Cardio For Seniors
By: Brad Hankins
Fall is here, the perfect time of year for cardio! Cooler days make for great outdoor workouts or bumping up the duration and/or intensity of your current cardio work. Inside or outside, cardio should be part of your fitness trifecta to include movement and weightlifting.
Cardio exercise is any form of movement that raises, and sustains, your heartrate for a set amount of time. The exercise can be running, walking, swimming, biking, or any one of the numerous machines at your Y such as step machines, elliptical trainers, bikes (to include biking labs) and treadmills. Yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi are also great forms of cardio exercise. Keeping in mind that the keys to a successful cardio workout plan are 1) focused on a goal – either by time or distance and 2) sustained – staying in motion until you reach your goal exercise time/distance.
The benefits of cardio exercise are numerous, regardless age or gender. For those of us a bit older one of the biggest benefits is improved cardiovascular (CV) health https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10068966/#ABS1 . All 30 trillion (not a misprint-trillion) cells of your body are dependent on energy supply through arteries and waste disposal via veins. The heathier, meaning more pliable and non-restrictive, our arteries and veins are the better our cells function. Better functioning cells means a slower aging process, decreased weight, better brain function and cognition as well as a decreased risk of CV related issues such as heart attack and stroke.
To help set your exercise goal first consider target heart rate. To calculate target heart rate, subtract your age from 220 then multiply by 80%. For me this looks like 220-71=149. 149×0.8=119 beats per minute. Target heart rate is as the name implies, the heart rate to sustain over your exercise period. If you have a history of heart, vascular or lung disease, or any metabolic health conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure please consult your medical provider for an exercise prescription before beginning or increasing cardio exercise.
Next to consider is breathing rate, which is measured by your ability to talk in complete sentences while exercising. Your target heart rate should equal the ability to talk in complete sentences without gasping or breaking sentences into two or three word bursts. If you are exercising at your target heart rate and find it difficult to talk, please stop exercising until you consult your medical provider.
With your target heartrate known, next is to set an exercise goal. This can be distance, say from your house to the third fire hydrant down the road and back, or a total exercise time with 15-20 minutes being a good first goal. The object being sustaining your target heart rate over the exercise time, except for a two to three minute warm up when you begin exercising.
How much cardio exercise is enough? The AMA, Cleveland Clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/exercise/faq-20057916 and others suggest 150 minutes of cardio per week with the larger goal being 300 minutes a week of total exercise. If this seems daunting, start with a time/distance within your current ability. If that is 10 minutes, or to the end of the block and back that is great! The most important thing is that you are out the door and on the way to improving your health.
One of the best things about cardio workouts is that you probably already have everything you need to get started. A membership at the South Sound YMCA gives you access to a wide variety of classes, equipment, and personal trainers who can help you plan and achieve your cardio goals. In fact, all you really need is a comfortable pair of shoes, some exercise shorts or pants, and a T-shirt. And let’s not forget, we live in the Pacific Northwest, which, in my opinion, offers the best outdoor cardio environment in the world.
Please let us at SSYMCA how we can help you begin a cardio program or support you in reaching new goals.
I would enjoy hearing about your fitness journey, please feel free to email me at hankinsb@ssymca.net.
Brad Hankins RN, CPT
