Aerobic Training (Care of the Young Athlete)

Aerobic training strengthens the heart and lungs
and improves muscle function. One goal of aerobic training is to enhance sports
performance and to improve training response. The following is information from
the American Academy of Pediatrics about aerobic training exercises.

What are aerobic training exercises?

Aerobic training exercises are any activities
that raise heart rate and make breathing somewhat harder. The activity you are
doing must be constant and continuous. Examples of aerobic activities are

• Walking or hiking

• Jogging or running

• Biking

• Swimming

• Rowing

• In-line skating

• Cross-country skiing

• Exercising on a stair-climber or
  elliptical machine

Other activities, when done in a constant and
continuous way, can be aerobic, such as tennis, racquetball, squash, and the
martial arts. Weight training, however, is not aerobic because it is done in
short bursts of a few minutes at a time.

How does aerobic training improve endurance?

Aerobic training increases the rate at which
inhaled oxygen is passed on from the lungs and heart to the bloodstream to be
used by the muscles. Aerobically fit athletes can exercise longer and harder
before feeling tired. During exercise they have a slower heart rate, slower
breathing rate, less muscle fatigue, and more energy. After exercise, recovery
happens more quickly. Aerobic fitness can be measured in a laboratory setting
while exercising on a treadmill or bicycle. This is called maximal
oxygen uptake or VO₂ max.

How often and how long should athletes train?

To achieve a training response, athletes should
exercise 3 to 5 times per week for at least 20 to 60 minutes. Fitness level can
be improved with as little as 10 minutes of exercise if done 2 to 3 times per
day. If the goal is also to lose body fat, athletes should exercise for at least
30 to 60 minutes. Athletes who are not fit will need to start with lesser
amounts of exercise. They can slowly add more time as their endurance improves.
Increasing the level of exercise about 10% per week is a good goal to
prevent overuse injury.

Cross-training may help reduce the risk of
overuse injuries. This is done by alternating different kinds of activities. To
avoid putting too much stress on the body and help prevent injuries, it is wise
to alternate high-impact activities, like running, with low-impact exercises,
like walking, cycling, and swimming.

How hard should athletes train?

Training at low to moderate intensity levels is
enough to improve endurance. In general, this level of intensity is more
enjoyable and less likely to lead to injuries than high-intensity training.

However, aerobic training programs should be
designed to match each athlete’s fitness level. There are 3 ways to
measure aerobic training intensity.

• 1. The “talk
  test.” During a workout, athletes should be able to
  say a few words comfortably, catch their breath, and resume talking. If
  it is difficult to say a few words, then athletes should probably slow
  down. If athletes can talk easily without getting out of breath, then
  they are probably not training hard enough.

• 2. Heart rate. Aerobic
  training occurs when heart rate during exercise is between 60% to
  90% of maximal heart rate. Athletes can figure out their maximal
  heart rate by subtracting their age from 220.

• 3. Level of difficulty.
  Athletes can determine how hard the exercise feels on a scale of 1 to 10
  using the Borg Scale of perceived exertion. The ideal range for aerobic
  training is between 2 and 7.

Other factors affecting aerobic training response

• Baseline fitness level. The
  more unfit athletes are, the greater the training response. However, as
  athletes become more fit, it will take higher levels of training to
  improve further.

• Genetics. Genetics play a
  large role in an athlete’s natural fitness level as well as how
  much he will improve as a result of training.

• Growth. As children grow,
  they are able to respond more to aerobic training. However, before
  puberty, the aerobic training response is much less than during and
  after puberty. This is why aerobic training is of limited value for
  improving endurance in young children. Activities should focus more on
  other goals, such as skill development and fun.