BH LK700X, Owner'S Manual

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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 significant improvements
in any physical fitness 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 fitness level improves, the training threshold
should rise. Working through your program and gradually increasing the overload factor is
important.
PROGRESSION
As you become more fit, 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 specific 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 fitness. That is
why it is important to have an exercise program tailored to your specific needs.
REVERSIBILITY
If you stop exercising or do not do your program often enough, you will lose the benefits 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 beat 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 fitness is important when developing an exercise program for you. When
starting, you can get a good training effect with a heart rate of 110-120 beats per minute
(BPM). If you are more fit, 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. If you find 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, the maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. As you increase in age,
your heart, like other muscles, loses some of its efficiency. Some of its natural loss is won
back as fitness improves. The following table is a guide to those who are “starting fitness.”
Age Target Heart Rate 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
10 Second Count 23 22 22 21 20 19 19 18 18
Beats per Minute 138 132 132 126 120 114 114 108 108
PULSE COUNT
The pulse count (on your wrist or carotid artery in the neck, taken with two index fingers) is
done for ten seconds, taken a few seconds after you stop exercising. This is for two reasons:
(a) 10 seconds is long enough for accuracy, (b) the pulse count is to approximate your BPM
rate at the time you are exercising. Since heart rate slows as you recover, a longer count isn’t
as accurate.
The target is not a magic number, but a general guide. If you’re above average with your
fitness, you may work comfortably a little above that suggested for your age group. The
following table is a guide.
Age
Target Heart Rate 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
10 Second Count 26 26 25 24 23 22 22 21 20
Beats per Minute 156 156 150 144 138 132 132 126 120
Don’t push yourself too hard to reach the figures 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 fine.
Two final comments: (1) don’t be concerned with day to day variations in your pulse rate,
being under pressure or not enough sleep can affect it; (2) your pulse rate is a guide, don’t
become a slave to it.