OAC Cardio - Class Descriptions

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Cardiovascular training at OAC is good for two primary reasons:

• Strengthening your heart
• Getting rid of fat

There are certainly other benefits, like increased endurance, but most people are looking for those two aspects. Cardiovascular training, like weight training, is essential for maintaining fitness.

A Healthy Heart . . .

If you want a healthy heart and you want to rid yourself of some excess baggage, you are going to have to exercise. There is no way around it. Modern conveniences have made moving your own body around a thing of the past and that has caused deterioration in the health in many individuals.
Getting started is easy and rewarding. There are literally hundreds of ways to exercise aerobically. You can jog or run, skip rope, shadow box, ride a bike, dance...anything that gets you to move your legs and arms in a relatively vigorous manner for a sustained period of time.

As with any exercise program, you should consult your physician about your ability to start a vigorous aerobics program. Once you get approval from your doctor you should start slowly and move methodically to more challenging exercises. Your body is made to adapt fairly quickly to changes in stress and you can only make progress if you gradually increase that stress. OAC can help you start your program.

Target Heart Rate Range. . .

It is important to find your "Target Heart Rate Range," which is the heart rate (in beats per minute) you'll need to maintain in order to benefit from your exercise. If you don't hit your "Target Heart Rate Range" you will likely be doing little to help improve your heart or shed fat.

Maximum Heart Rate: MHR = 220 - Your Age
Target Heart Rate Range: MHR x 0.60 (60%) to MHR x 0.85 (85%)

You should stay within your Target Heart Rate Range and you should never exceed your Maximum Heart Rate. This will keep you from overstressing your cardiovascular system while giving you the benefits you are looking for.

Losing Fat

Burning excess fat is likely the primary reason many people take up some type of cardiovascular training, and it is certainly a very good reason. Many people simply have too much fat on their bodies to look good or to maintain a healthy existence. In order to shed the fat you will need to exercise relatively vigorously.
Interval training has proven to be a very effective means of burning fat in a short period of time. It usually works much better than long bouts of exercise that are low to moderate in intensity. This type of training involves short, intense bursts of exercise interspersed with periods of less intense exercise.

If you want to get a estimate of how much body fat you have, try the Body Fat Calculator.

When and How Often?

Cardiovascular exercise should be done 3 to 6 times per week. If you are working out less than three times per week your training will likely not produce the results you want. On the other hand, if you training more the six times per week you will likely be overtraining, which can actually decrease the effectiveness of your exercise. For the best results, each cardiovascular workout should last between 30 to 45 minutes.

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