Cardiovascular Prescription:

The Surgeon General’s Report released in 1996 suggests that 30 minutes of light activity every day (equivalent to household chores, walking, gardening, cycling) will be sufficient to improve someone's health.  This is a non-structured way of attempting to improve your health.  All you have to do is commit to being more active in your life.  Just try to get in 30 minutes of activity every day.

If your goals are more aggressive and you really desire to improve your overall fitness, your prescription will require a higher level of volume and intensity.  Here are some guidelines:

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends 3-5 days/week of 20-60 minutes of cardiovascular activity to maximize fitness.  They recommend 5-7 days/week to maximize fat loss.  We are also big fans of doing something active everyday.  That way you don’t have to ask yourself if you should exercise today.  It is assumed that you will do something active everyday – it becomes part of your everyday lifestyle.  Instead of asking ‘if’, you’ll ask ‘what’.  We’re not suggesting that you workout hard everyday, but just do something active --even if it’s going for a short, easy walk on your lunch or after dinner.

If your goal is fat loss, it is suggested that each aerobic session should expend at least 300 calories minimum (of course, anything is better than nothing).  Your own personal heart rate monitor will help you measure calories burned during each workout, but to give you an idea, 300 calories would be equivalent to approximately 32 minutes of stepping or a high intensity fitness class, three miles of running, or 4-5 miles of walking.