Tunturi Aircycle E603 - Page 5

For an exercise program to work,
it has to become a part of your life¬
style. Aerobic exercise can burn fat
and can strengthen your cardiovas¬
cular system. However, its benefits
will be temporary if you don’t main¬
tain it at least three times each and
every week. Your body stores the ef¬
fects of aerobic exercise for only a
short period of time. The chart
below describes the relationship of
the number of training sessions to
the level of fitness.
Number of
sessions per week Level of fitness
2 (or less) Decreases
3-4 Is maintained
5-6 Improves
So it’s very important to develop
an exercise program you can live
with.
Some people find it easier to
maintain a fitness program if they
are able to vary their exercise activ¬
ity from day to day, or season to
season; this is called cross-train¬
ing. For example, you might want
to run two days and cycle the other
two days each week. Or you might
want to use a ski machine during
the winter and an exercise cycle
during the summer. In addition to
alleviating boredom, 'trying your
exercise activities also lets you
develop different muscle groups,
rather than overdeveloping a few
muscles.
The next two sections explain
specifically how to determine your
training zone and how to know
when you need to change your
training level.
FINDING YOUR AEROBIC
TRAINING ZONE
True aerobic exercise means
steady, continuous exercise for a
period of at least 15 minutes at a
level that elevates your heart rate
between 70% and 85% of its max¬
imum. This range is referred to as
your aerobic training zone. Use the
Chart below to determine the appro¬
priate training zone for your age
group.
You won’t be able to improve
your fitness more quickly by work¬
ing harder. In fact, if you exercise
so hard that your heart rate ex¬
ceeds your training zone, you will
be working anaerobically. To im¬
prove your cardiovascular system
and burn fat more quickly, you
should exercise longer, but always
within your aerobic training zone.
To find the exercise level neces¬
sary to reach your aerobic training
zone you need to monitor your
pulse rate during exercise. An elec¬
tronic pulse monitor can do this. Or
you can use the 6-second manual
method. To follow the manual
method, get a watch or clock that
has a second hand and follow
these steps:
1. Using your fingers (rather than
your thumb), feel your pulse at
the thumb-side of the wrist or at
the side of the neck.
2. Count your pulse beats for ex¬
actly six seconds.
3. Multiply your pulse beats by 10
to find your pulse rate per
minute.
If you don’t have a pulse monitor,
stop and use this manual method a
couple of times during your exer¬
cise session. If you are not within
the correct aerobic training zone
for your age group, increase or
decrease your speed and/or resis¬
tance level accordingly until your
heart rate falls within your target
range.
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