Fitness Quest Quest Ab Lounge XL System manual Smart Progression, Top Aerobic Exercise

PROGRESSIVE CARDIOVASCULAR TRAINING PROGRAM

The training program that follows is a progressive training program for cardiovascular conditioning.

It can be used for any aerobic activity you choose. But remember, these are only guidelines. People with medical conditions should discuss this training program with their physician.

CONDITIONING	WEEK	HOW OFTEN	HOW LONG	HOW HARD	HOW HARD	RPE DESCRIPTIVE RATING
BASE		(times per week)	(minutes)	(% heart rate)	(RPE)*
	1	2 - 3	5 - 15	40 - 50	2 - 4	Somewhat easy to somewhat hard
	2	2 - 3	5 - 15	40 - 50	2 - 4	Somewhat easy to somewhat hard
	3	2 - 3	10 - 17	40 - 50	2 - 4	Somewhat easy to somewhat hard
	4	2 - 3	10 - 17	50 - 60	2 - 4	Somewhat easy to somewhat hard
	5	3	15 - 20	50 - 60	2 - 4	Somewhat easy to somewhat hard
	6	3 - 4	15 - 20	50 - 60	2 - 4	Somewhat easy to somewhat hard

MOVING	WEEK		HOW OFTEN	HOW LONG	HOW HARD	HOW HARD	RPE DESCRIPTIVE RATING
BEYOND			(times per week)	(minutes)	(% heart rate)	(RPE)*
BASE-LEVEL	7	- 9	3 - 4	20 - 25	60 - 65	3 - 4	Moderate to somewhat hard
FITNESS
	10	- 13	3 - 4	21 - 25	65 - 70	4 - 5	Somewhat hard to hard
	14 - 16		3 - 4	26 - 30	65 - 70	4 - 5	Somewhat hard to hard
	17	- 19	3 - 5	26 - 30	70 - 75	4 - 5	Somewhat hard to hard
	20	- 23	3 - 5	31 - 35	70 - 75	4 - 5	Somewhat hard to hard
	24 - 27		3 - 6	31 - 35	70 - 75	4 - 5	Somewhat hard to hard

MAINTENANCE	WEEK	HOW OFTEN	HOW LONG	HOW HARD	HOW HARD	RPE DESCRIPTIVE RATING
		(times per week)	(minutes)	(% heart rate)	(RPE)*
	After 4-6	3 - 6	30 - 60	40 - 85	3 - 6	Easy - Moderate to somewhat hard
	months
	*RPE = rating of perceived exertion; this means you match up a numerical rating (RPE) of 1-10, with how you
	feel (RPE descriptive rating in chart above). A rating of 2 -3 is equal to a warm-up or recovery level of effort; 4 - 5
	equates to moderate to somewhat challenging; 6 -10 represents effort that is somewhat hard, to very hard.

Smart Progression

In regard to progressing to a higher intensity level, longer duration, or more frequent sessions, it makes good sense to change only one of these elements at a time. You run a higher risk of overuse injury if you simultaneously increase more than one of these elements. A conservative yet effective guideline is to increase intensity or duration by no more than about 5 percent. You should adapt to this increase over a period of a week or two, and then consider changing one of the other variables (frequency, duration or intensity) or further progressing the one you’ve adapted to.

Top Aerobic Exercise

No one cardiovascular activity is better than another! Manipulating how hard (intensity), how often (duration), and how long (frequency) you participate in a particular aerobic activity determines its effectiveness or lack thereof. And of course, you have to like what you’re doing. Choose the type of aerobic activity that is right for you by identifying one or more types of cardio exercise that you can see yourself sticking to, and enjoying,

for the rest of your life. Often, the best aerobic exercise will be not one, but several activities that are fun and feel good to your body. Excellent cardiovascular activities include, but are not limited to, walking, swimming, water fitness, jogging, running, cross-country skiing, in-line skating, lateral movement training (slide), cycling, mountain biking, and step training.

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