Chapter 15: Cardiorespiratory Training

LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Describe the importance of performing a preexercise health-risk appraisal on all potential exercise participants.

2. Explain how cardiorespiratory exercise affects the muscular, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems.

3. Describe the components of a well-designed cardiorespiratory training session.

4. List general guidelines for cardiorespiratory exercise for health, fitness, and weight loss.

5. Explain various modes of cardiorespiratory exercise.

6. State program design strategies for cardiorespiratory training for participants of various levels of fitness and abilities.

7. Explain the importance of exercise recovery and regeneration between training sessions.

ANCILLARY LINK

Visit DavisPlus at http://davisplus.fadavis.com for study and practice resources, including online quizzes, animations that help explain physiological processes, podcasts concerning news and career trends in exercise physiology, and practice references.

VIGNETTE

• Abraham is a 44-year-old cyclist who has been competing for the past 16 years. He is working with his coach, Todd, on developing a workout regimen to help him achieve his goal of finishing in the top 10 in the state championship road race. Abraham will be racing in the 40+ Open category and will be competing against former professional cyclists. To design Abraham's performance training program, Todd asks the following questions:

  • How long is the event (time, distance, etc.)? The event is 72 miles.

  • What is the course profile (flat, rolling, mountains, etc.)? The course is hilly, so climbing will be the top training priority, in addition to enhancing Abraham's sprinting ability to stick with accelerations and possibly sprint at the finish.

  • Will weather be a factor (hot, hot/humid, cold, rain, wind)? Yes, it is a late summer race, so the weather will be hot and humid.

  • Where is the event? The event will take place in and around the city of Asheville, North Carolina, a region with a strong road cycling community, so competition will be stiff.

  How might Todd approach the development of Abraham's workout regimen? What type of workout will enable Abraham to safely reach his goals?

• Abraham needs to focus on developing his endurance to ride 72 miles and be strong throughout. His longest training rides should be about 25% longer than this distance (i.e., 90-100 miles). The workout plan will also enhance his ability to climb with sustained and very intense efforts and to accelerate both in flat-terrain sprints and while going uphill.

  First, Todd conducts field assessments to determine Abraham's HR at VT1 and VT2. His program's training time will break down as follows:

  • ~80% of time below VT1 (warm-ups, cool-downs, long rides, recovery rides)

  • ~10% between VT1 and VT2 (longer intervals/sustained efforts on harder climbs)

  • ~10% at or above VT2 (sprints and hill sprints/accelerations)

• A sample set of workouts that Todd developed for Abraham is as follows:

  • Monday (optional): recovery ride-40 to 60 minutes, all below VT1, on flat or rolling terrain

  • Tuesday: sprint/hill sprint work-60 minutes total; 15-minute warm-up (below VT1) followed by 4 to 6 hill sprints (1 minute near-maximal effort at an ...