Cardiorespiratory Training

The Human Heart is a vital organ that pumps blood to parts of the body for their proper functioning, Increased heart disease risk due to sedentary habits and unhealthy eating habits are on the rise. It has become very important to make sure heart is conditioned well for it to keep running efficiently and reduce the risk of heart disease. It is recommended for most adults to perform atleast 150 mins of moderate intensity cardio per week or 75 mins of vigorous intensity cardio per week. It goes without saying that, in addition to this, you need proper nutrition and adequate hydration.

Cardio training sounds intimidating for some people as it is often misunderstood that it requires vigorous and intense effort to see real results. Yes, that is true to some extent. After all, the more intense the workouts are, the faster the results are. Intense activities burn more calories resulting in faster weight loss in a short period of time. However, you can still burn calories with steady state workouts at lower intensities with the caveat that you will have to be patient and persistent to see the results as it is going to take longer. Remember, there are no shortcuts!

Stage training is an important concept in cardio training to gradually and progressively increase the training intensity and volume. Generally, the cardio training program is divided into 5 stages. Each consisting of 1 or more zones.

For most beginner adults, it is recommended that they start in Stage 1 which is termed as Steady State cardio. This means that the heart rate is not spiking too much and is in a controlled steady state also referred to as being below the Ventilatory Threshold 1 (VT1). Walking or a light jog are good examples of this. Below this threshold, you should be able to hold conversation for a long time.

Stage 2 involves a mix of of work intervals above VT1 and recovery intervals below VT1. Here you are cycling through Zone 1 and Zone 2. For example, a walk at 2 mph for 5 minutes(moderate) and then run at 5 mph for 2 mins(hard) and then back to the walk and so on until the workout duration is reached.

Stage 3 involves cycling through Zones 1, 2 and 3. Zone 3 is closer to VT2 where sustained talking will becomes challenging.

Stage 4 involves cycling through Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4. In Zone 4, a person will be above VT2 where talking is almost impossible or a person can speak only single word like a "yes" or "no".

Stage 5 also involves cycling through Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4. However, this is an advanced stage where some agility based drills or High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) activities are involved.

In which stage you are training depends on many factors - training goals, progression, regression, recovery, injury. For example, even elite athletes training in Stage 5 may need to regress to Stage 1 due to injury or overtraining. For most beginner adults, they start in Stage 1 and once they are comfortable then move on to Stage 2 training, then Stage 3 and so on. Or they can stay in Stage 2 for weeks and increase the training intensity and volume (e.g. running speed and duration) on a weekly basis. If they do this, the general rule of thumb is to increase progression by 10% on a weekly basis.

Depending on the assessment and training goals and weekly progression, the Stage in which a person is working out will change. But remember form, stability and proper body mechanics is crucial or there is a risk of injury. Quality over quantity!