16
1. Purpose of Exercise
Do you often get out of your breath when you go up stairs or walk fast? This is because
your ability to take oxygen into your body is getting weak. Such ability is evaluated by
a value called MOU (Maximum Oxygen Uptake), which represents the maximum
amount of oxygen taken into your body per 1 kg of body-weight in a minute (ml/
kg.min.). The MOU value can be used as a scale of your physical endurance.
The average MOU value is 40-50 ml/kg.min. for men in their twenties, and 30-40 ml/
kg.min. for women of the same age. In general, the MOU value becomes less as you get
older, and the more you lack proper exercise, the faster it decreases. It is said the
MOU value less than 22 ml/kg.min. may result in illness of cardiovascular system, and
in restriction of your daily life.
Continued aerobic exercise several times per week maintains and improves your
MOU value, activating oxygen supply to your cardiovascular system. With the EC-
3200, you can perform aerobic exercise effectively and efficiently.
2. Exercise Program
Aerobic exercise will be more effective when it is continued at a certain pulse rate, which is
determined based on your age and physical strength. This is called "Target Pulse Rate".
How to decide your target pulse rate
When you input your age, the EC-3200 automatically sets your target pulse rate at
[160 – age]. This target pulse rate corresponds to 50-60 % of the exercise level for the
twenties, 40-50 % for the sixties. (Refer to "Exercise Level" on page 17.) The older
you are, at the less intense level your target pulse rate is set because of such program-
ming of the EC-3200. The exercise level automatically set by this unit could be too
hard even for a young person, if he is a beginner. If you feel it too hard, you may
decrease the target pulse rate by 10 bpm from the original level. If you feel too easy,
you may increase it by 10 bpm so that you can continue exercise in the appropriate
target zone as illustrated. If you can continue your exercise at the target pulse rate of
[180 – age], your exercise can be considered as effective enough. Upgrade your exer-
cise gradually so that you can reach the suggested final target of [190 – age].
Exercise Time for Each Session
A minimum of 30 minutes exercise is necessary for each session of exercise. A 5
minute warm up period, and 20 minutes of exercise time, with a 5 minute cool down
period, is suggested as a standard exercise. For weight reducing exercise, over 30
minutes exercise time at the low level of the target pulse rate is recommended with
a 5 minute cool down.
How many days a week for exercise
Minimum two exercise days a week is required just to maintain your present fitness
level. With 3-4 exercise days you can expect improvement. Always consult with your
doctor before proceeding with any exercise program.
Caution:
Concentrated and repeated exercise in a day may produce an adverse result.
P
URPOSE
OF
E
XERCISE
/ E
XERCISE
P
ROGRAM
/ G
LOSSARY
OF
T
ERMS
To maximize the benefit of your exercise.
17
3. Glossary of Terms
Maximum Heart Rate
When you exercise, your heart rate continues to increase as the exercise level be-
comes more intense, but there is a certain limit. This limit is called the maximum heart
rate. The maximum heart rate decreases as you become older. The decrement ratio in
the maximum heart rate differs individually, depending on whether one is physically
well trained or not. In general, the maximum heart rate decreases yearly by 0.6-1.0
beats per minute.
The heart rate is the number of heart beats per minute measured by a cardiograph.
However, we can measure the pulse by touching the arteries near the skin, such as
carotid arteries; which is called the pulse rate.
At the earlobe, blood flow fluctuates with each beat of the heart, and the optical per-
meability through the earlobe changes every time the heart beats. The EC-3200 mea-
sures the pulse rate with the sensor, amplifying the changes of optical permeability.
An earlobe is a suitable part for sensing the pulse rate during the physical exercise
since its muscular movement during exercise is very little and doesn't affect the pulse
rate detection.
The heart rate and the pulse rate differ from each other in principle and method, but
their value per minute is equal, and therefore both can be interpreted as synonymous.
Upper-Limit Pulse Rate (PLL)
The maximum pulse rate is related with the age, and is calculated by standard formu-
las such as [220 – age] or [204 – 0.69 x age]. In the EC-3200, it is calculated as [200 –
age] and called the upper-limit pulse rate (PLL), which is lower than the standard
formula of the maximum pulse rate and gives you a safer upper-limit pulse rate. When
your pulse rate exceeds the preset upper-limit pulse rate, a buzzer beeps to warn you.
You can adjust the upper-limit pulse rate according to your physical condition.
Target Pulse Rate (TPL)
A pulse rate to be maintained during the exercise is called the target pulse rate
(TPL). When your pulse rate is more than 5 bpm over or under the target pulse rate
which you set before the exercise, a buzzer beeps to signal you.
Exercise Level
Since the pulse rate gets higher according to the intensity of exercise, the exercise
level can be indicated by how high your pulse rate is compared with your pulse rate
at rest. It is shown by percentage as follows:
Exercise Level (%) =
x 100
Therefore, the target pulse rate for a certain exercise level can be obtained through
the following formula:
Target Pulse rate = (Maximum Heart Rate – Pulse Rate at rest)
x + Pulse Rate at rest
Pulse Rate in exercise – Pulse Rate at rest
Maximum Heart Rate – Pulse Rate at
rest
Exercise Level (%)
100
Target Pulse Rate Chart
