If Not Now, When?

THIS ISSUE: Aerobics By Any Other Name . . .

Table of Contents:

1) Editor's Note
2) Food for Thought
3) Feature Article: Aerobics By Any Other Name . . .
4) Teleclasses
5) Question & Answer
6) Our Services

Editor's Note

Hi,

For many parts of the U.S., Fall is here. But here in the desert Southwest, that doesn't mean as much. No changing of the leaves, no crisp mornings. But it is starting to be less warm during the days. Last night the weather people said that we might not get too many more days over 100 degrees. That sounds pretty good about now.

This past month we went up to Prescott for an arts and crafts fair with some friends over the Labor Day weekend. And last weekend we went to the wedding of the daughter of the same friends. I remember when this young woman was born – does that mean I'm getting old? Well, maybe older, but not old. After all, it's all in your perspective.

And speaking of weddings, today in my wife and I's 42nd anniversary. We are high school sweethearts who got married during college. Happy anniversary sweetie!

This month I'm writing about aerobic exercise and some important guidelines you should be aware of. I hope you find the information useful.

Reminder - I still have a few spots open in my on line fitness coaching group.  Just go to  my coaching site to check things out.

Good luck, keep exercising, and remember – "If not now, when?".

Best Wishes,

Tom Manfredi


Send any comments you may have to tom@fitness-after-50.com

My site fitness-after-50.com

Food for Thought

Feature Article - Aerobics By Any Other Name . . .

If you've read any of my other articles on exercise you know that I am not a proponent of the “no pain, no gain” theory. To the contrary, I believe that exercise should be taken on slowly and increased in small increments to reduce the chance of possible injury. This is especially true for the mature person.

I also believe that aerobic exercise should be the cornerstone of any health related exercise program. Based on this premise, I think it is important that you understand what I mean by aerobic exercise, and what constitutes a reasonable amount of aerobic exercise.

I think an acceptable definition of aerobic exercise is the one used by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). They define aerobic exercise as “any activity that uses large muscle groups, can be maintained continuously, and is rhythmic in nature”. In their guidelines, they also say that aerobic exercise should be performed for a minimum of 10 minutes at a time to be of any health benefit. I'm going to tweak that definition a little by adding that the exercise should increase your heart rate for an extended period of time, thereby placing demands on the cardio-vascular system.

The reason I want the definition of aerobic exercise to be clear is so that what I'm going to talk about next makes as much sense as possible.

By the definition I have given, things like rowing, running, jogging, walking, cross country skiing, roller blading, swimming, hiking, dancing, and biking can all qualify as forms of aerobic exercise. That is, assuming you do them for a sufficient amount of time and at a certain intensity to fit the definition. This brings me to the real focus of what I want to discuss here, which is intensity, duration, and frequency. These are the important parameters that you need to keep in mind when you are planning and doing your aerobic exercise in order to get the real benefits from this type of exercise.

Intensity simply means the heart rate range within which you are performing your exercise. I have discussed this principle in other articles, but it doesn't hurt to repeat some basics here. There are a couple of factors to keep in mind when determining your heart rate range – your age, your current physical condition, any medications you're taking, your goals, and the kind of aerobic exercise you are planning to do. Your heart rate range (usually referred to as your THR – target heart range) is determined by your age adjusted maximum heart rate, adjusted to a percentage range based on your goals. So if you want to lose weight, you may use a THR around 65% of your maximum heart rate (assuming you aren't taking any drugs that might affect your exercise heart rate). If you are planning to train for a long distance running event, you might use a THR of 70 – 85% of your maximum heart rate. Another thing you may want to take into account is the type of exercise you'll be doing. Running creates more exertion on your body than walking does, and swimming (because it is done horizontally) will reflect a slower heart rate for a similar level of exertion.

To get the maximum benefit for your body, aerobically speaking, you should try to do several different forms of aerobic exercise on a regular basis. The reason for this has to do with an exercise principle referred to as “specificity”. Because of this principle, becoming aerobically fit by doing one form of exercise does not transfer the same fitness over to another form of exercise. Let me give you an example: when I first started to train for triathlons, I had been jogging about 30 miles a week, but when I got in the pool for the first time to do some laps, I could only do about two. That's because all the aerobic fitness I had while jogging didn't use the same mechanisms in the body as swimming does. So, maybe you can walk twice a week, bike twice a week, and take an aerobic dance class once a week.

This brings us to the concepts of frequency and duration. When it comes to duration you might recall that ACSM suggested that you need to do any form of aerobic exercise for at least 10 minutes per session. Well, they also say that you should aim to do at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week, or 30 minutes per day, five times per week. That gives us guidelines for both duration and frequency.

When you follow these guidelines, you will get the maximum health benefits out of your aerobic exercise program. If you want to train for a competitive event that involves aerobic conditioning, then all the rules change. And I hate to burst the bubble, but if you are a mature exerciser, no amount of exercise will make you competitive with a person half your age who does the same amount of training. (I just thought I'd throw that in for all the 50+ men who think they can whip themselves back into the same great shape they were in 25 or 30 years ago). It ain't gonna happen!

(c)2005 - 2008 Thomas D. Manfredi, MS

Teleclasses

I will be announcing upcoming teleclasses in this section in the future.

If you have a topic that you would be interested in hearing about in a teleclass, send an e-mail to teleclasses@fitness-after-50.com

Questions and Answers

Answer - You should plan on devoting one hour per day, everyday of the week to exercise. This would include time spent on aerobic training, strength exercises, stretching, and balance exercises. You don't need to do everything every day, but you should get all of these things in at least several times per week.


To get more information on various fitness and health issues, please go to my site – www.fitness-after-50.com


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If you have a fitness or nutrition question you would like me to consider answering here in the newsletter, just send your question, along with your first name and city, in an e-mail to quesandansw@fitness-after-50.com

Obviously, I can't answer every question submitted. I will choose one question each month to answer here.

About Our Services

On line fitness coach Tom Manfredi is the creator of the site "fitness-after-50". This site is designed with the mature adult in mind. There is a lot of information available on the site for anyone looking to start or restart a sensible exercise program. Learn more by going to www.fitness-after-50.com


Tom also offers on line fitness coaching for people interested in getting expert guidance with their fitness plans. Check out Tom's coaching services and get a F.R.E.E. fitness analysis too.

Benefits of Fitness Coaching On Line:

I am now offering on line fitness coaching to my readers. Below are some of the reasons you may want to check in with me about having me be your coach. I will only be accepting a limited number of people to coach so that I can give each of them the attention they deserve.