By Dr. Stefano Casali
»General structure of the training program
Exercise type:
Duration / intensity of the exercise.
Frequency of training sessions.
Progressive increase in workloads.
Regularity.
»Evaluation of exercise intensity
Heart rate expressed as a percentage of maximum heart rate.
MET units (multiples of metabolic consumption in basal conditions).
Subjective scale that allows to quantify the sensation of fatigue.
»Definition of a training program
Given that there is a relationship between oxygen consumption and heart rate, in the absence of adequate instrumentation, the latter can be used, which is independent of age and sex.
Measure the maximum aerobic power or calculate the maximum heart rate, then express the intensity of the physical effort as a percentage fraction of the maximum values.
The error in estimating the maximum oxygen consumption starting from heart rate is about 8%.
The relationship between heart rate and oxygen consumption (always expressed in percentage terms) is valid for work carried out with the arms or legs, for healthy subjects, of normal weight or overweight.
The maximum heart rate is lower in the work performed with the arms than in the one performed with the legs.
Correlation between heart rate and oxygen consumption, both expressed as a percentage of the respective maximum values:
| HRmax percentage | VO2max percentage |
| 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% | 28% 40% 58% 70% 83% 100% |
| Gunnar Borg's Effort Perception Scale (RPE) (from Howley and Franks 1995) | |||
| TO | B | ||
| 6 | |||
| 7 | Very, very light | 0 | Anything |
| 8 | 0.5 | Very, very light | |
| 9 | (barely noticeable) | ||
| 10 | 1.0 | Very light | |
| 11 | Fairly light | 2 | Lightweight (weak) |
| 12 | 3 | Moderate | |
| 13 | A little tiring | 4 | A little tiring |
| 14 | 5 | Heavy (strong) | |
| 15 | Tiresome | 6 | |
| 16 | 7 | Really heavy | |
| 17 | Very tiring | 8 | |
| 18 | 9 | ||
| 19 | Very, very tiring | 10 | Very, very heavy |
| 20 | (almost max) | ||
| Indications for a physical reconditioning program (from the American College of Sports Medicine - ACSM 1991 and 1995 | ||
| Type of exercise | Large muscle groups | |
| Practiced continuously Rhythmic Aerobic | ||
| Intensity | ||
| 60-80% HR max | ||
| 50-85% FC of reserve (FCmax - FC rest) | ||
| 50-85% VO2 max | ||
Perception of effort ≈ 12-15  | ||
| Duration | ||
| 20-60 minutes Low intensity 45-60 minutes High intensity 20-30 minutes | ||
| Frequency | ||
| 3-5 days / week | ||
