Calculating Your Cardiovascular Fitness
Although patients always hear me talking about keeping their muscle strength in balance, it’s also important to keep your heart and lungs strong through aerobic exercise. Most of my patients do not get enough aerobic activities into their lifestyle. A good rule of thumb is to any activity such as walking, biking or swimming for at least 30 min on 5 days per week. This is the bare minimum to keep our hearts healthy and our blood pressure (and weight) within normal ranges.
In the Chicago Tribune, they had an interesting article by Dr Eric Heiden on how you can calculate your cardiovascular fitness (VO2 Max) without going to a fitness lab. All you need is a flat surface to walk on (like a track) and a watch with a second hand. Check this article out by, clicking here.
If you are just starting an aerobic fitness program, I encourage you to calculate your baseline VO2 max and then reassess it in 4 weeks. Seeing your progress in the numbers (and your waistline) will help you keep motivated!