Introduction to the Arc Trainer - Series 1- "General Fitness Interval"

Everyone has different goals when exercising, from general fitness to strength and circuit training. That is why we created a series of workouts to accommodate your client's personal fitness goals.

In this Arc Trainer Exercise Series edition, we will discuss the Arc Trainer's impact on Improving General Fitness. When we say “General Fitness” we define this as:

“The ability of a training program to raise the level of function applicable to everyday life.”

This refers to increased cardiovascular function, strength gains and work capacity (which includes heart rate recovery). Whether you are chasing kids around the house all day, or training for a 5K the Arc will set the foundation you need.

Arc Trainer workouts in the General Fitness category include those that will build an endurance base as well as a functional lower body strength base in just 2-3, quick 30 minute workouts per week. The best part about this is that there is relatively no soreness associated with this on the following day!

So for general fitness clients who might be suffering from knee pain, back pain or maybe even some that have jobs that are demanding, and don’t like to be sore on the day following their workouts, this is a great place to start.

Here is an example of a General Fitness Interval on the Arc Trainer. If you are thinking of starting a training program, but are unsure of where to begin this is for you.

General Fitness Interval 3:1

Warm up on the Arc trainer for 5-10 minutes adjusting the incline from 3-8 to identify a comfortable level. Note: increasing the incline on the Arc Trainer will sometimes make the workout feel a little easier as you get a little bit more time (pull from gravity) in the down stroke. This is unlike a treadmill program where increasing the incline will make the program more difficult. During this warm up, also adjust the load (resistance) from 15 – 30, as you look for a comfortable starting resistance, and increase the speed to somewhere between 100 and 120 strides per minute.

Now that you are ready to begin…

Set up the Arc with the identified settings (usually around 5-6 incline and 20-25 resistance) and begin at a pace of 100-120 strides per minute for 3 minutes. This first interval is followed by a 1-minute rest interval where you will keep the incline and resistance settings the same, but decrease the strides per minute to a walking pace of less than 25 strides per minute.

After the 1-minute rest period, start your next 3-minute interval and try to increase the resistance by 5. This is followed by another rest period of 1 minute and the pattern will repeat. The goal is to be able to keep the strides per minute around 120 and increase the load (resistance) as high as possible. We have some recreational runners who will increase the load to 50-60 and we have some stay at home moms that will hover around 30-35 resistance. Everyone is different, and we are all starting at different fitness levels, so challenge yourself in each set to go one notch higher on the resistance.