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Specificity
Different forms of exercise produce different results. The type of exercise that is carried out is
specific both 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 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 to 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 ta
ble 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
