Perhaps the most important component of a sound exercise prescription for aerobic fitness is the level of exercise intensity. The prescribed level of intensity must be sufficient to overload the cardiovascular system, but not so severe that it overtaxes any of the systems of the body.
For the apparently healthy individual who wants to develop and maintain an adequate level of cardiorespiratory fitness, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends that exercise intensity be between 50 percent to 85 percent of a person’s maximum oxygen uptake capacity (V02max). For most participants, exercise intensities between 60 percent to 80 percent of V02max are prescribed. It is generally believed, however, that the appropriate intensity threshold to elicit a training effect is at the low end of the recommended continuum for those who have been relatively sedentary, and at the high end of the scale for those who are physically active.
This difficulty in properly gauging exercise intensity often results in a lack of improvement or, worse, overexertion which, in turn, leads to excessive muscle soreness and/or injury. The key to remember is that in order to maximize the benefits from an aerobic workout, one must exercise within the appropriate intensity range. To identify what intensity range is appropriate for an individual, one or more of the several techniques for monitoring acceptable levels of exercise intensity can be used. The most widely used methods are target heart rate (THR), ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and metabolic equivalent units (METs).
Tags: metabolic, overexertion, oxygen