How to Plan Your Cardiovascular Exercise Workouts

No exercise can be considered safe and efficient unless it is appropriate for your fitness level. It is important that you know how fit you are and what to do to improve your fitness level.

The Rockport Protocol Fitness Walking Test

The Rockport Test is considered the safest aerobic fitness test. It allows you to estimate your aerobic capacity. In my opinion, the best test to do without professional supervision and equipment is the Rockport Protocol Fitness Test. I regard this test highly because it is specific to your age and gender.

What's more, this test is safe because you are not forced to overdo. This is why it's called "non-stress exercise test." Specialists who are required to be ready to do CPR if needed should conduct the stress exercise tests in a well-equipped lab. During the Rockport Protocol Fitness Test, you can walk at your own pace and still get a realistic estimation of your fitness level. Why?

Because your heart rate is a part of the equation. You can walk slower and have a slower heart rate or you can walk faster and have a faster heart rate. Where these two variable cross is your fitness point. The Rockport Protocol Walk Fitness Test allows the calculation of the most important fitness parameter, the maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max).

A "regular" VO2 is a volume of oxygen consumed by all tissues of the body at any state including at rest. It shows how many liters of oxygen a kilogram of body weight consumes in one minute.

The "maximal" VO2 (VO2 max) is how much oxygen the body can consume during a maximal physical effort. It is a good measure of physical condition because it reflects how much muscle you have, how good your heart, lungs and blood vessels work at pumping the blood saturated with oxygen throughout the body's tissues, and how well your capillary network is developed. Fat tissues don't consume much oxygen, so with the same body weight, a fatter person consumes less oxygen.

However, this test is not for everyone. The School of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services, University of Northern Iowa, validated the Rockport Fitness Walking Test in college students (Research Quarterly for Exercise & Sport. 65 (2): 152-8, 1994). They measured VO2 max directly and compared it with that predicted by the Rockport Protocol Fitness Test. The conclusion was that the Rockport Fitness Walking Test in college students overpredicted VO2 max by 16-18 percent in the males and by 22-23 percent in the females. If you are college age, you probably should not use this test. It was also concluded that the test couldn't be accurate enough for adults with mental retardation (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 31 (12): 1849-54, 1999).For the rest of us, it is easy to do. But before you start the test, make sure it is safe for you. This is how.

Step 1. This is how to check out your fitness level simply by doing squats. Read carefully to do it safely.Sit quietly for a few minutes, and then measure your resting heart rate (RHR).For men it is safe to do this test if your HR is below 75, for women it can be up to 80. If your heart rate is higher than that, do the following measurement first.

Step 2. For those whose RHR was above 75 (men) or 80 (women)Squat all the way down, keeping your back straight and lifting your arms forward parallel to the floor. Stand straight again. Repeat 10 times, at one-second intervals. Immediately after the 10th squat, measure your after-test heart rate (THR). If your THR exceeds your RHR by 50 percent, you need to see your doctor for a professional check-up. Perhaps, you need a cardio fitness rehabilitation program.

Step 3. For those whose RHR was below 75 (men) or 80 (women)Those whose RHR was in safe limits and those whose THR after the above exercise was not 1.5 times higher than their RHR, may proceed to the main test, which is similar to the above test, just twice as long.Squat all the way down, keeping your back straight and lifting your arms forward parallel to the floor. Stand straight again. Repeat 20 times, at one-second intervals. Immediately after the 20th squat, measure your THR.Take you THR and divide it by your RHR. Estimate your fitness using the table:

Table 1.

THR/RHR	Fitness Category
1.25 or less	Excellent
1.26 to 1.50	Good
1.51 to 1.75	Fair
Above 1.75	Bad (consult your physician)

Now you are ready for the Rockport Test

Measure a mile. Walk it nonstop, briskly but comfortably. Count your heart rate for 15 sec. immediately after. Multiply by four and write down the result. Write down how much time you spent walking this mile.

Table 2. Men.

1	Take your weight in pounds	Multiply by 0.0091	Result 1
2	Take your age	Multiply by 0.0257	Result 2
3	Take mile-walking time	Multiply by 0.2240	Result 3
4	Take your HR at end of test	Multiply by 0.0115	Result 4
5	Take Result 1	Add 6.9652	Result 5
6	Take Result 2	Subtract from Result 5	Result 6
7	Take Result 6	Add 0.5955	Result 7
8	Take Result 7	Subtract Result 3	Result 8
9	Take Result 8	Subtract Result 4	Result 9 = VO2 max (in liters per minute)

Table 3. Women.

1	Take your weight in pounds	Multiply by 0.0091	Result 1
2	Take your age	Multiply by 0.0257	Result 2
3	Take mile-walking time	Multiply by 0.2240	Result 3
4	Take your HR at end of test	Multiply by 0.0115	Result 4
5	Take Result 1	Add 6.9652	Result 5
6	Take Result 2	Subtract from Result 5	Result 6
7	Take Result 6	Subtract Result 3	Result 7
8	Take Result 7	Subtract Result 4	Result 8 = VO2 max (in liters per minute)

Table 4. Fitness
CategoriesVO2 max is generally expressed in milliliters per kilogram per minute (ml/kg min). This is how to convert pounds to kilograms and liters to milliliters.

2.2/weight/.001 x VO2 max (in liters per minute) = VO2max (in kg/ml min)

VO2 max. (if your HR was close to 220 minus age)	Fitness category
	Very bad
26-33 cm3/min/kg	Bad
34-42 cm3/min/kg	Fair
43-50 cm3/min/kg	Good
50 cm3/min/kg	Excellent

Table 5 Age Correction.

Age (years)	Fitness categories
	Use table 1
31-50
VO2	Category
43-50 cm3/min/kg	Excellent
34-42 cm3/min/kg	Good
26-33 cm3/min/kg	Fair
51-7
VO2	Category
34-42 cm3/min/kg	Excellent
26-33 cm3/min/kg	Good
	Fair

Now that you know your fitness level, what should you do next? It's simple: your have to increase it however good it is. This is the tricky part. You just can't stay where you are and still keep your fitness level high. There are many workout plans suitable for your fitness level, but you can have a rough schedule for any kind of exercise based on safely and efficiently increasing the workloads, week by week.

Heart rate schedules for 10 weeks

If your fitness level is poor Weeks 1 to 3: Your exercise heart rate should not exceed your HR at rest by 10 beats per minute.Weeks 4 to 6: It should be your resting HR plus 15.Weeks 7 to 10: It should be your resting HR plus 20.Then you will need to re-evaluate your fitness level.

For the "fair" fitness level Weeks 1 and 2: HR at rest + 10.Weeks 3 and 4: HR at rest + 15.Weeks 5 and 6: HR at rest + 20.Weeks 7 10: HR at rest + 25.

Fitness category "Good" Weeks 1 and 2 - 60 percent Maximal Heart Rate.Weeks 3 and 4 - 65 percent Maximal Heart Rate.Weeks 5 and 6 - 70 percent Maximal Heart Rate. Weeks 7 to 10 - 75 percent Maximal Heart Rate.

Fitness category "Excellent" Weeks 1 and 2 - 65 percent Maximal Heart Rate.Weeks 3 and 4 - 70 percent Maximal Heart Rate.Weeks 5 and 6 - 75 percent Maximal Heart Rate.Weeks 7 to 10 - 80 percent Maximal Heart Rate.