Conditioning Guidelines
FACTORS IN A SENSIBLE DIET
•Choose
•Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
•Cut back on red meat consumption; eat lean meat, white meat, and fish.
•Choose healthy snacks; bring healthy foods with you to work or in the car.
•Eat regular meals or
•Reduce fast food and
•Pay attention to fat content and calories.
•Limit alcoholic beverages and caffeine.
•Drink at least eight to ten glasses of water a day.
EXERCISE STEPS
The following nine steps for designing your exercise program were developed by exercise physiologists. The actual exercise you perform is only a part of a safe and effective training program. There are many other aspects to developing a
Consult your physician before beginning
1 any exercise program.
A medical examination or consultation with your physician is essential.
2 Establish personal fitness goals.
Set attainable, realistic goals. Reward yourself when you meet those goals. Remember, your goals should act as a guide for your workout program.
3 Determine your target heart rate.
Your target heart rate (THR), is the rate at which you would like your heart to work during aerobic exercise. It is expressed as a percentage of your maximum heart rate (MHR). MHR is the maxi- mum number of times that your heart can pump during one minute. To determine your approxi- mate MHR, subtract your age (in years) from 220. This is only an estimation of your
Once you have determined your MHR, you can establish your target heart rate zone. Beginning exercisers may wish to start at 60 to 70 percent of their MHR. This level is called the Health level. Exercise at 70 to 85 percent of your MHR for the optimal training, aerobic, or cardiovascular level— the Fitness level. Advanced exercisers, or those wishing to do sports, athletic conditioning, or inter- val training workouts should exercise at 80 to 85 percent of the MHR for short periods of time. The chart below shows Target Heart Rate Zones for Health, Fitness, and Advanced exercisers.
Be sure to check your heart rate at least twice during an aerobic conditioning session. First, check your heart rate five minutes into your work- out to be sure that you are at the proper intensity. Then, check it again near the end of your workout to verify that you have maintained your target heart rate for the recommended period of time.
TARGET HEART RATE ZONES
200
180
160
Pulse 140 
120
100
80
25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
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