YOU ARE NOW UNDER INVESTIGATION!
In a previous post I explained why we use the term "suspected healthy" rather than healthy. As a reminder, we address people as suspected healthy if we do not have medical evidence or other reasons to suggest that the person be check and maybe diagnosed by their physician. If a person is diagnosed with a disease, syndrome, clinical condition, or fits the professional definition of a special population, they are no longer suspected healthy, and we apply more specific ways of exercising them, taking into consideration the special circumstances that apply.
Furthermore, let's be reminded that exercise prescription should always follow health assessment, fitness assessment (exercise testing), and result interpretation. In other words, it is the fourth and final step in the entire process. And may the fourth be with you. We address the improvement of the person's cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), muscular fitness (resistance training; RT; mostly weight lifting), balance, flexibility, body composition, coordination (mostly athletes), proprioception, agility (mostly athletes), and more.
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Let's begin discussing exercise prescription (FITTVP) for cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in people that are suspected healthy. In this case we are focusing on improving a person’s aerobic fitness, where most of the energy is produced with oxygen as part of the process. Aerobic fitness commonly includes activities longer than 120 seconds, that relay heavily on physiological capacities of the heart, lungs, skeletal muscles, oxygen extraction into the cells, disposal of carbon di oxide from the cells, and the neutralizing of acids and bases/alkalines (chemical buffering).
70% of a person’s VO2max (maximal aerobic capacity; maximal aerobic fitness) is genetically determined, leaving plenty of room for the training process and environmental factor to influence the person's aerobic fitness. Heart and lungs tissues tend to be more genetically pre-determined in relation to their make up, while skeletal muscles can allow more genetic diversity as it relates to their muscle fiber make up.
We divide aerobic fitness into two more specific aerobic fitness components that can be developed during training/exercise. We distinct between aerobic power and aerobic endurance. Aerobic power is applicable to short duration aerobic activities, traditionally 1.5K - 5K runs (1-3 mile runs) or their equivalents in swimming, cycling, etc. This aerobic fitness component is based more on the heart's overall capacity (i.e. cardiac output; CO L/min) and the lungs' overall capacity (i.e. minute ventilation; VE L/min) rather than the extraction of oxygen into the cells nor the buffering of acids and bases (mostly acids).
While increased acidic environments always challenge skeletal muscle work, during activities that promote the development of aerobic power skeletal muscles are challenged for shorter durations, making acidity less of a problem relatively to aerobic endurance activities. Accordingly, acidity and mechanical tension have less time to influence muscle tissue, thus requires less chemical buffering, and more frequent oxygen supply.
Repeated exposure of skeletal muscles of to high levels of acidity improves their buffering and disposal capacities. Improved buffering and disposal capacities are achieved via high-speed bouts at high intensity, with little time of recovery in between, making High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts ideal for achieving this goal.
Aerobic endurance is applicable to medium, long, and ultra durations of aerobic activities, traditionally greater than 5K runs (3 miles) or their equivalents in swimming, cycling, etc. While also based on CO and VE, oxygen extraction into the cells and chemical buffering of acids and bases becomes key to success. Skeletal muscles are challenged chemically more as acidity and mechanical tension have prolonged periods of time to influence the skeletal muscle tissue.
Prolonged exposure of skeletal muscles of to medium levels of acidity improves the person's anaerobic threshold (see a previous post on the matter) and skeletal muscles' ability to extract oxygen into the cells. Based on allowing as much cardiopulmonary regulation and steady state as possible (minimal changes to intensity, pace, and physiological demands), the goal is to decrease the creation of acidity as much as possible by means of increased oxygen delivery and extraction into the cells.
While both aerobic power and aerobic endurance are influenced by heart and lungs capacities, doing well in aerobic endurance activities depend relatively more on the skeletal muscles' ability to extract oxygen and buffer acid than on cardiorespiratory capacities. Of course, the combination of optimal cardiorespiratory capacities and optimal extraction, and buffering, wins.
Exercise prescription for CRF in the suspected healthy always begins with the minimal aspiration of a person meeting the criteria to be defined as "active". Note that active is not the same as being fit. To be considered active according to the American College of Sport Medicine (ACSM), a person is considered active if they meet the "3-3-30-M rule", meaning that they have been exercising for the last 3 months, and at least 3 times a week, and at least 30 minutes every workout session, and at least at moderate intensity (every time). All four criteria must be met all at once to be considered active.
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We define moderate exercise intensity as being at 40–59% of a person's heart rate reserve (HRR) or VO2 reserve. Just a reminded that any physiological reserve, including your heart rate reserve (HRR) or VO2 reserve, is calculated as the difference between your maximal capacity/value (at 100% intensity) and your capacity/value at rest (at 0% intensity).
Following the the "3-3-30-M rule is meant to achieve baseline or initial health benefits, yet is not stimulating enough for sports performance or competitive athletes. It is not enough to achieve maximal health benefits independent of the need to compete as an athlete. Recommendations for promoting health benefits according to the center for disease control (CDC) include 150 minutes of aerobic exercise (CRF) per week moderate intensity.
My next post pertaining to the development of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF; aerobic fitness) will focus on actual aerobic training methods for the untrained, mildly trained, and well trained. Stay tuned.
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