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Article: The Consult: Part II of the Heart Rate Based Exercise/Activity Management Video Series wi

Thanks for this excellent and informative article. It answers a lot of my questions following the your Part I article.

Klimas/Soler seem to have worked out an energy management program that may improve the quality of life of many PWME.
 
Thanks SickofCFS. They are pretty high on this program - as long as it takes to take effect. Hopefully Klimas and other researchers will get to the bottom of what is going on in ME sooner rather than later. Until then this is an interim step - but every step forward is a step forward - and it has ramification for pathology, of course.
 
Someone on the blog posted this comment

Great, this gives me some insight and a way to apply my VO2max results. I reached AT @ 3:53, HR 85. VO2max was reached over 4 minutes later @8:12, HR 112 so according to this I should exercise for about 4 minutes maintaining a HR below 110? correct? However Im not sure I understand the concept and perhaps someone can help me out. When I took the test and when I performed them as a fitness instructor pre-CFS 20+ years ago I believe the purpose was to get individuals to reach maximum effort and therefore increase the workload so that an anaerobic level was achieved rather early. In that 4 minutes prior to my attaining AT the resistance, or workload (in my latest test, the pace and the incline) was increased within a few minutes. Thus I was FORCED to reach AT and reached it far earlier than I would have if I had maintained a steady, aerobic workload which any endurance athlete knows can go on for long durations. So why would only exercising for 4 minutes be the key when that AT threshold was induced by an increase in the difficulty of the workload? If I maintained a steady slow pace without an increase in workload, theoretically, could I not then work longer w/o achieving AT , while maintaining my HR below 110? Now my experience with ME/CFS and exercise tells me I cant do that, but Im not sure why? But Im also not sure why staying below an INDUCED AT threshold would work either. Am I making any sense?
 
This was my reply
I think you should exercise for no more than 4 minutes at a time with your heart rate remaining below 85 beats per minute. If you go above that youll be using your anerobic energy stores, causing muscle problems, etc.

If you stay below that you have a chance at increasing your fitness levels. According to this plan you would exercise at low levels for only 4 minutes at a timedo active rest lying prone then do that again.

Rest morethen try it again or maybe one more time and only do this twice a week at first and if that works 3 times and never more than once every other day.

Thats my take on it.
 
I must continue with this fascinating exchange! :D

Corinne
yes,I made a mistakae. 85 was my HR at AT and since my resting is about 55 that gives me some leeway. However I still dont understand the 4 minutes as the 4 minutes to reach AT was induced by an increase in workload and so the number 4 seems arbitrary since it seems that AT is a function of WORKLOAD and not TIME. (?)
 
Cort's response

Such complex questions! My guess is that you should approximately duplicate the workload you did during the test- which my guess is probably more than you do during your aerobic exercise that you do.The aerobic exercise these people are doing is just walking which I dare say is less intensive than peddling a bicycle (hmmm) .. which suggests they are being conservative in their plan.