Cardiovascular Endurance is the ability of the heart and lungs to supply oxygen and nutrients to exercising muscles over an extended period of time. It comes into play when

you jog a mile or ride a bike. It is a critical component of overall fitness and health. Any exercise program must be supplemented with cardiovascular training, such as rowing on the Bowflex® Home Gym.

Reaching

Your Goals

To reach your goals you must follow a consistent, well designed program that provides balanced development to all parts of the body and includes both aerobic and strength exercise. Only then will you meet your goals safely and efficiently.

The workout routines found in this manual are professionally designed and written to target specific fitness goals. Should you not find one specific program to your liking, you can design your own, based on sound information and the principles found in this manual.

Designing Your

Own Program

You may want to design your own personal program specifically geared to your goals and lifestyle. Designing a program is easy, as long as you follow these guidelines.

Understand fitness and its components: Improperly designed programs can be dangerous. Take some time to review this manual as well as other fitness guides.

Know your current fitness level: Before you start any fitness program you should consult a physician who will help you determine your current abilities.

Identify your goals: Goals are critical to choosing and designing an exercise program that fits and enhances your lifestyle, but so is

strategy. It’s important not to rush the process

7

 

and try to accomplish too much too soon.

 

That will lead to setbacks and discouragement.

 

Instead, set a series of smaller achievable goals.

 

Select complementary exercises: Be sure to

 

pair exercises that address compound joint

 

movements and single joint movements.

 

In addition, select exercises that address

 

complimentary muscle groups.

 

Put first things first: During each session

 

work those muscle groups that need the most

 

training, first.

 

Remember your cardiovascular component:

 

Any fitness program must contain a

 

cardiovascular fitness component to be

 

complete. So complement your resistance

 

training with aerobic exercise such as walking,

 

running, bicycling or rowing.

 

Training variables: When designing your own

 

program there are several variables that, when

 

mixed properly, will equal the right fitness

 

formula for you. In order to find out the best

 

formula you must experiment with several

 

combinations of variables.

 

The variables are as follows.

 

Training Frequency: The number

 

of times you train per week. We

 

recommend daily activity but not daily

 

training of the same muscle group.

 

Training Intensity: The amount of

 

resistance used during your repetition.

 

Training Volume: The number of

 

repetitions and sets performed.

 

Rest intervals: The time you rest

 

between sets and the time you rest

 

between workouts.

 

Once you’ve established a base of fitness,

 

follow these basic principles.

 

Isolate muscle groups: Focus work on

 

specific muscle groups.

 

Progressive Loading: The gradual

 

systematic increase of repetitions,

 

resistance and exercise period.

 

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Bowflex Strength Training System manual Reaching Your Goals, Designing Your Own Program