zone, that's fine. If, on the other hand, you're struggling to keep pace at the low end of the zone, it's okay to back off a little.
If you don't want to be bothered with taking your pulse, but want to be sure that you're training in your target zone, heart rate monitors are available. A wireless transmission is sent from a chest strap to a wristwatch receiver, and you get an accurate reading of your heart rate. Some treadmills, bikes, and stair climbers in your gym may also be able to read your heart rate directly from the transmitter. Polar is the best known and most widely used heart rate monitor manufacturer, though others, including Cardiosport, have entered the market. Models range from the simplest version, which tells you nothing but your heart rate, to ones with alarms to tell you when you're out of your training zone, to the real fancy-schmancy ones with a stopwatch, bicycle speedometer, and computer interface. Take a Class
Within the gym, there are numerous ways to exercise aerobically. Before former martial arts standout Billy Blanks made Tae Bo a national exercise rage, the craze was spinning. Before that, there were step classes, and aerobic dance.
Some people look at these theme classes as gimmicky – and we suppose some of them are – but many are great ways to churn and burn in a group setting. The workouts can be quite demanding, but the group dynamic and pulsating music distracts you from the intensity of your effort. Even if you're highly motivated and work out diligently on your own, taking a class is a fun way to diversify your routine. If you're someone who needs to be motivated, these classes may be just what you need.
Following, we will discuss briefly the various forms of aerobic activities available in a majority of gyms.
Spinning Out
Spinning, which is done on an exercise bike, was developed in California by a character named Johnny G. Typically accompanied by loud funky tunes and sparkling and flashing lights, you stand and sit, spin fast and slow to the calls of your instructor. No one moves (at least not forward) but you get an incredible workout. Because each rider adjusts the tension on his/her own bike, spinning can accommodate a diverse group of participants.
In case you think that spinning is just for Jane Fonda types, here's an interesting case study. This past winter, rather than fighting the nasty New York winter, Jonathan and several of his cycling teammates regularly took spin classes with cyclist Kirk Whiteman, a former world champion sprinter whose thighs resemble oak trees. If their early season race results are any indication, those wintertime sweat-fests did the trick.
Flash Dance
Aerobic dance has been a mainstay of health club aerobics and home exercise tapes for many years. Ranging from high impact (lots of jumping) to low impact (no jumping), a good aerobics class is a fun way to work your upper and lower body. Like spin classes, the instructor cranks the tunes and tries to motivate participants to push a bit harder than they could push themselves. However, the good teachers will make sure that you're working at a pace comfortable for you.
About 10 years ago, another variation of the basic aerobics classes, called step aerobics, hit the scene. This class uses a step that you hop up and down on to get your heart rate up. There are two different step heights to choose from; the higher the step, the more intense the exercise.
One of the temptations when you first take one of these classes is to try to keep up with the Joneses. Resist that urge and go at your own pace. Often the pace of the class is just too fast, even if you've been running and working out with weights. If you find that you're huffing and puffing so hard that you're thinking about pulling the fire alarm, throttle back. Don't just stop. This will cause blood to pool in your legs. Instead, alter your movements. For example, if the instructor wants jumping, you can hop from side to side at a comfortable pace.
The second important thing to remember is hydration, hydration, and hydration! You should drink 8 to 16 ounces of water 30 to 60 minutes before exercise, 4 to 10 ounces of water every 15 minutes during your workout, and 8 to 16 ounces of water after exercise. Doing strenuous exercise in a hot, smallish room will have you sweating like you're in a sauna.
As we've pointed out many times, exercising without proper hydration is like moving lead weight. Take it from Deidre, who for some reason has shunned drinking pure water for most of her life. (She's happy to drink coffee, soda, or juice, but the pure stuff isn't her cup of tea.) Even though she drinks more water now, there are days that she forgets. When this happens, she can be on a modest five-mile run and suddenly feel as if she's slogging through mud. Her breathing becomes labored, and her concentration is shot. "Why do I feel so awful?" she wonders, until it hits her like a waterfall – drats, forgot the water.
Run, Spot, Run
Running is as pure a sport as you can get. All you need are a good pair of sneakers, shorts, and a T-shirt. (For the women, a jog bra is usually a plus.) The beauty of running is its versatility: If you're feeling solitary, boom, you're out the door alone with your thoughts. If you want company, it's easy to find a mate eager to join you. If you don't know anyone who likes to run, joining a running club is an easy way to find a partner.
When you start out, it's important to learn how to pace yourself so you can cover the distance you set out to run. To lose weight, running at a conversational pace for 30 to 40 minutes is more important than how many miles you go. For cardiovascular fitness, it's helpful to know exactly how far you're running so that you can measure your times as you continue to train. Again, for particular training tips, joining a running club is a great way to go. Typically, clubs have "speed" days at a track as well as long distance days. If there's not a club in your area, check out one of the many books dedicated to the subject. Runner's World magazine also is a good guide to training tips and local races in your town or city.
Step, Two, Three, Four
Step machines like the StairMaster offer another great aerobic workout. Essentially, all you're doing is walking up and down on a pair of pedals. You set the level of intensity and time and start stepping. While this is a very simple exercise, we often see people using the machine with their arms fully extended on the handrails bearing a lot of their weight. Clearly, this makes the exercise much easier to perform and much less effective – roughly the equivalent of hanging from a bar and placing your tippy-toes on a scale. If you need to lock out your elbows while you're doing your thing, lessen the intensity. Cheating in this fashion not only guarantees that your workout will be compromised, but you also won't burn as many calories as the machine's console says you do.
Jonathan's personal favorite step machine is the Gauntlet. The Gauntlet, made by StairMaster, is basically a set of revolving steps that enables you to actually mimic climbing stairs as opposed to the up and down movement on most other step equipment. More than anything else, it's like walking up a down escalator (a training method that once got Jonathan severely reprimanded by a perplexed guard during his college days). When training for the race up the Empire State Building, Jonathan has been known to spend two or three hours on a Gauntlet. For those of you with slightly saner aspirations, 20 to 30 minutes will suffice.
One of the good features of these machines is the feedback they offer. Almost all step equipment has a computer pad that enables you to work out to several different programs. You can do a steady climb, a hill workout, and various permutations in between. These various programs offer a good change of pace for those of you who get bored doing the same thing all of the time.
There are some pieces of equipment that also take your pulse as you hold the side rails. This is convenient because you don't have to find and hold your pulse while watching the clock. It also saves you the burdensome task of having to multiply lofty sums like 24 times 6.
The Least You Need to Know
- If you want to get strong, lift weights, but if you want to be truly fit, don't neglect the treadmill.
- There are a number of good ways to figure out how hard to do your cardiovascular work: the talk test or monitoring your heart rate.
- Spinning, stair climbers, and aerobics classes are some of the best indoor cardiovascular workouts you'll find at your gym.
Excerpted from he Complete Idiot's Guide to Weight Training © 2003 by Deidre Johnson-Cane and Jonathan Cane. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
To order this book visit the Idiot's Guide website or call 1-800-253-6476.
