How to Optimize Your Cardio-Respiratory Fitness Program for Longevity
By: Chris Marino, MS, CEP, LMT
February is National Heart Month. Given cardiovascular disease remains atop the many causes of early mortality it’s important to be reminded that the identified contributing lifestyle factors include:
smoking,
being overweight or obese,
excess stress,
poor nutrition,
lack of adequate sleep, and
physical inactivity.
Interestingly, although each of the above factors independently increase risk for heart disease, physical activity or exercise is the only one that has been shown to positively impact all of the other factors collectively. Yes, it even helps you quit smoking.
For this month, let’s look at some variables that can help you optimize your cardio-respiratory exercise program specifically in relation to heart health and longevity.
When structuring a Cardio-Respiratory Fitness Program there are a few things to consider.
What types of activities are best for Heart Health?
How long should you exercise?
At what intensity should you exercise?
How do you gauge intensity during exercise?
What types of activities count as Cardio-Respiratory exercise?
The CDC has a fairly exhaustive list of activities HERE. There is, however, no one size fits all, best option when it comes to cardio-respiratory exercise. You need to find something that you enjoy doing, that allows you to achieve the minimum recommended weekly duration, and that helps you manage risk of injury. After all, consistency is the most important factor when it comes to exercise success.
How long do you need to exercise for your heart to benefit?
Most research indicates that cardio-respiratory benefits from physical activity are optimized at around 150 minutes per week. This recommendation is an accumulated total. You can add up any amount of continuous or interval-based activity to collectively achieve this number. That said there is additional benefit from activity that is sustained over longer periods (i.e. 30-60 minutes, or more). For example, for many people the heart and lungs don’t achieve peak efficiency until 15 to 20 minutes of continuous activity. Thus, if all your exercise is of shorter duration you’re missing out on some benefits.
What intensity is appropriate for me? And how do I gauge effort?
To gauge intensity of cardio-respiratory exercise there are generally two convenient methods you can use: Heart Rate (HR) and Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE).
First, Ratings of Perceived Exertion scales allow you to subjectively rate your intensity on a scale of 1-to-10, 1 being lowest intensity (resting) and 10 the highest intensity (running away from a rabid dog). RPE is a useful tool, however, if you’re seeking greater accuracy or already have a smart watch that allows you to track Heart Rate, objectivity is always more effective. Here are some things to know about Heart Rate Training.
To make use of various Heart Rate Training method you first need an idea of what your maximum attainable heart is. The easiest way to determine this is to estimate using the following formula:
220 – AGE = MaxHR (estimated)
Please understand that this is an estimate. It works for most people who fall under the bell curve of averages, so it makes for a good place to start.
Because we know that various intensities of exercise rely on different energy systems in the body assigning an intensity in a “Zone” allows us to target specific benefits with various workout designs.
Zone 1: 50-60% Max HR; RPE 5-6
Zone 2: 60-70% Max HR; RPE 6-7
Zone 3: 70-80% Max HR; RPE 7-8
Zone 4: 80-90% Max HR; RPE 8-9
Zone 5: 90-100% Max HR; RPE 9-10
For Heart Health and longevity, we recommend spending around 80% of your cardio-respiratory exercise in Zones 1 through 3. These zones allow you for what’s called “Steady State” activity or exercise at a consistent intensity that is sustainable for 20-60 minutes.
Longer bouts of low-to-moderate intensity exercise provide unique benefits to your heart and lungs.
First, it promotes an increase in the size and number of mitochondria. This increases our capacity for cellular respiration or exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide and greater efficiency when performing activities at any intensity. Basically, this allows your heart to be more efficient in pumping oxygenated blood to your body under all conditions.
Second, long duration exercise increases left ventricular size, which increases the capacity to pump more blood volume to the body with every beat.
In addition, one of the main reasons we like low-to-moderate intensity long duration exercise is that it promotes gradual and progressive adaptation of ligaments, tendons, bones and joints to the stress of long-duration activities. This reduces your risk for injury.
There is value in exercising in Zone 4 and 5 as well, but for longevity purposes you should aim for no more than 20% of your weekly physical activity. Short Duration, High Intensity exercise is often referred to as H.I.I.T. Here are some of the benefits:
First, Zone 4/5 exercise increases Cardio-Respiratory Capacity by strengthening the heart muscle, similar to how strength training causes muscles to adapt. Moreover, Zone 4/5 exercise forces the lungs to learn how to recover more quickly improving your transition back to resting.
Second, higher intensity exercise creates an oxygen deficit that persists long after exercise. This prolonged oxygen deficit causes your metabolism to stay high for up to 48 hours. The resulting increased calorie expenditure can help with weight and body fat loss.
The main drawback of Zone 4/5 exercises for those whose primary objective is longevity is the increased risk of injury to muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints due to the nature of the activities and effort needed to generate the highest intensity. Moreover, the demands placed on the body during H.I.I.T. can make recovery between workouts challenging (i.e. you get too sore to train with the frequency you need to optimize your benefits).
As someone who is currently training or exercising for improved functional capacity, health and longevity I’ve found it best to balance my high and low intensity activities with a little flexibility based on intuition. I train 6 days per week, 3 for Strength and 3 for Cardio-Respiratory Endurance.
My cardio-respiratory endurance days are typically spent with medium duration/intensity intervals or low intensity recovery: 1 day in mostly Zone 1-2 and 2 days in Zones 2-3. I choose low impact activities for my cardio days, cycling two times per week and hitting the stair climber once.
Two to three times per week I include a 10-minute “finisher” at the end of my Strength Training workouts. These are Zone 4/5 efforts and include Jumping Rope, Versa Climber, Carries, Ski Erg or SLED work. As for my total cardio-respiratory training, I spend approximately 85% of my time in Zones 1-3 and 15% of my time in Zones 4/5.
Training for longevity and health is slightly different compared to those training with performance goals in mind. If you’re more interested in optimizing performance, there’s a great article posted on REI’s website that can help you. You can access that HERE.
If you’re a client at Marino’s, we’ll be happy to calculate your Training Zones for you. Just let us know next time you’re in for a workout.