Training intensities for aerobic exercise determined on untrained healthy men

The purpose of this study was to determine the aerobic training intensity from the maximal and submaximal running exercise in 21 untrained adult men. To accomplish this, we evaluated the relationship between physiological (oxygen intake and heart rate) and physical parameters (running speed) of training intensity, and determined the training intensity at the submaximal exercise. Oxygen intake and heart rate were measured by a treadmill test. The maximal oxygen intake (VO2 max), and the aerobic threshold (AerT) and anaerobic threshold (AT) were measured to determine respiratory gas exchange. Running capacity was measured by a 12-min running and treadmill test. For the maximal exercise, there was a significant correlation (r = 0.88, P < 0.01) between VO2 max and 12-min running distance (speed). In addition, the oxygen intake and heart rate at AerT and AT in the submaximal exercise were linearly correlated with running speed. Three levels of training intensity at the submaximal exercise were termed: light, moderate, and heavy. Since AerT was the lower limit intensity and AT was the upper limit, we took the middle of their values as the moderate intensity. The end point for the determination of the training intensity at the submaximal exercise was estimated to be 85% VO2 max and 180 beats.min-1.