Medical-Fitness Technician
Certification Course
Part D: Medical-Fitness Training (LM:35-38)
Learning Module 37:
Aerobic Training
Walking / Jogging​
Study the Learning Module and take the Quiz.
Leraning Objectives
  • Understand the relationship between intensity and duration of aerobic exercise.
  • Know how to mark an outdoor aerobic training course.
  • Know how to apply the aerobic training protocol.
  • Know how to log and track aerobic training sessions.
  • Know how to set aerobic training goals.
Introduction
One of the primary goals of Medical-Fitness Training is to achieve and maintain an optimal level of Aerobic Capacity. An aerobic exercise should be part of every daily exercise routine. Aerobic exercises are mainly used to condition the heart, lungs, and blood vessels, but they also help condition the muscles, bones, and joints. The ideal aerobic exercise for cardio-pulmonary-vascular and full-body conditioning is walking/jogging.

Aerobic Exercises:
  • Involve full-body movements: walking, jogging, rowing, cycling, swimming.
  • Must be sustained for at least 5 minutes in order to obtain aerobic conditioning benefits.
  • The intensity of the movement must be at a low enough level to allow continuous physical activity for an extended duration.
  • The health benefits of shorter durations are cumulative.
  • Longer total daily durations of 20-60 minutes are ideal for conditioning purposes.
  • Multiple shorter sessions provide the added benefit of maintaining higher nitrous oxide levels for blood vessel repairs.
  • The appropriate intensity level for a given duration depends on the individual’s fitness level.
  • For most lower-fit individuals, aerobic capacity is best developed by walking as far as comfortably possible in 10 minutes 2-3 times each day, 6 days each week.
1. Duration Decreases as Intensity Increases

Aerobic Capacity progression in Medical-Fitness Training is demonstrated by decreasing duration (time) for walking/jogging a given distance due to the ability to sustain an increased level of intensity (faster speeds).​​
2. Outdoor Training Course and/or Treadmill

Selecting a safe and convenient place and time to exercise on a daily basis is necessary before beginning a Medical-Fitness Training Program. 
  • An indoor treadmill solves the potential problems regarding travel, weather, lighting, and environmental hazards (traffic). 
  • Indoor exercise does not provide the health benefits of fresh air, sunlight, open spaces, and changing scenery. 
  • Consider using an outdoor course for exercise sessions in fair weather during daylight hours and using an indoor treadmill for exercise sessions in poor weather during dark hours. 
  • Whenever reasonably possible, outdoor training is strongly recommended.

Instructions for marking your outdoor training course:

​For an "Out-and-Back" Course:
  • If readily available, use a walking/jogging path at a local park or a sidewalk in a safe neighborhood with little traffic.
  • Use a “permanent marker” (or some other method) to mark your course.
  • Be sure to make the marks small and camouflaged, so that the marks are not otherwise noticeable.
  • Mark your Starting Point.
  • Take 500 steps along as level a course as possible. (Try to avoid street crossings.) 
  • Mark the course at Step 0, 125 (1/16 mile), 250 (1/8 mile), 375 (3/16), and 500 (1/4 mile) = Turn-Around Point.
  • Note a permanent landmark for each of the 5 course markings as an obvious visual reminder.
For a "Loop" Course:
  • If readily accessible, use a quarter-mile track at a local school campus.
  • Count out your steps for comparison, but mark the track at the designated points below for greater accuracy.
3. Aerobic Training Protocol

Follow the instructions below for each 10-minute Aerobic Training session: 
  • Set and save a 5-minute “Timer” using the timer feature of your smartphone’s clock. 
  • After a brief dynamic warm-up, start the 5-minute timer and start walking from the Starting Point. 
  • Set a comfortable pace knowing you want to keep walking/jogging for 10 minutes. 
  • If you are not having to breathe too heavily or deeply, speed up – walk faster or jog. 
  • If you are breathing too heavily or deeply – getting “out of breath,” slow down – jog slower or walk or walk even slower. 
  • If you can’t catch your breath while still walking slowly, stop and rest – standing or sitting – until you are breathing comfortably. Then resume walking/jogging at a more comfortable pace. 
  • Do not stop the timer even if you stop to rest. 
  • If you make it to the Turn-Around Point before the Timer sounds, turn-around and keep walking/jogging. 
  • If you make it back to the Starting Point before the Timer sounds, turn-around again and keep walking/jogging. 
  • Walk/Jog until the 5-minute Timer sounds.
  • When the Timer sounds, note how much distance you covered in your first 5 minutes. 
  • As you turn-around, re-start the 5-minute Timer .
  • Re-trace the same distance during the second 5 minutes that you walk/jogged during the first 5 minutes. 
  • When the Timer sounds again, stop walking/jogging and note how much distance you covered during the second 5 minutes.
  • If you paced yourself properly, you should be very close to your Starting Point -- making the distance of the first 5 minutes equal to the distance of the second 5 minutes.
  • For a 20-minute aerobic training session do another 10-minute session.
  • Cool-down by casually walking for 1-2 minutes so that your heart and respiration rate slow down gradually.
  • Determine the Total Distance that you walk/jogged for your aerobic training session.
  • Log the Duration & Total Distance for each of your Aerobic Training sessions every day using the form linked below.
Logging Instructions:
  • Print an Aerobic Training Log sheet for every 4 weeks of training.
  • Write your Name and the START Date for the next 4 weeks of log entries.
  • Column 1 is the Week # of your continuous Aerobic Medical-Fitness Training.
  • Column 2 is the Day of each week: Sn (Sun), M (Mon), T (Tues), W (Wed), Th (Thurs), F (Fri), St (Sat)
  • Columns 3-5 is split ( / ) for the Duration in Minutes and the Distance in Miles for each Session every day.
  • Column 6 is the total Duration of Time in Minutes for all the Sessions that Day.
  • Column 7 is the total Distance in Miles for all the Sessions that Day.
  • Weekly Totals are for adding the Total Duration in Hr:Min and the Total Distance in Miles for all the Days of that Week.
  • 4-Week Totals are for adding the Total Duration in Hr:Min and the Total Distance in Miles for the previous 4 Weeks.
  • Be sure to indicate if a Session was NOT done, so you will know it was not logged accordingly.
  • You may want to indicate the reasons for missed Sessions and missed Days (dentist, travel, sick, etc.)
  • Be sure to indicate which day is your REST Day. (You may want to note your recreational activity for that day.)
  • Progression Summary is a brief statement that describes your improvement in Aerobic Capacity over the 4 weeks and from start-to-current or from current-to-goal.
4. Aerobic Training Goals

Depending on your starting fitness level as determined by your Medical-Fitness Assessment, your Exercise Rx may indicate that your entry point into an Aerobic Training program is somewhere beyond Goal #1 (explained below), but for this certification course, you may either follow all the instructions to progress through all the goals, or jump ahead to start with the goal that pertains to your fitness level, while still studying all the course material.

Part A: An aerobic fitness training goal of walking/jogging 30 accumulated minutes per day 6 days per week is optimal for most adults. Follow the instructions below to increase the duration and frequency of your Aerobic Training sessions for achieving Goal #1. 
  • Walking/Jogging (and resting as needed) for a duration of 10 minutes is the first goal.
  • The distance covered in that first 10-minute walk/jog/rest session does not matter.
  • The distance covered in each subsequent 10-minute walk/jog/rest session should be the same or slightly more than the previous sessions day-to-day, week-to-week.
  • Establish a fixed weekly rest day week-to-week. The biblical 7th Day Sabbath (Saturday) is strongly recommended as your weekly rest day.
  • Your rest day means no formal Aerobic Training. Outdoor recreation, such as walking or hiking, is still recommended.
  • Gradually increase the weekly frequency of your daily Aerobic Training sessions as tolerated.
  • Example: 1 session per day, 3 days per week x 1 week. Then 4 days per week x 1 week. Then 5 days per week x 2 weeks. Then 6 days per week.
  • If you miss a session, it is better to double up on another session to make up for the missed one.
  • If you miss a whole day, try to make up for the missed sessions on the other days, but do not switch the missed day with your rest day, because that can interfere with the physiological training benefits of the weekly cycle.
​
  • Goal #1: By Week #_____, do a 10-minute Walk/Jog Aerobic Training session (without resting) 1x/day, 6 days/week.
  • Post your Aerobic Fitness Goal where you will see it frequently.
  • Share your fitness goals and training progress with your family and friends.

After achieving Goal #1 (1 session/day, 6 days/week), set your Aerobic Training Goals for multiple daily sessions.
  • Multiple daily sessions may be done separately (hours apart), or sequentially (back-to-back), or any combination.
  • Example: Each week, add 1 daily session on 2 days of the week (to a maximum of 3 sessions per day) over 6 weeks to increase the daily sessions from 1x/day (6 sessions per week) to 3x/day (18 sessions per week).
  • The ideal daily exercise pattern is 3x/day, 4-6 hours apart for maximal intensity at each session.
  • Be flexible scheduling your exercise sessions in order to accommodate your other life obligations, rather than forcing your life, and those in it, to accommodate an inflexible exercise schedule. But give your health and fitness the priority it deserves.
  • If your schedule is more conducive to exercising 2x/day, you can do a double session (20 minutes) in the morning or evening and a single session (10 minutes) for the other one.
  • An early morning double-session is a great way to start the day and loosen up your schedule for life's other important duties.
  • If your daily schedules are different on different days of the week, you can schedule your daily exercise sessions to fit in accordingly, even if the pattern differs day-to-day. (Example: Sn 1-1-1; M 2-1; T 1-2; W 3; Th 1-1-1; F 2-1)​​
 
  • Goal #2: By Week #_____, do a 10-minute Walk/Jog Aerobic Training session 2x/day, 6 days/week. 
 
  • Goal #3: By Week #_____, do a 10-minute Walk/Jog Aerobic Training session 3x/day, 6 days/week.
Part B: After achieving Goal #3 (3 sessions/day, 6 days/week), start increasing the intensity of your exercise sessions by trying to increase the distance per 10-minute session by decreasing the cumulative walking portion and increasing the cumulative jogging portion of your training sessions, thus increasing your overall speed (mph) during the 10-minute session.
​
  • Goal #4: By Week #_____, Walk/Jog an average of 1/2 (0.50) mile per session (3x/day, 6 days/week).
  • Goal #5: By Week #_____, Walk/Jog an average of 3/4 (0.75) miles per 10-minute session (3x/day, 6 days/week). ​
To achieve this next goal, you will need to be able to jog the full 10-minute session at a moderate pace.
  • Goal #6: By Week #_____, Jog an average of 1/1 (1.00) mile per 10-minute session (3x/day, 6 days/week).
To achieve this next goal (and beyond), you will need to be able to jog/run the full 10-minute session at a vigorous pace.
  • Goal #7: By ​Week #_____, Jog/Run an average of 5/4 (1.25) miles per 10-minute session (3x/day, 6 days/week). 
5. Indoor Aerobic Training on a Treadmill
The same training protocol described above for an outdoor Track can easily be adapted to a training protocol for an indoor Treadmill.
  • ​Use a treadmill that measures distance in 1/100th-mile increments (2 decimal points)
  • At 0 elevation, adjust the speed of the treadmill to walk/jog as far as you comfortably can in 10 minutes.
  • Watch the time and pace yourself accordingly.
  • Log the distance that you cover for each 10-minute session by using the same Aerobic Training Log.​
  • Set the same distance/time goals and progress gradually as tolerated.