Exercise

Basics of Cardiovascular Fitness:

Components of a Good Cardio Workout.

Warm up:  Always begin your workouts with at least 5-10 minutes of walking, marching in place, or any other light activity.

Stretching:  Once warm and after the workout is over it is important to perform some light static stretches (see Beginner’s stretch routine) You should stretch all the major muscle groups. Hold each stretch for 10-30 seconds and repeat 3-4 times.

Cool Down:  After completing your workout it is important that you cool down to lower your heart rate slowly. Your heart rate should be lower than 100 beats per minute.

Frequency. 
To maintain health and reduce the risk of chronic disease, it is recommended by The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) to do any of the following:
• Do moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week
• Do vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week

Moderate-intensity physical activity means working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat, yet still being able to carry on a conversation.
To lose weight or maintain weight loss, 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity may be necessary.
If you don’t have time to do a 30 minute block of exercise, it has been shown that doing 3—10 minute mini sessions is just as effective to improve cardio health.

Time of Day. 
It is important that you determine your most productive time to exercise and then follow a routine that works for you.  The best time of day for you to exercise is whenever you have the most energy and can find the time to fit exercise into your schedule.

Target Heart Rate - (Heart rate monitors are available to purchase in our resource center)
It is recommended to exercise at a high enough intensity that you see results but not too high that you risk burn-out or injury.  This is called your target heart rate. It can be anywhere between 55%-90% of you heart rate max.  Heart rate max = 220- age

Exercise at the intensity that you could carry on a conversation, but it would be slightly difficult to do so.  If you could sing, then you are not exercising hard enough but if you have a difficult time talking then you are doing it too hard

Realize that as your body becomes more highly trained, you will learn that the amount of exercise you can accomplish at a level will increase.  Then it’s time to pick-up the pace! Exercise needs to be increased in duration and intensity if results are going to continue.

Type of exercise. 
You are more likely to stick to a physical activity program if it is convenient and enjoyable.  It is also important to add variety to your workouts so that you don’t get bored!

• Try to choose exercises that contain the following characteristics:
 Engage multiple muscle groups.
 Easy to build into your life
 Don’t require special equipment
 Some examples of these include power walking, stair climbing, aerobics, etc.

There are many benefits to being physically active that are both physical as well as psychological:
 
Physical:
 Help you feel and look better
 Reduced body fat
 Help you lose weight and keep it off.
 Faster metabolism
 Improved appearance
 Easier-to-maintain weight loss
 Increases strength and endurance
 More energy
 Better flexibility and mobility
 Protection against bone loss and osteoporosis
 Stronger immunity and resistance to disease
 Greater cardiovascular fitness
 Lower blood pressure
 Lower blood sugar by making body more sensitive to insulin
 Reduced risk of diabetes
 Reduced risk of cancer
 Less desire to smoke, use alcohol, or overeat
 Slowing down the aging process
 Reduced risk of heart disease
 Prevention of hypertension
 Lowers cholesterol
 Increases life expectancy and quality

Psychological
 Sharper mental alertness and concentration
 Relief of tension, stress, anxiety
 Brighter mood, less depression
 Improved body image
 Greater self-esteem
 Improved self confidence
 Stronger sense of discipline