Register your product warranty online at: www.BHFitnessUSA.com
Questions regarding warranty and parts call: 636.634.2217
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Register your product warranty online at: www.BHFitnessUSA.com
Questions regarding warranty and parts call: 636.634.2217
TRAINING GUIDLINES
OXYGEN UPTAKE
The effort that you can exert over a prolonged period of time is limited by your ability to
deliver oxygen to the working muscles. Regular vigorous exercise produces a training effect
that can increase your aerobic capacity by as much as 20 to 30%. An increased VO2 Max
indicates an increased ability of the heart to pump blood, of the lungs to ventilate oxygen,
and of the muscles to take up oxygen.
THE TRAINING THRESHOLD
This is the minimum level of exercise which is required to produce signifi cant improvements
in any physical fi tness parameter.
OVERLOAD
This is where you exercise above your comfort level. The intensity, duration and frequency of
exercise should be above the training threshold and should be gradually increased as the
body adapts to the increasing demands. As your fi tness level improves, the training threshold
should rise. Working through your program and gradually increasing the overload factor is
important.
PROGRESSION
As you become more fi t, a higher intensity of exercise is required to create an overload and
therefore provide continued improvement.
SPECIFICS
Different forms of exercise produce different results. The type of exercise that is carried out
is specifi c to the muscle groups being used and to the energy source involved. There is little
transfer of the effects of exercise, i.e. from strength training to cardiovascular fi tness. That is
why it is important to have an exercise program tailored to your specifi c needs.
REVERSIBILITY
If you stop exercising or do not do your program often enough, you will lose the benefi ts you
have gained. Regular workouts are the key to success.
WARM-UP
Every exercise program should start with a warm-up where the body is prepared for the
effort to come. It should be gentle and preferably use the muscles group to be involved
later. Stretching should be included in both your warm-up and cool down, and should be
performed after 3-5 minutes of low intensity aerobic activity or calisthenic type exercise.
WARM DOWN OR COOL DOWN
This involves a gradual decrease in the intensity of the exercise session. Following exercise,
a large supply of blood remains in the working muscles. If it is not returned promptly to the
central circulation, pooling of blood may occur in the muscles.
HEART RATE
As you exercise, your heart rate increases. This is often used as a measure of the required
intensity of an exercise. You need to exercise hard enough to condition your circulatory
system, and increase your pulse rate, but not enough to strain your heart.
Your initial level of fi tness is important when developing an exercise program. Depending on
the individual, when starting an exercise program, you can achieve good training results with
a heart rate of 110-120 beats per minute (BPM). If you are more fi t, you will need a higher
threshold of stimulation.
To begin with, you should exercise at a level that elevates your heart rate to about 65 to 70%
of your maximum heart rate. If you fi nd this is too easy, you may want to increase it, but it is
better to lean on the conservative side.
As a rule of thumb, your maximum heart rate is calculated by subtracting your age from 220.
As you increase in age, your heart, like other muscles, loses some of its effi ciency. Some of
this loss can be won back as fi tness improves.
HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR HEART RATE
Immediately after exercising, take your heart rate by applying two fi ngers to your wrist or
carotid artery in the neck. Count the beats for ten seconds. Multiply the number of beats
times 6 to calculate your current heart rate in BPM (beats per minute). Ten seconds is long
enough for accuracy. Since heart rate slows as you recover, a count longer than ten seconds
isn’t as accurate.
The following tables are guides for target heart rate per beginning fi tness and above average
fi tness levels based on your age.
BEGINNER FITNESS LEVEL
AGE
GROUP
25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
10 Second Count
23
22
22
21
20
19
19
18
18
Heart Rate In Beats Per Minute 138
132
132
126
120
114
114
108
108
ABOVE AVERAGE FITNESS LEVEL
AGE
GROUP
25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
10
Second
Count
26 26 25 24 23 22 22 21 20
Heart Rate In Beats Per Minute 156
156
150
144
138
132
132
126
120
Don’t push yourself too hard to reach the fi gures on this table. It can be very uncomfortable
if you over exercise. Let it happen naturally as you work through your program. Remember,
the target is a guide, not a rule, a little above or below is just fi ne.
Don’t be concerned with day to day variations in your pulse rate. Being under pressure or not
enough sleep can affect it. Your pulse rate is a guide, don’t become obsessed with it.
TRAINING GUIDLINES
