The Navy SEAL Physical Fitness Guide - Uniformed Services ...

" The degree of aerobic training is closely tied to intensity and total work, notto frequency of training. However, a minimum of 3 days per week is recommended." A greater training improvement (up to a point) will be noted if you exerciseabove 85% of VO 2max or 90% of your maximal heart rate once a week orevery other week: interval training." Aerobic capacity will improve if exercise increases your heart rate to at least70% of your maximum heart rate." A lower exercise intensity can be offset by exercise of longer duration." Maximal heart rate for swimming and other upper body exercise is lower thanmaximal heart rate for leg or whole body exercise. Thus, training heart rate(THR) can be 13 to 15 bpm lower for swimming/upper body exercise thanwhen running, biking, or other whole body exercises." A threshold duration per workout has not been identified tomaximize aerobic capacity.Active RecoveryThroughout this guide, we will continually stress the importance of warming up,cooling down, and stretching. These are integral parts of any workout, regardless of theactivity. The cool down, or recovery period, is very important because it will determinehow you feel several hours after your workout. There are two types of recovery: active andpassive. Passive recovery, in other words, just resting, was recommended many years ago,and is still recommended when you exercise below 50% of maximal capacity. Activerecovery is now preferred for exercise exceeding 60% of maximal capacity to accelerateremoval of lactate. This may help prevent muscle cramps, stiffness, and preserveperformance during subsequent strenuous exercise.Active recovery involves exercising at 30% to 50%of maximal capacity for 5 to 10 minutes aftera strenuous workout.Blood lactate removal after strenuous exercise isaccelerated by active recovery: mild aerobic exercise.36 Cardiorespiratory Conditioning