20
Progression:
As your become fitter, a higher intensity of exercise is required to create an overload
and therefore provide continued improvement
Overload:
This is where you exercise at a level above that which can be carried out comfortably.
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, so the training threshold should be raised. Working through your program and gradually
increasing the overload factor is important.
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 obtain a good training effect with a heart rate of 110-120 beats per minute
(BPM) but 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
