Jessie Butts and Samantha Tartaglia
Exercise Science 320 - Testing and Prescription
Cardiorespiratory Case Study
Doctor Bonikowske
Carroll University
17 March 2015
I Introduction:
Our client's name is Beatrice, a 30-year-old female who lives a sedentary lifestyle and
has hypertension. She is 5'3" and is 160 pounds with 33% body fat. Her occupation is an
accountant where she works at a desk for the majority of the day. She has no known injuries and
her goals are to lose weight and improve her cardiorespiratory fitness. Beatrice would like to be
27% body fat and have a BMI in the healthy range. If she loses 20 pounds, she will weigh 140
pounds and have a BMI of 24.8. We will be working to reach these goals with her in a health and
fitness clinic through regular exercise.
II Risk:
Before beginning any type of exercise, we will have her fill out a Physical Activity
Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q). We will also give her an Informed Consent where we would
explain to her the potential risks and benefits of the exercise regimen. A Medical History form
will allow us to see any medications she is on, recent surgeries or procedures, and family
history. She is at moderate risk of cardiovascular disease because she is hypertensive, overweight
because her BMI is 28.3, and she is sedentary. No supervision is required from a physician
because she is at moderate risk, but one will be readily available in case any need should occur.
Age
Negative
Family History
Negative
Hypertension
Positive
Cholesterol
Negative
Overweight/obese
Positive
Sedentary lifestyle
Positive
Smoking
Negative
Prediabetes
Negative
III Testing:
In order to get a better idea of Beatrice’s cardiovascular fitness, we decided to use the
Cooper 12 minute run. This test can be used as an indirect measure of VO2 max, in which the
participant runs or walks at a very brisk pace for 12 minutes to see how far they can get. We
decided this test would be most appropriate because it is easy to conduct, and provided the
opportunity of upping the intensity by running or simply walking at a brisk pace if that was all
the client could do. Because our client is sedentary and hypertensive, we figured it would be best
to use an indirect test so as to make her feel more comfortable and allow her to pace herself. To
find VO2 max for this test the equation (distance covered in meters-504.9)/44.73 was used. Our
client was able to cover 1 mile (1600 m) during her 12 minute run. According to this equation,
her VO2 max is 24.5 mL/kg/min ((1600-504.9)/44.73). Looking at the normative data provided
in the ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, this VO2 max is very poor for
a 30-year-old woman, ranking in the 4th percentile.
IV Program:
After analyzing Beatrice’s results, along with her risk classification and current lifestyle,
we tried to come up with a plan that would achieve all her goals. This however, proved very
complicated as she set very high goals for herself considering her current situation. Therefore,
we prioritized and addressed the most important issues in our plan. First and foremost, the goal
of our plan is to increase her overall health and get her from a sedentary lifestyle to a more active
one. While our plan will help her get on the right start with her weight loss goal, she will need to
be very dedicated in her diet and maintenance stage of exercise to reach a final weight of 140 lbs,
which would put her at a normal BMI range.
A new diet needs to be strictly followed. This will incorporate more protein
(approximately 58 g/day - found by 0.8 g / 72.7kg body weight), eating more fruits and
vegetables, whole grains instead of processed grains, more fiber, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K,
and limiting unhealthy meals, snacks, and beverages. In order for her to reach her weight loss
goals, she should still be consuming at least 1200 kcal/day, but weight loss will work by starting
with a 500-1000 calorie deficit from her diet. 45-65% of her diet in the day should be
carbohydrates (approximately 508-580 g/day - found by 7 g / 72.6 kg body weight), 10-35%
should be protein, and 20-35% should be fats. A healthy weight loss goal would be about 1-2
pounds per week. This starts with small decreases in calories and increases in physical activity.
As a result, our plan consists of exercising at 50% of her VO2 reserve (VO2max3.5ml/kg/min) and HRR on a strict treadmill regimen. After playing with the walking equation
for treadmills, we determined that this intensity would put her at a good walking speed with no
grade for the first part of the regimen. We won’t vary from this intensity for the duration of the
regimen mainly due to the fact that Beatrice is hypertensive and we do not want to put too much
stress on her body. Because we are sticking to a strict treadmill regimen, we will be using a
treadmill with television capabilities and have encouraged her to feel free to bring an iPad to
watch movies on if that would keep her from feeling like the exercise is too tedious.
The program is broken up into 2 week segments, with either the grade or duration
changing at each 2 week mark. Each workout will include a 5 minute dynamic warm up and 5
minute static cool down, with both being built into the total exercise time. The first 2 weeks calls
for 30 minutes total exercise time, 4 days/week, at 3.9 mph with no grade. The next 2 weeks, we
will increase the grade to 2.0% and decrease the speed to 2.9 mph, while keeping the same time
limit. The last 2 weeks will involve increasing the total exercise time to 45 minutes, and keep the
same speed and grade as the previous 2 weeks. In order to get these numbers, we used the
walking equation:
VO2 reserve = (speed x 0.1) + (speed x grade x 1.8) + 3.5
To find VO2 reserve (VO2r):
VO2r = VO2 max - 3.5
(24.5-3.5) = 21 mL/kg/min for VO2r
50% VO2r= (0.50)(21) + 3.5 = 14 mL/kg/min
No Grade:
14 = (speed x 0.1) + (0) + 3.5
speed = 105 m/min (divide by 26.8) = 3.9 mph
2% Grade
14 = (speed x 0.1) + (speed x 0.02 x 1.8) + 3.5
speed = 77.2 m/min (divide by 26.8) = 2.9 mph at 2% grade
Then to calculate 50% of her HRR we used the Karvonen formula:
Age predicted HR max=220-age
(220-30) = 190 bpm
HRR = HRmax-RHR (190-72) = 118 bpm
50% HRR = (% x HRR) + RHR
(0.50 x 118) + 72 = 131 bpm
After successfully completing this regimen, intensity can now be increased because she
can successfully complete 30 minutes in duration four times a week. Now, she can move on to
jogging for 30 minutes two or three times a week instead of walking, or walking for an hour
three or four times a week. It would also be beneficial for her to find an exercise class she likes,
such as step aerobic, Zumba, or water aerobics, during the week to vary the mode of her exercise
while still increasing her cardiorespiratory fitness. Cycling would also be a good class to try so
that she can use the bike at the fitness center as well as the treadmill.
Weeks
Warm-Up
Weeks 1 & 2
5 minutes
(down and back in the hallway)
 high knees
 butt kicks
 toe touches
 knee hugs
 lunges w/trunk twist
 leg swings (forwards and
sideways)
4 days/week
30 minutes
total
Weeks 3 & 4
4 days/week
30 minutes
total
Weeks 5 & 6
4 days/week
45 minutes
total
5 minutes
(down and back in the hallway)
 high knees
 butt kicks
 toe touches
 knee hugs
 lunges w/trunk twist
 leg swings (forwards and
sideways)
5 minutes
(down and back in the hallway)
 high knees
 butt kicks
 toe touches
 knee hugs
 lunges w/trunk twist
 leg swings (forwards and
sideways)
Treadmill
20 minutes
3.9 mph
no incline
20 minutes
2.9 mph
2.0%
incline
35 minutes
2.9 mph
2.0%
incline
Cool Down
5 minutes
(hold each stretch for 15
seconds)
 reach down and touch
toes
 quad stretch
 side lunge
 butterfly
 sit and reach
 seal stretch
 seated crossover knee
hug
5 minutes
(hold each stretch for 15
seconds)
 reach down and touch
toes
 quad stretch
 side lunge
 butterfly
 sit and reach
 seal stretch
 seated crossover knee
hug
5 minutes
(hold each stretch for 15
seconds)
 reach down and touch
toes
 quad stretch
 side lunge
 butterfly
 sit and reach
 seal stretch
 seated crossover knee
hug