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Aerobic training

- low, moderate and intense training

By: Lene Gilkrog


Aerobic training - by Lene Gilkrog page 2

Someones performance skills are determined by Your heart rate as helping aid
many different factors, e.g. someones technical, The heart rate gives a good impression of the
tactical, psychological and physical abilities. The
training capacity, which you can use to plan
physical performance skill is particularly depending
your training. Especially when you train hard,
on heart/vessel system and the muscles build
the heart rate can give you valuable information
in combination with the nerve system, which is
about the training effect.
primarily determined by genetic factors. But you
can highly affect your physical skills by training.
The workload is related to a proportional

The performance skills also depend on gender, age increase of both the heart rate and the rate of
and other factors like surroundings and nutrition. oxygen uptake. You can use your heart rate to
This article describes the different forms of aerobic calculate the relative workload:
training. You also get examples of different training
principles and ideas to improve the aerobic factors. Relative workload (%) = (heart rate heart rate
rest) / (heart rate max heart rate rest)
What does aerobic training
mean? By monitoring heart rate you can follow your
Every time you move, the body uses energy. The physiological development not just your
body can procure this energy in two different ways: hearts work, but also your oxygen uptake.
The reason for this is the aforementioned
Without oxygen (anaerobic) when there is not
proportional relationship between heart rate and
enough oxygen, waste products will pile up in
oxygen uptake.
the muscles
With oxygen (aerobic) this means that the
exercise is performed under circumstances % of max % of max
where there is enough oxygen in the muscles. heart rate oxygen uptake
When you wish to improve your endurance 50 28
fitness, you should train your aerobic system 60 40
and move your lactate threshold. 70 58
80 70
Purpose of aerobic training 90 83
Aerobic training can be divided into three 100 100
overlapping training intensity areas: low, moderate
The table shows the relationship between the heart
and high intensity training. The overall purpose of rate and oxygen uptake. The values are average values
aerobic training is to: calculated from scientific research. The inaccuracy is
10%. (Michalsik, 2002: 160 and McArdle, 2001: 242)

improve the oxygen transport in your


circulation Low intensity training
improve the muscles ability to use the This form of training is also called restitution
available oxygen training, as the purpose is to achieve a faster
improve the ability to recuperate after hard restitution after hard exercise. The average
exercise heart rate should be 60-70% of the maximum

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heart rate (HRmax), which is why we talk about


light intensity physical activity like jogging.
You should just make sure that your exercise
pattern is the same as in your primary sport.

Restitution training is suitable the day after a


Maxim Energy Drink it is
hard training session or race/competition. The important that you drink both
idea behind low intensity training is that the before, during and after
exercise. With Maxim Energy
muscles recuperate better and that possible Drink you maintain your fluid
balance and energy levels.
soreness wears off faster. You can read more
about muscle soreness in the article DOMS
muscle soreness.
contains sport-specific exercises. A runner
runs, a swimmer swims, a cyclist cycles, etc.
RESTITUTION TRAINING Because you train at a moderate intensity, you
can train several hours. Should you wish to
Day after hard training session
train differently, you could divide the training
60-70% HRmax
into several training bouts with a higher
Involves both physical and mental
intensity.
restitution
A cyclist could for example choose to do a
Remember stretching
short and fast ride as well as a longer and
slower ride, where the speed varies, but the
heart rate stays within 70-80% HRmax.
Moderate intensity training
This form of training is also known as You could also choose interval training, where
endurance training, as the purpose is to you work 3 minutes (preferably longer) and you
improve your muscles ability to work for a rest for maximum 1 minute (preferably shorter).
longer time (that is the aerobic capacity) as well
as to increase the bodys ability to recuperate
after hard training.
ENDURANCE TRAINING
Endurance training can be done continuously
Often carried out continuously
or in intervals at 70-80% HRmax. If you choose
When using intervals, minimum
interval training, the exercise time should be at
3 minutes work, maximum 1 minute
least 3 minutes with short breaks. It is, however,
break
most common to exercise continuously as the
70 - 80% HRmax
intensity is relatively low.
Very long training sessions
Remember stretching
How to train at a moderate intensity
Make sure that your endurance training

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High intensity training disadvantage of this method is precisely the


This form of training could also be called
large amount of time that most people do not
fitness training, as the goal is to improve
have.
your bodys ability to work at a high intensity
for a long period of time, as well as to improve
How to train at a high intensity
the bodys ability to recuperate after intense
Due to the high intensity this training should
exercise.
take between 10 and 30 minutes. You should
take cake that the intensity does not get too
high, so you do not switch to anaerobic training.
Moreover, you should be aware that your heart
rate can go up with 8-12 beats per minute, even
if you keep the same speed. This means that
the heart rate increases, even though the work
Maxim Energy Bar provides immediate
and continuous energy. load and oxygen uptake are the same. This
increased heart rate is due to fluid loss which
leads to thicker blood. The body does not get
High intensity training could be done
as much oxygen per heart rate as before the
continuously or at intervals at 90% HRmax.
fluid loss.
Most athletes choose interval training, because
you gain a greater total of intense work. Several
Training at high intensity intervals
research projects have shown that this is the
There are 2 types of interval training:
most optimal way to improve the maximum
1) long intervals
oxygen uptake. High intensity in the training
2) short intervals
is the most substantial factor for an improved
fitness, but you do not need to train until
The long intervals consist of 2-10 minute work
exhaustion.
intervals and 1-6 minute rest intervals with
light exercise. Exercise bouts of 2 minutes are
Research shows that in very well trained
sufficient to get the circulation up to a stationary
athletes the fitness can be improved by
level close to the maximum levels and thus
exercising at a high intensity and thus a shorter
there are great fitness effects to achieve with
period of time. Research also shows that the
this type of training. The length of the pause is
greatest effect in relation to fitness is achieved
less important. It should, however, be that long
by training at 90-100% HRmax intensity four
so that you can continue at (almost) the same
times a week, 35-45 minutes per session.
level. The more well-trained you are and the
better your restitution ability is - the shorter the
Moreover, it has been shown that untrained
breaks.
and moderately trained athletes can
achieve improvements in fitness at a lower
The principle is that you should train with as
intensity during a longer period of time. The
high an oxygen uptake as possible. The quantity

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of intervals depends likewise on the athletes Conclusion


fitness. Trained athletes could e.g. train 10 x 3/3 To achieve the greatest effect of aerobic
minutes. training, it is important to control the intensity to
ensure that you do the right training. The more
80-90% of max 90-100% of max experience you have with the aerobic training
heart rate heart rate forms, the easier it is to control the intensity.
2 min / 40 sek 2 min / 1 min Fortunately you can use a heart rate monitor,
3 min / 1 min 3 min / 3 min which makes it a lot easier.
6 min / 2 min 6 min / 4 min

Examples of ratio between exercise bouts and recovery Due to the large amount of training in endurance
periods for aerobic training at a high intensity with long sports, it is very important to have variation in
intervals. (Michalsik, 2002: 176).
training. By switching between different forms
of training you avoid one-sided strains and
The short intervals consist of work intervals thus injuries. Moreover it is motivating to vary
of 10-120 seconds and recovery periods, after training. And remember: the largest part of your
which light exercise is done for 15-60 seconds. training should be sport-specific.
The short intervals do not necessarily mean
that the oxygen uptake can reach the maximum References:
Bangsbo, J. (2000): Physiology of Intermittent Exercise.
level so it is the length of the break that is I: Exercise: Basic and Applied Science. Ed. Garret &
decisive for the training effect. Due to the short Kirkendall, USA.

time of the break, the oxygen uptake just drops Billat, V. L. et al (2000): Intermittent runs at the velocity
a little, and is therefore relatively higher at the associated with maximal oxygen uptake enables subjects
to remain at maximal oxygen uptake for a longer time than
next interval than at the start of the exercise. intense but submaximal runs. I: European Journal Applied
Physiology, Feb. 81(3).

The number of intervals is equally dependent Helgerud, J. et al (2007): Aerobic High-Intensity Intervals
on the athletes fitness. Trained athletes can for Improve VO2max More Than Moderate Training. I:
Medicine Science Sports Exercise. Vol. 39, No. 4, 2007(4).
example train 20 x 90/45 sec.
McArdle, W.D., Katch, F. & Katch, V. (2001): Exercise
Physiology: Energy Nutrition and Human Performance. 6.
udgave.
80-90% of max 90-100% of max
heart rate heart rate Larsen, H. B. (2001) Training principles in distance running.
I: Running & Science in an Interdisciplinary Perspective.
20 sek / 10 sek 20 sek / 15 sek
Eds.: Bangsbo & Larsen. Munksgaard.
45 sek / 15 sek 45 sek / 25 sek
Laursen, P. & Jenkins, D. (2002): The Scientific Basis
120 sek / 40 sek 120 sek / 60 sek
for High-Intensity Interval Training: Optimising Training
Programmes and Maximising Performance in Highly
Examples of ratio between working intervals and recovery
Trained Endurance Athletes. I: Sports Medicine, 32.
periods for aerobic training at a high intensity with short
intervals. (Michalsik: 2002: 179)
Michalsik, L. & Bangsbo, J. (2002): Aerob og anerob
trning. Danmarks Idrts-Forbund.

Maxim International | Industrigrenen 15 | 2635 Ishj | Denmark | +45 43565770 | Fax: +45 43565780 | info@maxim-nrg.com

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