Cardiovascular endurance is the most important component of physical fitness. There are two types of cardiovascular training, these are interval training and steady state training.
Interval training varies the amount of effort required to workout. On your softstride treadmill several programs fall under the definition of interval training. The Interval program keeps the incline constant and increases the speed for short periods, the Stride program modifies the speed and incline, and the Hill Climb and Weight Loss programs modify the incline of the treadmill and keep the speed constant.
Steady state training keeps the workload constant. Your Manual program on the softstride treadmill gives you this Steady State workout and allows you to manually control the speed and incline of your treadmill. If you have a requirement to maintain a steady heart rate during your workout, the manual program is the best selection.
There is no one exercise program that is right for everyone. Your age, current level of physical fitness, and your goals should all help determine the program that is right for you.
Regardless of your personal fitness goals and the program that you pursue, warming up and cooling down before and after you workout will help reduce the risk of injury and improve the effectiveness of your workout.
Warming up is important to bring your body from its normal level of activity to a state where it is ready to exercise by increasing the flow of blood to the muscle to raise the muscle temperature. This will increase the muscle elasticity and protect the joints. The warm up period also helps to mentally prepare you for your workout.
Warmups should be done at a low intensity level and last for at least five minutes.
Cooling down after your workout is required to gradually bring your cardiovascular system down to its normal level.
Follow your workout with at least 10 minutes of stretching. Focus on the major muscle groups of the lower extremity. When stretching, stretch the muscle until you feel gentle tension, hold it and wait for the tension to relax while the muscle elongates, stretch the muscle again until you feel gentle tension.
Do not bounce when you stretch, bouncing is not an effective approach to stretching and can lead to injury.
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