by Shannon Derby
(editorials@boulderweekly.com)

How balanced is your cardiovascular fitness program? When designing your fitness program there are three components to keep in mind for optimal results: cardiovascular training, strength training and nutrition. A balanced approach to fitness will address each of these components according to the individual's goals and commitment to training. Let's focus on balancing the cardiovascular component.

Do any of these scenarios fit you? You can hike every day and run occasionally, without complaint. You believe you eat well enough, but you can't get the muscle definition you want. Or, maybe, you exercise like crazy, almost every day, pushing yourself to find that better body or a better finish time, often feeling exhausted afterwards. Perhaps, you eat small portions at meal times including lots of fruits and vegetables, but the occasional walks with friends at lunch aren't helping you to lose those extra pounds. Adding balance to each of these scenarios will provide the results you're looking for.

As an example, let's consider and analyze a specific program, designed with these goals in mind: losing 10 pounds, increasing muscle tone and improving overall fitness. The weekly time commitment to cardiovascular training will be up to 3.5 hours.

Let's look at the cardiovascular component in more detail. This is training that challenges your body's cardio-respiratory and metabolic systems, allowing you to burn calories and build endurance. Cardiovascular training can include activities such as running, walking, hiking, swimming, cycling, Nordic skiing, aerobic-based group fitness classes and stationary equipment. There are several variables to consider with respect to cardiovascular training including frequency, duration, intensity and mode of exercise. Knowing we have 3.5 hours to train, we have our total weekly duration. What about frequency? This can vary tremendously based on the individual and his or her schedule. For simplicity, let's say Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday are the days you can regularly plan to exercise each week. We'll allow for any of the listed activities above as the mode of exercise. Intensity can be monitored with two basic methods: Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) or actual Heart Rate (HR). Incorporating both methods will yield the best results, but for individuals new to a fitness program, the RPE scale may be a better choice. The Rate of Perceived Exertion scale goes from 1-10 with 1 being exercise that's very, very easy, (basically walking to your mailbox) to 10 being exercise that's so difficult you don't think you can continue. Working towards results and balance, we'll take those 3.5 hours and program them by intensity and duration. For an easier workout on Tuesday, we'll work at an RPE of 4-5 for 30-45 minutes. Thursday we'll shoot for intervals where we work hard for short bouts, then recover. We'll allow 45-60 minutes to complete this workout including warm up and cool down time. On Saturday, we can lengthen our duration to 1.5 hours and work at a moderate level. Here an RPE between 5 and 7 would be ideal. This variation in intensity and duration is how you begin adding balance to your cardiovascular training.

Although, there are many other ways, this option is a great place to start. Keep in mind that, for the overall program to be balanced, we also have to factor in the strength training and nutrition aspects. Exercise prescription can vary between extremely detailed and quite simple depending on your needs. Consulting with a certified fitness professional can ensure that your goals are reasonable and attainable. Just remember to keep your focus and intention balanced between the three components of your fitness program (cardiovascular training, strength training and nutrition), and you will be on the path to fitness in balance.

Shannon Derby is Fitness Director at Mountain's Edge Fitness Center.

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