Aerobic capacity [PFCA FLOW] is one of the 3 pillars of physical expression which supports upgrades in health, function, and a life well lived.
How it is prescribed in order to be of most use to each client should be dictated by the assessment, which provides the insight required to align the prescription with the client’s function and goals.
In general terms, the aerobic energy system is an evolutionarily efficient way for humans to produce energy. Developed properly it has many benefits, including upgrades to the cardiovascular system, lungs, and muscles; all in support of stretching out our ‘health-span’.
The first principle of aerobic activity is that it should be maintainable and repeatable – keep this in mind when designing your piece and setting your pace.
The 2nd principle is ‘Pacing is a skill’. What does that mean? It means that in order to carry out aerobic work effectively – for it to FLOW – we must learn how to pace.
Generally speaking aerobic progressions should start long and slow, before moving towards shorter and faster – feeling and learning your maintainable and repeatable paces as you go within each time frame and modality.
A big mistake many make when designing aerobic conditioning pieces is they lose focus on the intended outcome. They forget that success here is increased aerobic capacity, and include movements and loads that are too heavy or unrefined, which leads to an unintended stimulus.
Keep loads relatively light and movements relatively simple, whilst focussing on the cyclical and repeatable nature of the piece.
With increased blood flow and therefore oxygen delivery to the brain, FLOW also provides the foundation for skill acquisition and refinement of movement quality – arguably making development of FLOW the vehicle which delivers all upgrades in health and function, leading to a long life well lived.
If you want to learn more about energy systems and their applications in training, or perhaps you want to look at a career change to personal training, then be sure to check out our level 3 personal trainer course.