Cardiovascular Endurance
is the ability of
the heart and lungs to supply oxygen and
nutrients to exercising muscles over an
extended period of time. It comes into play
when you jog a mile or ride a bike. It is a
critical component of overall fitness and health.
Any exercise program must be supplemented
with cardiovascular training, such as rowing
on the Bowflex.
Reaching Your Goals
To reach your goals you must follow a
consistent, well designed program that
provides balanced development to all parts
of the body and includes both aerobic and
strength exercise. Only then will you meet
your goals safely and efficiently.
The workout routines found in this manual are
professionally designed and written to target
specific fitness goals. Should you not find one
specific program to your liking, you can design
your own, based on sound information and the
principles found in this manual.
Designing Your Own
Program
You may want to design your own personal
program specifically geared to your goals and
lifestyle. Designing a program is easy, as long
as you follow these guidelines.
Understand fitness and its components:
Improperly designed programs can be
dangerous. Take some time to review this
manual as well as other fitness guides.
Know your current fitness level:
Before you
start any fitness program you should consult
a physician who will help you determine your
current abilities.
Identify your goals:
Goals are critical to
choosing and designing an exercise program
that fits and enhances your lifestyle, but so is
strategy. It’s important not to rush the process
and try to accomplish too much too soon. That
will lead to setbacks and discouragement.
Instead, set a series of smaller achievable goals.
Select complementary exercises:
Be sure to
pair exercises that address compound joint
movements and single joint movements. In
addition, select exercises that address
complimentary muscle groups.
Put first things first:
During each session work
those muscle groups that need the most
training, first.
Remember your cardiovascular component:
Any fitness program must contain a
cardiovascular fitness component to be
complete. So complement your resistance
training with aerobic exercise such as walking,
running, bicycling or rowing on the Bowflex.
Training Variables:
When designing your own
program there are several variables that, when
mixed properly, will equal the right fitness
formula for you. In order to find the best
formula, you must experiment with several
combinations of variables.
The variables are as follows.
•Training Frequency:
The number of times
you train per week. We recommend daily
activity but not daily training of the same
muscle group.
•Training Intensity:
The amount of
resistance used during your repetition.
•Training Volume:
The number of
repetitions and sets performed.
•Rest intervals:
The time you rest
between sets and the time you rest
between workouts.
Once you’ve established a base of fitness,
follow these basic principles.
•Isolate muscle groups:
Focus work on
specific muscle groups.
•Progressive Loading:
The gradual
systematic increase of repetitions,
resistance and exercise period.
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