It’s great that you’re interested in exercising and staying healthy, but now that you’ve started, you may find yourself with more questions than answers, especially when it comes to cardiovascular (or just “cardio”) exercise. Terms like cardio, aerobic, anaerobic and target heart rate can get confusing. It doesn’t help that everybody seems to have different opinions about how often and how long and how much you need.

Let’s see if we can figure out how to break this down into something that works for you. We’re not talking about Andre Agassi or the Lindsay Davenports of the world; we’re talking about you and me.

The word cardio is often used interchangeably with aerobic. Aerobic exercise is any type of exercise that will raise your heart rate into your heart rates training zone. Aerobic exercises involve the large muscles of your body like the butt, legs, back and chest.

To get fit and stay fit you need to find a nice moderate middle ground. You want it to be beneficial but you also want it to be something that you can incorporate into your lifestyle. If you go all out, like say running 5 miles every morning, we all know that you are going to run out of time and steam post haste. I don’t know about you, but I get just plain tired after a long workout session and have never quite bought into the ‘increased energy’ saga that so many programs talk about. But then, I’ve been exercising for so many years that maybe this is as good as it gets!

The ABC’s Of Aerobic Endurance Training

So, how do you know if you are exercising hard enough to actually “do anything” for you? By now, you have heard the phrases “target heart rate” and “zone”. Well, guess what? They aren’t just terms that workout snobs toss about to sound cool. They were designed to help you design the program that is best for you. So whether you are focusing on fitness and health or weight loss these are terms for you to incorporate into your vocabulary. Besides, they sound cool!

Target Heart Rate Zone (sort of a middle ground between just going through the motions–strolling around the block with your dog–and really knocking yourself out. I don’t imagine that either of these pictures is quite what you have in mind.

Don’t freak out on me, but for just a wee minute here, we are going to have to discuss math and formulas…ouch! I know, I am math phobic too, but this is really easy. Okay?

Typically your target rate is between 50 and 85 percent of your maximum hear rate (the maximum number of times that your heart beats in one minute). What is this magical number? Men can find their magic number by subtracting their age from 220, but women need to use 226 (we are so lucky) to give a working estimate.

For example: Subtracting his age from 220 a forty year old man arrives at the number l80 (220-40 = 180) which would be his maximum heart rate. Pretty fast isn’t it? This is where the ‘zone’ comes in. Figure the low end of your zone by taking 50% of that number (180 times .50 =90). Ah, there’s a more familiar number. Anything less than 90 times a minute, means that the intensity of the exercise is too gentle and will not lead to improvements in his fitness levels.

Another example: 226 – 62 =164 (maximum female heart rate for someone 62). Fifty percent of that would be 82 (even better). We now know that if we fall below these numbers (82 and 90) that we are pretty much wasting our time as far as exercise is concerned.

The other set of numbers that we talked about (the 85% or high end of the target) is configured the same way. 180 times .85 or 85% = 153 (or 164 times .85 = 139). If your heart rate is this high you are working at the upper limit of your aerobic capacity. If your heart is beating faster than this, you need to slow down. Wasn’t that simple? If you want to get more complicated than that you can find special provisions for bicycling and swimming but for now this is good enough. For right now, I know that I want to keep my heart rate between 82 and 139 when I am out there walking.

How do you know if you are in ‘your aerobic endurance training zone”?

Check your heart rate using the wrist method. On the thumb side, just place your fingers (not your thumb) all three of your fingers lightly against your wrist until you feel the gentle cadence of your pulse. Count for 15 seconds and multiple by four. Easier yet, count for 6 seconds and add a zero to the number of beats that you count. During your work out monitor your pulse beat about every 15 minutes as a gentle reminder to slow down or to pick up your pace. There are all sorts of fancy gadgets like pedometers that will measure pulse beats or high priced monitors, but for now the wrist method will do.

I think we have established why you should monitor your heart rate. When you first start to exercise on a regular basis you won’t have any idea of how hard to push yourself (which is okay because just getting out there and putting one foot in front of the other is a very good thing and you should be proud of yourself). You may actually be working harder than you have to. If you pace yourself according to heart rate you know when to back off and give yourself a break.

How do you know if you are making progress? If you are sticking to your program you are making progress. Good for you. As your fitness level improves you will notice that your heart rate drops after your workout. Measure your heart rate right after your workout and again one minute later. The better shape you are in the faster your rate will drop. Initially your rate will drop about 20 beats in the first minute. As your fitness level improves you might see a drop as high as 40 beats.

Another way to tell if you are making progress is to check your resting heart rate (before you start walking or before you start doing anything). When you first start your fitness program your resting rate may be as high as 90. After a few months of exercising you may notice that this rate has dropped 10-20 beats. This is a good thing.

How many days a week do you need to do aerobic exercises?

If your goal is to improve or maintain good health the experts recommend 30 minutes most days. This doesn’t mean that you have to walk/run/climb for 30 consecutive minutes. You can piece it together and do 10 minutes three times a day. Any activity counts as long as you are slightly winded. Now, this doesn’t sound so hard does it? And you thought you had to do that 5 mile run every single day (grin). However, don’t fool yourself. If your plan is to lose weight and improve your stamina, a 10 minutes walk here and there isn’t going to do it. You’ll need to put in 45-60 minutes, but start small and work up to this. Push yourself hard enough to keep your pulse rate within your target zone most of the time.

Think about just plain good health first. Even before you consider a weight loss program you need you need to be thinking about taking care of yourself, because it is the smart thing to do. Start slowly and cut yourself some slack. Do not get mad or give up because you miss a few days. If you fall off the wagon just start over again. You have the tools now so go for it!