Previously sedentary seniors who started a vigorous exercise program for a year (9 of 12 recruited stuck it out for a year) had the following positive changes:
- more elastic blood vessels
- increase in heart muscle
- 20% increase in maximal oxygen consumption
The training consisted of the following:
…a 1-year training program with the goal of increasing duration and intensity as previously reported; a detailed day-by-day training plan has been published online.18
Initially, the sedentary subjects walked or jogged 3 times per week for 25 minutes/session, at the “base pace” in which target heart rates were equivalent to
75% to 85% of the maximal heart rates at just below the ventilatory threshold.
At the third month, a 30 minutes/session of MSS (maximal steady state) was added monthly, and the frequency of MSS was increased to twice per month from the fifth month.
At the seventh month, 30 seconds/session of “intervals,” with target heart rates within 5 to 10 bpm of the maximal heart rate, were added, and the duration of each interval session was gradually prolonged. A 45 minutes/session of “long slow distance” was then added at the eighth month, and the duration was prolonged to 60 minutes/session by the end of the training program.
Make sure you see your doctor before starting such a regimen!
