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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 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 callisthenic 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 o the central circulation, pooling of blood
may occur in the muscles
Heart Rate
As you exercise, so the rate at which your heart beat also increases. This is often used as a measure of the
required intensity of 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 in developing an exercise program for you. If you are starting off, you
can get a good training effect with a heart rate of 110-120 beats per minute(BPM). If you are fitter, 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, so 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
25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
Target heart Rate
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 fitness, you may work quite
comfortably a little above that suggested for your age group.
The following table is a guide to those who are keeping fit. Here we are working at about 80% of maximum.
Age
25
30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
Target heart Rate
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 overdo it.
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.