Advice re: Rebuilding Cardiovascular Capacity

[Framewort]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice about how to rebuild my cardiovascular capacity.

First, a little history. I'm 33, 5'6'', 198 lb., male and quite stocky. I never was the active type,
but as I've gotten older, I've piled on the pounds for a couple of reasons: a desk job, my love for
food, and a genetic dispensation to add weight quickly (the males in my family are all stocky). I
quit smoking (after 10 years) in June 2001, and watched the weight really stick to me.

So I've decided to lose the excess weight through a combination of exercise and diet. My diet now
consists of lean meats, lots of green leafy vegetables, poly/mono-unsaturated fats, limited
carbohydrates (< 50 grams per day), lots of water and a daily multivitamin/multimineral supplement.

On the exercise side, I started a regular schedule (3-4 times a week; 45 minutes at a time) of brisk
walking. I do some weight training during the week, additionally. Altogether, my efforts have
resulted in gradual weight loss and an improvement in the level at which I can exercise.

I've decided to start jogging as a means to step up the level of cardiovascular activity and have
found that my ability to jog, is *very* limited. Basically, I can jog for a minute at 5 mph before
my lungs give out (I was a moderate smoker). It then takes me about 4 minutes (on average) to
recover and repeat the cycle.

I use a heart monitor to record my heart rate whilst I'm exercising, and I endeavour to keep my
heart rate in the 60% to 80% range of my theoretical maximum (about 187).

So, if you've read thus far, my question to you is - Which of the following approaches is better
towards increasing my cardiovascular capacity (I'd eventually like to make regular jogging my
primary exercise): Do I jog to my heart rate maximum, and then allow my heart rate to go back to
some less stressed level and then repeat the cycle (as described above), or should I keep up a very
brisk walk for the exercise period with my heart rate at some constant level, e.g 70-75% of
theoretical maximum? Or, put another way, is it better to stress the heart maximally and allow it to
recover, or keep a constant reasonable stress on it throughout the exercise period?

My apologies for the long post, but I thought it would provide some context about my situation. Your
advice is much appreciated.

Regards, Framewort.

[Sam]

Since you have already started jogging, I would suggest that you do what you are doing now: running
for a period of time and walking for a period of time. Over time, you can decrease the walking
breaks (or you can lengthen the running portions, but I find shortening the walk breaks to be
preferable and easier for most people) until you get them down to one minute. By then you should be
able to eliminate them completely.

At this time, I would not push the intensity. I suggest not doing the HRmax stuff until you have
developed a "base" of fitness and can run continuously for say 45 minutes several days a week,

Eventually, I would add some intensity to the running since that will increase the amount of energy
expended during a session.

"framewort" <framewort@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:9bb3afda.0402160812.63137157@posting.google.com...
> Hi all,
>
> I'm looking for some advice about how to rebuild my cardiovascular capacity.
>
> First, a little history. I'm 33, 5'6'', 198 lb., male and quite stocky. I never was the active
> type, but as I've gotten older, I've piled on the pounds for a couple of reasons: a desk job, my
> love for food, and a genetic dispensation to add weight quickly (the males in my family are all
> stocky). I quit smoking (after 10 years) in June 2001, and watched the weight really stick to me.
>
> So I've decided to lose the excess weight through a combination of exercise and diet. My diet now
> consists of lean meats, lots of green leafy vegetables, poly/mono-unsaturated fats, limited
> carbohydrates (< 50 grams per day), lots of water and a daily multivitamin/multimineral
> supplement.
>
> On the exercise side, I started a regular schedule (3-4 times a week; 45 minutes at a time) of
> brisk walking. I do some weight training during the week, additionally. Altogether, my efforts
> have resulted in gradual weight loss and an improvement in the level at which I can exercise.
>
> I've decided to start jogging as a means to step up the level of cardiovascular activity and have
> found that my ability to jog, is *very* limited. Basically, I can jog for a minute at 5 mph before
> my lungs give out (I was a moderate smoker). It then takes me about 4 minutes (on average) to
> recover and repeat the cycle.
>
> I use a heart monitor to record my heart rate whilst I'm exercising, and I endeavour to keep my
> heart rate in the 60% to 80% range of my theoretical maximum (about 187).
>
> So, if you've read thus far, my question to you is - Which of the following approaches is better
> towards increasing my cardiovascular capacity (I'd eventually like to make regular jogging my
> primary exercise): Do I jog to my heart rate maximum, and then allow my heart rate to go back to
> some less stressed level and then repeat the cycle (as described above), or should I keep up a
> very brisk walk for the exercise period with my heart rate at some constant level, e.g 70-75% of
> theoretical maximum? Or, put another way, is it better to stress the heart maximally and allow it
> to recover, or keep a constant reasonable stress on it throughout the exercise period?
>
> My apologies for the long post, but I thought it would provide some context about my situation.
> Your advice is much appreciated.
>
> Regards, Framewort.

[Dot]

First, what Sam said. But a couple other thoughts for short term, and a longer version when you're
ready - just in case you *really* want to have numbers for zones ;)

framewort wrote:

> Or, put another way, is it better to stress
> the heart maximally and allow it to recover,

no (definitely not up to max HR) - unless you're in a hospital *Some* increase in intensity is ok
for variety.

>or keep a constant reasonable stress on it throughout the exercise period?

Yes. The easiest way to get started is to run / hike up hills / xc ski / snowshoe / bike / whatever,
while maintaining a conversational effort. Talk to yourself, sing, whistle, whatever. Alternate
running and walking if needed, as Sam already indicated.

You might also note the hr at which you start to have difficulty breathing if you run too hard after
running or walking hard for awhile (say 1/2 hr) (can't maintain a conversation, can talk but in
short words, not gasping for air). Divide that number by .9 to get an approximation to your max hr.
That's worked well for me.

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

[Don Kirkman]

It seems to me I heard somewhere that framewort wrote in article
<9bb3afda.0402160812.63137157@posting.google.com>:

>I'm looking for some advice about how to rebuild my cardiovascular capacity.

>First, a little history. I'm 33, 5'6'', 198 lb., male and quite stocky. I never was the active
>type, but as I've gotten older, I've piled on the pounds for a couple of reasons: a desk job, my
>love for food, and a genetic dispensation to add weight quickly (the males in my family are all
>stocky). I quit smoking (after 10 years) in June 2001, and watched the weight really stick to me.

>So I've decided to lose the excess weight through a combination of exercise and diet. My diet now
>consists of lean meats, lots of green leafy vegetables, poly/mono-unsaturated fats, limited
>carbohydrates (< 50 grams per day), lots of water and a daily multivitamin/multimineral supplement.

Two figures to store away for regular review. First, it takes about 3600 calories either used up or
avoided in your diet to lose one pound (and it takes about 3600 unneeded calories to put it there in
the first place). Second, walking or running one mile uses very roughly 100 calories.

Obviously it's rather hard to lose much weight with the moderate amounts of exercise most of us get,
but attention to using stairs, walking instead of driving to nearby places, and similar activity can
help considerably.

>On the exercise side, I started a regular schedule (3-4 times a week; 45 minutes at a time) of
>brisk walking. I do some weight training during the week, additionally. Altogether, my efforts have
>resulted in gradual weight loss and an improvement in the level at which I can exercise.

With increased fitness your metabolism will improve, meaning that your body will continue to use
more calories throughout the day, not just while you're actively exercising.

With weight training, you will be building muscle, which weighs more than fat, so people heavily
into weight training may actually retain or gain weight even as they gain fitness. That doesn't
usually happen with walkers or runners.

>I've decided to start jogging as a means to step up the level of cardiovascular activity and have
>found that my ability to jog, is *very* limited. Basically, I can jog for a minute at 5 mph before
>my lungs give out (I was a moderate smoker). It then takes me about 4 minutes (on average) to
>recover and repeat the cycle.

Take it easy; use walking breaks between your jogging intervals, and don't push. "No pain no gain"
is a lie. Pay attention to your body and as you feel stronger gradually extend the distance of each
jog and/or shorten the walking interval. The effects of any one training session take two to three
weeks to produce usable increases in fitness. Trying to push faster than that can cause injury or,
maybe worse, giving up the whole idea.

As you become able to run/jog for longer distances, a good rule of thumb is to never increase your
longest run by more than 10% (less is often better), and likewise don't increase your weekly or
monthly total mileage by more than 10%.

I was in my late 40s when I first began running, and I could barely run one lap on a track without
stopping; it took quite a while before I could run a continuous mile. This by way of stressing that
you can't be impatient or let yourself be discouraged.

>I use a heart monitor to record my heart rate whilst I'm exercising, and I endeavour to keep my
>heart rate in the 60% to 80% range of my theoretical maximum (about 187).

Heart rate monitors in the lab, I think, are very accurate, but in real life there are so many
factors - terrain, weather, health, stress, diet
- that IMO HRM readings should be used as guidelines or approximations; I keep a subjective average
of my day's readings rather than the exact numbers. As you gain fitness you'll find your rate will
go down noticeably for a given pace.

>So, if you've read thus far, my question to you is - Which of the following approaches is better
>towards increasing my cardiovascular capacity (I'd eventually like to make regular jogging my
>primary exercise): Do I jog to my heart rate maximum, and then allow my heart rate to go back to
>some less stressed level and then repeat the cycle (as described above), or should I keep up a very
>brisk walk for the exercise period with my heart rate at some constant level, e.g 70-75% of
>theoretical maximum? Or, put another way, is it better to stress the heart maximally and allow it
>to recover, or keep a constant reasonable stress on it throughout the exercise period?

I gave you my suggestion above, which is basically to use intervals of harder exertion and easier
recoveries. Dedicated runners use two or more types of training days. Base days are longer slower
running, where the heart rate might be around 60% to 75% of maximum*, and they may be
2/3 or 3/4 of the total running. The other main type pushes the heart rate higher, over 75% and as
high as 90%, depending on the runner's fitness and goals.

* I'm avoiding the thorny issue of how to get a reliable estimate of the true maximum heart rate
outside a lab.

>My apologies for the long post, but I thought it would provide some context about my situation.
>Your advice is much appreciated.

The context was very helpful. In the newsgroups I read ISTM that too many questioners are too
cryptic and thus don't get good answers quickly.
--
Don donkirk@covad.net

[Drlith]

"framewort" <framewort@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:9bb3afda.0402160812.63137157@posting.google.com...
> Hi all,
>
> I'm looking for some advice about how to rebuild my cardiovascular capacity. So, if you've read
> thus far, my question to you is - Which of the following approaches is better towards increasing
> my cardiovascular capacity (I'd eventually like to make regular jogging my primary exercise): Do I
> jog to my heart rate maximum, and then allow my heart rate to go back to some less stressed level
> and then repeat the cycle (as described above), or should I keep up a very brisk walk for the
> exercise period with my heart rate at some constant level, e.g 70-75% of theoretical maximum? Or,
> put another way, is it better to stress the heart maximally and allow it to recover, or keep a
> constant reasonable stress on it throughout the exercise period?

My thoughts would be to alternate brisk walking days with walk/run days, especially if you'd like to
eventually do mostly run. My begginer's coach suggested that we take at least a day off between
runs, and brisk walking is a good way to maintain your fitness routine while ensuring that you are
actually recovering on your recovery days. Second, you might try slowing down your treadmill (it
sounds like you're working out on a t'mill, right?) to 4.5 mph for your run phases until you're
comfortably able to maintain 5 mph for at least a few minutes.

To answer your question, there are different goods to be gained from different types of workouts
(low stress, moderate stress, high stress), and competitive runners will do all three. The higher
the stress, the greater the risk of injury, especially for a beginning runner.

Finally, if you've only dabbled in this jogging thing for a few sessions, you can expect to see some
pretty rapid improvement over the next few weeks if you go slow and don't overdo it.

[ahass]

Slow down some so you can run without walking so much. Most increase in aerobic ability can be done
with a slower pace, there is no need to push your heartrate up at this point. You will get more
benefit from the increased sustained run than from alternating with walking. Andy Hass

[Framewort]

Thanks to all who took the time to reply. I appreciate the advice (and words of encouragement) and
will put the information to good use.

Regards, Framewort