|
To obtain health benefits from a cardio workout, follow these steps:
Exercise for a MINIMUM of 30 minutes 4 times a week. (The 30 minutes does not include warm up and cool down time.)
Ensure that you are in your cardio zone for the full 30 minutes. If you are working too high out of your zone, try decreasing the pace or range of motion of your workout. If you are too low, increase the pace and range of motion and try to get your arms more involved in the workout.
Always stay in control of your movements. Never swing your arms, or fling your legs. Be strong and stay in control of your body.
Include variety in your workouts!
Determining your cardio workout zone:
There are 2 main ways to determine whether you are in the zone:
1) Take a heart rate check
This can be done manually (see right column for how to calculate) or using a heart rate monitor.
2) Rate your exertion:
After about 15 minutes of exercise, rate how hard you feel you are working on a scale of 1-10, where
1 represents how hard you would be working if you were sitting on the sofa watching TV, and 10
represents how hard you would be working if you were being chased by a pack of wolves.
You should feel that you are between a 5 and an 8. If you feel you are too low,
increase the intensity; if you are too high decrease the intensity.
This method of determining if you are in the cardio zone works very well for beginners,
though it is a good idea to use both methods. But remember if you feel you are working very hard,
even if your heart rate check doesn't indicate it, you probably are. So bottom line is,
listen to your body, if you feel you can work harder, do so, if you feel you need to
decrease the intensity, do so. And remember some days will be better than others,
just keep going and you will become stronger.
Enjoy working out with other people? Try group fitness classes! Your local club or community center probably
offers lots of classes geared to your fitness level. If you've never taken a group fitness class before,
give yourself a few weeks to get used to them. Don't give up if you don't get everything on the first or second class. Lots of classes are available now including weight lifting classes, aerobic and step classes,
cycling and rowing classes, and kickboxing and boxercise classes.
Breathing:
When doing cardio breathing technique is important. Try to keep a steady breathing rhythm. You should never have to gasp for air (slow it down if you do).
|
How to Determine Your Target Heart Rate:
Here's the math: (just fill in the variable names with numbers, the * indicates multiplication)
X = your current age
M = 220 - X
Y = M * 0.6
Z = M * 0.8
A = Y/6
B = Z/6
Example: If you are 40 years old:
X = 40
M = 220 - 40 = 180
Y = 180 * 0.6 = 108
Z = 180 * 0.8 = 144
A = 108/6 = 18
B = 144/6 = 24
So a 40-year-old should count between 18 and 24 beats in 10 seconds to be in the cardio zone.
After about 15 minutes of your workout (not including warm up), find your pulse on your neck with
your index and middle finger. Count the number of beats, starting at 0, for exactly 10 seconds.
You should get between A and B number of beats. If you get less than A, you should increase your
intensity, if you get more than B you should decrease your intensity.
To see if you successfully increased or decreased or maintained your level of intensity after the
heart rate check, you may want to do another one about 10-15 minutes later. Please keep in mind that
this is a very general formula for determining heart rate and may not be exactly right for you. Also,
if you are just starting out, your target heart rate might even be less than A.
Try walking, jogging, biking, in-line skating, soccer, step class, or boxercise for a great cardio workout.
|
