Workout routines that fail to deliver what you expect can be a waste of energy.
Most workout routines which are designed to improve your aerobic fitness involve exercising for 20 minutes or sometimes longer at a percentage of your maximum heart rate — known as your training zone.
Apart from the fact that the formula that is traditionally used to calculate your maximum heart rate is extremely inaccurate, some workout routines can elevate your heart rate without having any effects on your cardiovascular fitness. In other words, it is possible to raise your heart rate, keep it there for 20 minutes or more several times each week, and it will not improve your fitness in the slightest.
Your Workout RoutinesMost aerobic workout routines are based on the amount of stress they impose on your body. For example, the general rule for establishing a suitable training intensity is to measure out your VO2max. To improve your level of aerobic fitness, you then follow a training program that will correspond to a percentage of this maximum.
However, most people do not have access to the equipment needed to measure their VO2max. Instead, they use their heartbeat to establish a suitable training intensity.
The reason for this is that during some forms of exercise, there is a link between oxygen consumption and heart rate. During aerobic exercise, such as running or walking for example, oxygen consumption and heart rate tend to both rise together. Yet the relationship does not hold true for all forms of activity.
The Nautilus ExerciseSome evidence for this theory comes from a study carried in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. Researchers from Washington University tried to measure the effect of four months of strength training using Nautilus exercise machines.
A group of 13 untrained males whose age ranged from 40-55 took part in the study. During every workout, which was carried out 3-4 times per week, tested subjects performed one set of each of 14 exercises. The result was that:
• There was no change in the level of body fat.
• Upper-body strength increased by an average of 50 percent.
• Lower-body strength increased by 33 percent.
During the Nautilus exercise, the heart was working at 155 beats per minute, which was approximately 80 percent of its maximum. However, despite training this way for up to four times each week, there was no significant change in the level of aerobic fitness.
The reason for this is because the large rise in heart rate was partly caused by an increase in the production of hormones known as catecholamines (pronounced cat-e-coal-a-meens). Adrenaline, for example, was roughly 4.5 times higher during Nautilus exercise than the treadmill walking exercise at similar oxygen consumption.
This does not necessarily mean that training with weights is not a suitable way to improve your aerobic fitness. After all, compound exercises such as the squat and the deadlift do place a large stress on your cardiovascular system. What it does mean is that measuring your heart rate is not always the best way to gauge the effectiveness of your workout routines.
About the Author:
John Rifkind is a contributing weight loss editor at
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Using Effective Workout Routines
