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BASIC EXERCISE SCIENCE (BES) COURSE

Lecture 5 – Exercise Prescription – Cardiorespiratory
Endurance Programmes

School of
Sports, Health
and Leisure
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Learning outcomes
• Administer and interpret the results of aerobic testing based on
clients’ needs

• Program aerobic endurance conditioning based on testing results,

facilities and time availability, training goals and phases of training

• Describe the administration of conditioning programmes

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Cardiorespiratory Assessment Examples

• Distance run/walk tests:
• 2.4 km run (maximal)
• Beep test (maximal)
• Cooper test (maximal)
• 1.6 km Rockport walk test (submaximal)
• 2 km UKK walk test (submaximal)
• Queen’s College Step test (submaximal)

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Prescription for cardiovascular training

Copyright © Republic Polytechnic (Griffin, 2006. Pg. 155 Table 6.1) 4

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Cardiorespiratory training

(Garber et al., 2011)

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Cardiorespiratory training

(Garber et al., 2011)

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Progression over time

Initial conditioning stage

• Longer warm up and cool down
• Active clients with better than average fitness may skip this stage
Improvement conditioning stage
• More rapid progressions
• Durations increasing every 2-3 weeks up to 30 continuous min.
Maintenance conditioning stage
• Maintain same level of energy cost, but to include cross-training activities
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Progression over time

• Clients who are fitter or closer to their genetic potential and some
older individuals will not improve as much as those who are less fit
(Heywood, 2002)

• Generally fastest rate of progression is during the first 6-8 weeks,

when physiological changes enable clients to significantly
increase the total work performed

• Important to build a level of endurance before initiating higher-

intensity workouts or engaging in competitions

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Intensity
Prescribe intensity by:
• Heart Rate (% age-predicted HRmax; %HRR);
• Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE); or
• Talk Test
• Workload (MET)
Determines settings:
• Speed
• Treadmill gradient
• Cycle ergometer resistance, wattage or cadence
• Stair climber/rowing ergometer wattage

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Cardiorespiratory intensity prescription

For a person age 30 in maintenance phase:

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Scale Description Category-Ratio scale %HRR %HR max

20 Maximal 10- Very, very strong 100% 100%

19 Extremely hard
9
18 85- 99% 90 – 99%
17 Very hard 8
16
7- Very strong
15 Hard (heavy) 60 – 84% 70 – 89%
14 6
13 Somewhat hard 5- Strong (heavy)
40 - 59 % 55 – 69%
12 4- Somewhat strong
11 Light 3- Moderate
20 – 39% 35 – 54%
10 2- Weak (light)
9 Very light 1- Very weak
8
< 20% < 35%
7 Extremely light 0.5 Very, very weak

6 No exertion at all 0- nothing at all

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How to estimate how hard your client is working at?

Talk Test
• Your perception….applicable to unmotivated individuals?
• 3-4 words aloud without gasping for breath
If gasping for breath, may be out of the 85% HRR target

Appropriate EXERCISE INTENSITY to DEVELOP CARDIO-

RESPIRATORY FITNESS

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Time (duration)
• The body responds well to workouts lasting 20-30 min, with
cardiovascular benefits leveling off after this time
• Moderate intensity workouts lasting more than 40 min increase the
risk of orthopedic injury
• Low fitness: 10-20min/ 100-200 kcal
• Ave fitness: 15-40min/ 200-400 kcal
• High fitness: 30-60 min/ >400kcal
workout

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References
• Baechle, T. R., & Earle, R. W. (Eds.). (2008). Essentials of strength training and conditioning.
(3rd Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
• Bompa, T. O., & Haff, G. G. (2009). Periodization: Theory and methodology of training. (5th
Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
• Garber, C. E., Blissmer, B., Deschenes, M. R., Franklin, B. A., Lamonte, M. J., Lee, I.,
Nieman, D. C., & Swain, D. P. (2011). Quantity and quality of exercise for developing and
maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy
adults: Guidance for prescribing exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 43(7) p
1334-1359. DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e318213fefb.
• Griffin, J. C. (2006). Client Centred Exercise Prescription, Second Edition, by John C. Griffin,
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
• Leveritt, M., Abernethy, P. J., Barry, B. K., & Logan, P. A. (1999). Concurrent strength and
endurance training. Sports Medicine; 28(6); p 413-427.
• Nieman, D. C. (2007). Exercise Testing and Prescription and Prescription: A health related
approach. NY: McGraw-Hill.
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