Name: ______

Hour: ______

ACSM Aerobic Fitness Guidelines

AmericanCollege of Sports Medicine Guidelines for Prescribing Aerobic Exercise

  1. Frequency
    3-5 days per week regime
  2. Intensity
    55-90% maximum heart-rate
  3. Duration
    15-60 minutes
  4. Mode of Activity
    There is no best aerobic exercise other than the one that uses the large muscles of the body, encourages compliance, adheres to the above frequency, intensity and duration guidelines and does so without providing undue physical stress or injury potential.
  5. Progression

Initial Conditioning Phase

  • Intensity - 55-70% maxiumum heart rate
  • Frequency - 3 times per week
  • Duration - 10-15 minute minimum
  • Period - 4-6+ weeks

Improvement Conditioning Phase

  • Intensity - 70-90% maximum heart rate
  • Frequency - 3-5 times per weeks
  • Duration - 15-60 minutes
  • Period - small increases every 2-3 weeks for 4-5 months

Benefits of Aerobic Exercise

According to the AmericanCollege of Sports Medicine, aerobic exercise has these health benefits:

  1. Total blood volume increases
  2. Pulmonary ventilation increases
  3. Heart muscle grows stronger
  4. Reduced risk of artherosclorosis due to production of HDL (good) cholesterol
  5. Blood pressure decreases
  6. Improved digestion
  7. Assists changes in body composition
  8. Improved bone density
  9. Improves productivity and self-image
  10. Relieves stress and depression

Different Heart-Rate Zones are useful for different aspects of training. Zones are calculated using your MHR.

Heart-Rate Zones

  1. The Low Intensity Zone – 50-60% MHR (Brisk Walk)
  • Strengthens Heart, reduces body fat, cholesterol, and blood pressure.
  • Does not increase endurance or strength.
  • Good for beginners or someone who has not exercised in a while.
  1. The Weight Control Zone – 60-70% MHR (Slow-Medium Pace Jog)
  2. Fat burning zone
  3. 65% of all calories burned in this zone are fat calories
  4. The Aerobic Zone – 70-80% MHR (Running)
  • Progressively more intense, yet not exhausting.
  • Great zone for fat burning, muscle strengthening, confidence-building, and general fitness.
  • Burn fat and carbohydrates at a 50-50 ratio.
  • More fat is actually burned in this zone because the total number of calories burned is greater, so this is the BEST zone for weight loss.
  1. The Anaerobic Zone – 80-90% MHR (Running Fast)
  • Improves endurance and general fitness level.
  • As running pace is increased, the amount of available oxygen is no longer sufficient to meet the bodies energy demands and a second pathway called anaerobic (without oxygen) glycolysis (breakdown of glucose for energy) is recruited.
  • Point at which breathing becomes more labored and the dreaded burning sensation in the legs begins to appear.
  • Do workouts in this zone in short spurts on only 2-3 days per week
  1. The Redline Zone – 90-100% MHR (Sprinting)
  • Short length bursts of one to two minutes
  • Improves competitive athletic performance.
  • High risk for injury, so it’s safe to stay away from redline training unless you’re a competitive athlete.

CALCULATING YOUR TARGET HEART-RATE ZONE

1. Determine your Max Heart Rate (MHR).

MHR = 220-(Your Age) = ______

2. Determine your Target Heart-Rate Zone.

Low End: MHR  .60 = ______

High End: MHR  .85 = ______

Age 15 MHR 205 * .6=123, .85=174

Age 16 MHR 204 * .6=122, .85=173

Age 17 MHR 203 * .6=122, .85=173

Age 18 MHR 202 * .6=121, .85=172

Determining your Heart-Rate:

  1. Find your pulse by placing your first two fingers across the carotid artery in the neck. Do this by placing the tip of your middle finger just below the bend in your jaw, and press firmly so that you feel your pulse.
  2. Count the number of pulsations in a six second period.
  3. Multiply this number by 10. This will give you an accurate estimate of the number of beats per minute (BPM).
  4. Determine what zone you are in.

Quick Reference Chart

Zone Name % of MHR Benefit

  1. Low Intensity 50%-60% Good for beginners, builds cardio foundation
  2. Weight Control 60%-70% Easy, burns lots of fat, good for recovery
  3. Aerobic 70%-80% Improves cardio strength, burns highest total of fat
  4. Anaerobic 80%-90% Improves endurance, work harder for longer
  5. Redline 90%-100% Improves athletic performance.

Lab Directions: You will be placed in groups of four, when directed go to the station appointed to your group. Do the activity or exercise at the station until you here the whistle, when the whistle blows stop and quickly find your pulse. When you have successfully located your pulse raise your hand you are not using for your pulse. I will blow the whistle when everyone is ready to start counting your pulsations. I will blow the whistle again to stop your count. Next, take the number of pulsations you counted and multiply this number by 10 (an easy way to do this is just add a 0 onto the number you counted). Once you have this number, record it in the blank which corresponds to the activity you engaged in prior to checking your pulse. Next, determine and record the heart zone which you were working in. Wait for the next whistle to go to your next station.

Name: ______

Hour: ______

Class ______BPM Heart Zone______

This will be done all together after lecture, record your results and wait quietly to be put into groups and sent to your starting station.

Walk ______BPM Heart Zone______

Walk around the outskirts of the gym at a moderate pace. Please do not mess with any of the equipment set up.

Jog ______BPM Heart Zone______

Jog around the outskirts of the gym. Do so without interfering with any of the other groups while they are at their stations.

Jump-rope ______BPM Heart Zone______

Jump-rope as best you can for the entire allotted time

BW Exercises ______BPM Heart Zone______

Do 20 of each of the following with no rest between sets, Jumping Jacks, sit-ups, push-ups, squats, and lunges. Repeat if necessary in order to exercise the entire allotted time. If you cannot complete 20 of any given exercise, do as many as you can and move on to the next exercise.

2 on 2 B-ball ______BPM Heart Zone______

Play 2 on 2, play hard, do the best you can even if your basketball skills are a bit unrefined.

Agility Cones ______BPM Heart Zone______

Start at the 1st cone, sprint to the front of the next cone then, sprint backwards to the next cone. When you reach the end sprint to the starting cone and repeat the drill for the entire time, work as hard as you can.

Bleacher Jumps ______BPM Heart Zone______

Jump on the first set of bleachers, jump back to the floor and repeat. Do this for the entire time as best you can. If you are unable to jump on the first row, do jump squats. This is very intense so pace yourself, just be sure to work the entire time allotted.

Aerobic Fitness is defined as being able to sustain 60-85% of your MHR for a period of 20 minutes.

Do you think you are aerobically fit? ______

Extra Credit: What did you like/dislike about this lesson?