What is the recommended frequency for cardiorespiratory training of participating in moderate intensity exercise like brisk walking Nasm?

Aerobic exercises are endurance-type exercises that increase a person’s heart rate and breathing rate over relatively long durations. Anaerobic exercises are exercises that involve short bursts of intense activity.

Examples of aerobic exercise include brisk walking and riding a bicycle. Sprinting and weightlifting are forms of anaerobic exercise.

Both types of exercise are beneficial for a person’s health, although each will benefit the body in different ways.

In this article, we outline the similarities and differences between aerobic and anaerobic exercise. We also explain some of the potential benefits and risks of these two types of exercise and how often people should perform each one.

Below are some definitions of aerobic and anaerobic exercises.

Aerobic exercises

Aerobic exercises are endurance-type exercises in which a person’s muscles move in a rhythmic and coordinated manner for a sustained period.

People refer to these exercises as aerobic because they require oxygen to generate energy. Aerobic exercises increase a person’s heart rate and breathing rate to supply more oxygen to the body’s muscles.

Examples of aerobic exercise include:

• brisk walking
• running
• cycling
• swimming

Anaerobic exercises

Anaerobic exercises are those that involve short, intense bursts of physical activity.

These exercises are anaerobic because they do not involve an increase in the absorption and transportation of oxygen. During anaerobic exercise, the body breaks down glucose stores in the absence of oxygen, leading to a buildup of lactic acid in the muscles.

Examples of anaerobic exercises include:

• sprinting
• weightlifting
• high intensity interval training (HIIT)

The main differences between aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise are:

• how the body uses stored energy
• the intensity of the exercise
• the length of time that a person is able to maintain the exercise

Aerobic exercises tend to be rhythmic, gentle, and of longer duration. Anaerobic exercises tend to involve short bursts of high intensity activity.

Generally speaking, aerobic exercise helps increase endurance, whereas anaerobic exercise helps increase muscle mass and strength.

While both types of exercise provide a variety of benefits, these may differ slightly.

Benefits of aerobic exercise

In general, aerobic exercises increase the heart rate and breathing rate and boost circulation. In this way, they improve a person’s cardiovascular health.

Some potential benefits of aerobic exercise include:

A 2015 study investigated whether regular aerobic activity reduced a person’s mortality risk. The study found that people who engaged in a total of 1–2.4 hours of light jogging over two or three runs per week had a significantly lower risk of mortality than those who did not exercise.

However, people who practiced strenuous jogging appeared to have the same mortality risk as those who did not exercise at all. This finding suggests that moderate aerobic exercise can help reduce the risk of mortality but that high intensity aerobic exercise may not confer any added advantage.

Risks of aerobic exercises

Aerobic exercises are beneficial for most people. However, people should talk to a doctor before they begin practicing aerobic exercise if they:

Doctors may be able to make specific exercise recommendations or suggest sensible restrictions to help a person ease into regular aerobic exercise.

A person with a sedentary lifestyle should also ease into physical activity gradually. The sudden introduction of long duration, high intensity aerobic exercise may put unnecessary stress on the body.

Benefits of anaerobic exercises

Similarly to aerobic exercise, anaerobic exercise has beneficial effects on a person’s cardiovascular health.

However, in comparison with aerobic exercise, anaerobic exercise demands more energy from the body within a shorter time frame. As such, anaerobic exercise may be particularly beneficial for people who are looking to lose body fat.

Anaerobic exercise also helps a person gain or maintain muscle mass and increase bone density.

Risks of anaerobic exercises

Anaerobic exercise is typically more demanding on the body and requires higher levels of exertion. As such, people should ensure that they have a basic level of fitness before engaging in intense anaerobic workouts.

People with underlying health concerns should talk to a doctor before adding any anaerobic exercise to their regular workout routine.

It can also be beneficial to work with a personal trainer when trying anaerobic exercises for the first time. A personal trainer can ensure that the person performs the workouts correctly to reduce the risk of overexertion or injury.

People can think of aerobic exercises as sustained forms of exercise.

Common examples of aerobic exercise include:

• brisk walking
• hiking
• dancing
• swimming
• cycling

People can think of anaerobic exercises as quick, intense workouts.

Examples of anaerobic exercises include:

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommend that adults practice either 150–300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75–150 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic activity each week. They note that increasing the amount of exercise will provide greater health benefits.

Moderate aerobic activity includes activities such as brisk walks and gentle bike rides. The rule of thumb is that a person should be able to talk comfortably while doing these activities.

More vigorous aerobic activities include long distance running and more intense cycling. Vigorous aerobic activities allow a person to reach their weekly aerobic activity requirements more quickly.

The HHS Department recommend that adults perform moderate intensity or higher intensity muscle-strengthening activities on at least 2 days of the week. Examples include weightlifting and resistance training.

When performing muscle-strengthening exercises, it is important that people work out all of the major muscle groups rather than focusing solely on the muscles in the upper or lower body.

Aerobic exercises are endurance-type exercises that increase a person’s heart and breathing rate over a sustained period. Anaerobic exercises involve short, intense bursts of physical activity.

Both types of exercise are beneficial for a person’s cardiovascular health. They also provide mental health benefits.

People with cardiovascular conditions or other underlying health issues should talk to a doctor before starting any workout routine or adding new exercises to an existing routine. A doctor may provide recommendations or restrictions to reduce the risk of overexertion, injury, and other health complications.

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We all know how important exercise is to our overall health. While putting in the time to exercise is important, you also need to monitor how hard you’re working.

One way to track your effort is with the RPE or Rate of Perceived Exertion scale. This method of measuring activity intensity level is also referred to as the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion scale.

Certified personal trainer, Jacquelyn Baston, LMT, CSCS, NSCA-CPT says the RPE is a subjective measure of how hard a person feels like they’re working during physical activity. “This observation is based on elevated heart rate, increased breathing, and muscle fatigue,” she explains.

These observations correspond to a scale where the higher the number reported, the more intense the exercise, says Baston. This is a very simple, yet fairly accurate way to monitor and guide exercise intensity.

It’s important to remember that there’s a slight difference between the Borg scale and the RPE scale. To get a better understanding of the difference between the two, Baston says to think of it this way:

• The original Borg scale has a range from 6 to 20 (with 6 being no exertion at all, and 20 being maximum effort). This scale correlates with a person’s heart rate or how hard they feel they’re working.
• The modified RPE scale has a range from 0 to 10 (with 0 being no exertion and 10 being maximum effort). This scale corresponds more with a feeling of breathlessness.

Certified strength and conditioning specialist, Travis Barrett, MS, CSCS, prefers the RPE scale since it acts more like a sliding scale over time.

“The RPE scale was originally developed by the scientist Gunnar Borg who rated the scale on 6 to 20 (Borg scale), which was basically built around a heart rate range,” he says.

“Whatever number you pick on the 6 to 20 scale, you should add a zero to that and it should equate to your current working heart rate,” he adds. For example, if you’re running up a hill for 30 seconds and it feels like an 11 on the Borg scale, your heart rate should be 110 bpm.

Barrett says the modified RPE scale allows for daily changes in your training. You can push harder than usual on days where you feel great, and back off on days where you feel sluggish.

If you want to measure the intensity of your workouts, get familiar with the numbers. In simple terms, the numbers correspond to the intensity of exercise.

This is helpful for monitoring how hard people are working, especially if a heart rate monitor is not available. And it can be used for anyone, from beginning to advanced fitness levels.

In order to understand how the numbers correspond with specific activities, Barrett gives the following example:

• 1 on the RPE means you’re lying on the couch
• 10 on the RPE means you’re pushing a car up a steep hill

The optimal level of intensity for exercise depends on the individual. Baston says that, generally speaking, the recommended exercise guidelines (30 to 45 minutes at a moderately-intense rate, five days per week) correlate to 12 to 14 on the Borg RPE scale.

“The same benefits can be achieved in 20 minutes at a vigorously intense rate, three days per week,” she explains. This equates to a 15 to 17 on the Borg scale.

If you’re comparing the original Borg scale to the modified RPE scale, the moderate-intensity (12 to14) loosely translates to a 4 or 5 on the RPE scale, while vigorous activity (15 to 17) can land on the RPE scale with a range of 6 to 8.

Baston says the RPE scale is also useful when working with heart patients, where their heart may be purposely lowered with medication such as a beta-blocker. Using the scale helps to prevent them from overexerting themselves.

To get a better idea of how these numbers correspond to specific exercises, Dr. Alex Tauberg, DC, CSCS, CCSP says to think of it this way: If you’re training for aerobic endurance, you might be at about a 5 or 6 on the RPE scale for 60 to 90 minutes.

But if you’re training for your one-rep max while lifting weights (the heaviest weight you can lift for one rep), you’ll likely approach a 9 or 10 level for a few minutes at most. Most people with a goal of general fitness, will strength train in the 4 to 7 range.

When looking at the Borg scale, Baston says if you’re walking briskly, you might fall in the 9 to 11 range. Whereas jogging might be closer to 15 to 17, and running and sprinting closer to 17 to 20.

This chart gives you an idea of how these scales and activities compare.

If you’re using the Borg scale, and want it to correspond with your heart rate, try wearing a heart rate monitor. You can also take your heart rate manually by following these steps:

• Find your pulse on the inside of your wrist, on the thumb side.
• Use the tips of your first two fingers (not your thumb) and press lightly over the artery.
• Count your pulse for 30 seconds and multiply by two to find your beats per minute.

If you’re using the scale without measuring your heart rate, you’ll need to periodically stop and assess how you’re feeling. Then compare to both scales.

Buy a heart rate monitor online here.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends adults get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. They also advise engaging in muscle-strengthening activities two or more days a week.

Remember, this is the minimum recommendation. You can always go above these numbers. If you’re looking for additional health benefits, the CDC says you can increase your aerobic exercise to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week, or 150 minutes of vigorous exercise a week.

Exercise is a key component to your overall health and wellness. It’s good practice to monitor the intensity of your workouts. That way you’ll exercise within a range that’s comfortable, but still requires you to exert yourself.

While monitoring your own heart rate and RPE helps keep you in the safe zone while exercising, you should always talk with your doctor before starting a new exercise routine.