A cardio routine that is perfect for 75% of us for 75% of the time.

Hi Folks

75/75 Part 1 cardio.

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing I bid you a warm welcome (hopefully) to Spring and into the summer. As the days become longer and warmer and we too emerge from our ‘winter hibernation’ it is another great time of the year to start exercising, resume New Year’s resolutions or up the ante of an existing exercise routine. So let’s look at 75/75.

Firstly though, this article will be broken down into four parts over the next four months with this month covering cardio. What follows is an ideal routine for 75% of the population for 75% of the time regardless of whether you are new to exercise or a keen athlete. The following information will have great health and wellbeing benefits, but beware there are some home truths here too!!

CARDIO: for beginners gentle cardiovascular activity like walking has some good physiological benefits. However most people will benefit from the following types of cardio-vascular training:

1. Aerobic threshold training: an intensity of training that allows for a longer duration of oxygen-burning exercise without the build up of lactate. As a rough guide if you are jogging or cycling etc and are just about able to continue breathing through your nose you are at or close to your aerobic threshold.
2. Anaerobic threshold training: this level of intensity requires a drastic increase in effort, heart rate and breathing. The limiting factor here is your body’s ability to remove the waste products of anaerobic respiration more quickly than they accumulate. This happens when there is an excess of protons in the bloodstream caused by the energy-releasing breakdown of Adenosine Tri Phosphate (ATP) during anaerobic respiration. This produces that familiar burning sensation in the muscles for which lactate is produced to help offset this phenomenon and allow us to exercise anaerobically for longer.

In short you will be uncomfortable, muscles burning and out of breath. But this stress on the body is what causes the health and fitness adaptations so think of it as a necessary evil, or just ‘fun’.

So each week perform one longer aerobic workout and one shorter anaerobic workout.  Next week’s topic is strength.