Life Fitness 5500 manual How to Develop a Personal Exercise Plan PEP, Training, You Work, Rate

How to Develop a Personal

Exercise Plan (PEP)

No

two

people

are

exactly

alike,

so

no

two

aerobic

exercise

plans

should

be

identical.

People

vary

widely

in their

health

and

fitness

status.

Goals,

motivation,

age,

physical

condition,

exercise

experience

and

time

constraints

are different.

That's

why

using

the

Lifestride

aerobic

trainer

is an

ideal

form

of

exercise.

It

is

designed

to

deliver

a

computerized

workout

tailored

specifically

to

your

training

capacity.

This

section

provides

the

general

guidelines

you

need

to

develop

your

Personal

Exercise

Plan

(PEP).

Remember,

you

are

your

own

best

coach

since

you

know

your

limitations

and

expectations

better

than

anyone.

The American College of Sports Medicine and American Medical

Association have established medical screening guidelines for exercise,

and we strongly recommend that you consider the start of your PEP as

an appropriate time to see your physician.

Medical clearance for use of the Lifestride aerobic trainer should be

obtained by individuals over 45 who have a major risk factor for coronary

disease, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol

levels, cigarette smoking or a family history of heart disease. Medical

clearance should be obtained by all persons, regardless of age, with

cardiorespiratory disorders, diabetes, bone and/or joint disease, or

persons who have had any symptoms of coronary disease.

In general, anyone starting a vigorous exercise regimen should see a physician for a medical exam. The extent of the exam will depend on the physician's preliminary evaluation of the individual's health status.

PLANNING AN AEROBIC WORKOUT

GOALS:

Goals determine the direction and type of exercise plan that is suitable

for you. An individual wishing to reduce his or her risk of heart disease

will train less strenuously than a competitive athlete.

There are two major goals of aerobic exercise:

1.Cardiorespiratory improvement

2.Fat loss

Varying the frequency and intensity of the aerobic workout changes the

focus from one goal to the other. High intensity aerobic exercise for

shorter periods of time promotes cardiorespiratory improvement and

burns mostly muscle glycogen as fuel. Low intensity aerobic exercise

for longer periods of time promotes fat loss, because longer periods of

exercise burn more calories from stored fat.

If you are working to reduce the probability of heart disease or to improve

endurance, your goal is to build stronger heart and lungs

(cardiorespiratory improvement). By expanding lung capacity, your body's intake and utilization of oxygen is increased. Regular aerobic

exercise accomplishes this and improves muscle endurance at the same time. (See Figure 8 on page 49 for a Heart Rate Training Zone chart with suggested heart rates for both fat loss and cardiorespiratory

training.)

Fit Guidelines

FIT stands for FREQUENCY of exercise, INTENSITY of exercise and

the amount of TIME (duration) spent exercising. These are the three

variables in designing an effective PEP. Here's how to use the FIT

guidelines to develop your PEP:

FREQUENCY.

. .refers

to

how

many

times

you

use

the Lifestride

trainer

each

week.

If the

objective

is

to

improve

cardiorespiratory

fitness,

use

the

Lifestride

treadmill

at

least

three

times

a

week,

with

no

more

than

two

days

between

workouts.

At

first,

you

should

give

your

muscles

a

chance

to

adapt

to increased

activity.

When you begin your FIT regimen, you should not exercise more than once every other day. This should prevent muscle soreness and fatigue.

Even after you have progressed sufficiently, the American College of

Sports Medicine still recommends that your workout not exceed five

times per week. Increased frequency yields minimal additional

cardiorespiratory improvement and increases the risk of muscle strain.

Only highly trained, competitive athletes should consider daily workouts.

However, if your goal is fat loss, you should exercise more frequently, for longer periods of time, at a lower level of intensity.

INTENSITY.

. .refers

to

how

hard

you

work

your heart.

A

heart

rate

of

75%

of

the

theoretical

maximum

heart

rate

is

the

threshold

above

which

optimum

cardiorespiratory

training

occurs

for

those

who

are

medically

fit. A

safe

upper

limit

for

these

same

people

is

85%.

* Select

a

level

of

intensity

that

puts

your

heart

rate between

75%

and

85%

of your

theoretical

maximum

for

cardiorespiratory

improvement.

Beginners

will

want

to

exercise

at

a heart rate

which

is

closer

to

75%

,

while

highly

trained

athletes

may

want

to

exercise

closer

to

85%

of

their

theoretical

maximum

heart

rate.

'American	College	of Sports Medicine.	Guidelines	for Exercise	Testing	and Prescription.	Third Edition	(Lea & Febiger:
Philadelphia.	1986),	p. 32.