Thursday, February 14, 2008
Add Simple Cardio to Your Diet For Ultimate Health and Weight Loss
If you are at all familiar or have done any investigating of health and fitness of dieting or just general health, you have no doubt heard of Cardiovascular Exercise. This article will examine the basics of what cardio exercise is and how you can put it to use. Future articles will look at the types of cardio available and specific health benefits of this type of exercise.
Cardiovascular exercise (some people refer to it as "cardio") is an exercise involving the large muscles of the body such as the legs and is meant to improve and maintain the health of your heart and lungs. Cardio exercise has many benefits including the lowering of blood pressure and burning calories.
The word aerobic is closely associated with cardiovascular exercise in that "aerobic" refers to something that needs oxygen. During cardiovascular activity, oxygen is continuously delivered to your muscles.
To make beneficial use of cardiovascular or aerobic exercise, you need to perform your chosen activity with the proper level of intensity. You want to get your heart rate up, but not over do it. One way to measure the amount of intensity you are putting into your cardio exercise is by monitoring your heart rate. You can measure your heart rate either using a heart monitor or manually. Your heart rate is simply the number of times your heart beats per minute.
To understand the importance of the heart rate, you need to understand your "resting heart rate," your "maximum heart rate" and your "target heart rate." Your resting heart rate is simply the number of time your heart beats per minute while you are resting.
A person's maximum heart rate is just the maximum number of times your heart can beat in one minute. The target heart rate is actually a range of beats per minute that is considered to give your heart its best workout.
The target range is considered to be between 50% and 85% of your maximum heart rate.
Your maximum heart rate is best determined by a doctor, particularly if you have physical limitations or have been inactive for a while. However, you can use the following formula to calculate a rough estimate as follows:
For men simply subtract your age from 220 to get your maximum heart rate. For example, a 45 year old man would subtract 45 from 220 to arrive at a maximum heart rate of 175. Women should subtract your age from 226 to get their maximum normal heart rate. Then multiply your maximum heart rate by 0.50 to calculate the low end of your target heart rate. Multiply your maximum rate by 0.85 to get the high end of your target heart rate.
For example, the 45-year old man mentioned above would multiply 175 by 0.50 to get his lower end target heart rate of 87 and would multiply 175 by 0.85 to get his upper end target rate of 148.
Using the same formula a 35 year old woman would end up with a target range of 95 to 162 calculated as follows: 226 minus her age (35) = 191 multiplied by 0.50 for her lower end number of 95 and multiplied by 0.85 for her upper end number of 162 beats per minute.
The benefits of cardiovascular exercise are undisputed and can be easily incorporated into your life as will be discussed in future articles. However, as with any exercise regimen, you may want to consult a doctor if you have any doubts or concerns about your body's ability to undergo such a workout.
Cardiovascular exercise (some people refer to it as "cardio") is an exercise involving the large muscles of the body such as the legs and is meant to improve and maintain the health of your heart and lungs. Cardio exercise has many benefits including the lowering of blood pressure and burning calories.
The word aerobic is closely associated with cardiovascular exercise in that "aerobic" refers to something that needs oxygen. During cardiovascular activity, oxygen is continuously delivered to your muscles.
To make beneficial use of cardiovascular or aerobic exercise, you need to perform your chosen activity with the proper level of intensity. You want to get your heart rate up, but not over do it. One way to measure the amount of intensity you are putting into your cardio exercise is by monitoring your heart rate. You can measure your heart rate either using a heart monitor or manually. Your heart rate is simply the number of times your heart beats per minute.
To understand the importance of the heart rate, you need to understand your "resting heart rate," your "maximum heart rate" and your "target heart rate." Your resting heart rate is simply the number of time your heart beats per minute while you are resting.
A person's maximum heart rate is just the maximum number of times your heart can beat in one minute. The target heart rate is actually a range of beats per minute that is considered to give your heart its best workout.
The target range is considered to be between 50% and 85% of your maximum heart rate.
Your maximum heart rate is best determined by a doctor, particularly if you have physical limitations or have been inactive for a while. However, you can use the following formula to calculate a rough estimate as follows:
For men simply subtract your age from 220 to get your maximum heart rate. For example, a 45 year old man would subtract 45 from 220 to arrive at a maximum heart rate of 175. Women should subtract your age from 226 to get their maximum normal heart rate. Then multiply your maximum heart rate by 0.50 to calculate the low end of your target heart rate. Multiply your maximum rate by 0.85 to get the high end of your target heart rate.
For example, the 45-year old man mentioned above would multiply 175 by 0.50 to get his lower end target heart rate of 87 and would multiply 175 by 0.85 to get his upper end target rate of 148.
Using the same formula a 35 year old woman would end up with a target range of 95 to 162 calculated as follows: 226 minus her age (35) = 191 multiplied by 0.50 for her lower end number of 95 and multiplied by 0.85 for her upper end number of 162 beats per minute.
The benefits of cardiovascular exercise are undisputed and can be easily incorporated into your life as will be discussed in future articles. However, as with any exercise regimen, you may want to consult a doctor if you have any doubts or concerns about your body's ability to undergo such a workout.
# posted by Medical Information : 1:56 AM
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