Aerobic Exercise Guidelines

The following aerobic exercise guidelines will help you safely and effectively incorporate aerobic exercise into your fitness program.

Frequency and Duration

For general health benefits and weight maintenance, exercise aerobically three times per week, with each workout lasting 20-30 minutes. In order to lose body fat or become very aerobically fit, exercise aerobically five or six times per week, with each workout lasting 30-60 minutes. Beyond 60 minutes you tend to reach a point of diminishing returns and increase the likelihood of injury or burnout.

You'll most likely need to adjust the above frequency and duration guidelines depending on your body type, genetics and fitness goals. Many ectomorphic and mesomorphic body types with fast metabolisms are able to stay lean while doing very little aerobic exercise. Many endomorphic body types with slow metabolisms need to do a lot of aerobic exercise in order to lose body fat and get leaner.

Intensity

The talk test is a simple way to measure aerobic exercise intensity. Your workout should be intense enough to make you breathe deeply and feel a little winded, but you should be able to carry on a light conversation while you exercise. If you're breathless and can't get any words out, you're working too hard and need to reduce the intensity. If you don't feel winded at all, you're not working hard enough and need to increase the intensity.

Target heart rate is another way to measure aerobic exercise intensity. To insure that you're training aerobically, your target heart rate should be between 60% and 85% of your maximum heart rate. Generally, 60-69% is considered low intensity, 70-79% moderate intensity, and 80-85% moderately high intensity.

Your maximum heart rate is calculated by subtracting your age from 220. So if you're 40 years old, your maximum heart rate would be 180 (220-40) beats per minute. If you decide to train at a moderate intensity level, say 70% of your maximum heart rate, your target heart rate would be 126 (180 x .70) beats per minute. Wearing a heart rate monitor is the easiest and most accurate way to determine target heart rate.

Interval Training

While the preceding information pertaining to frequency, duration and intensity have been commonly accepted aerobic exercise guidelines for quite some time, an increasing number of fitness experts are now recommending interval training in addition to or instead of traditional aerobic exercise.

Interval training, also known as high intensity interval training or HIIT, consists of alternating high intensity "work intervals" with low to moderate intensity "recovery intervals." For example, you sprint 50 yards and then walk 50 yards, and then continue to alternate these work and recovery intervals. Or you pedal at a fast pace on a stationary bike for 30 seconds and then pedal at a moderate pace for 60 seconds, and then continue to alternate these work and recovery intervals. There are many different ways to structure an interval training workout.

For more information on interval training, visit the What Is Interval Training page.

Changing Workout Routines

This is one of the aerobic exercise guidelines that many people don't think about. Many people do the same aerobic exercise routine month after month, which can lead to burnout, repetitive injury or aerobic adaptation. Aerobic adaptation is where the body adapts to a particular routine, and it can cause fat loss to come to a stop.

You need to make periodic changes to your aerobic exercise routine, such as alternating between different types of aerobic exercise (e.g., treadmill one workout, elliptical machine another workout) or doing interval training instead of traditional aerobic exercise.

Warming Up and Cooling Down

It's important to warm up before aerobic exercise and to cool down after aerobic exercise. Warming up your muscles prior to your workout will help prevent injury. Cooling down after your workout will slowly lower your heart rate and redirect blood flow back to normal. Both the warm up and cool down should be a few minutes of light aerobic exercise.

Stretching

Never stretch cold muscles. Stretching cold muscles can cause injury, and several studies have shown that stretching cold muscles slightly decreases muscle strength and power for up to an hour after stretching. Warm up first, then stretch. Or stretch after your workout. For more information on stretching, visit the Benefits of Stretching page.

In conclusion, these aerobic exercise guidelines will help you develop an aerobic exercise program that best meets your individual needs and goals.