There’s a difference between exercising for health and exercising for fitness – when you’re engaged in the former, it’s not necessary to exercise intensely; but if you want to improve your fitness, you must undergo an intensive training program that includes both cardio and strength training workouts.
Now intensive training is not for everyone – some people are able to go the extra mile and push their bodies without triggering any adverse reactions while others have to exercise caution when they exercise.
Typically, your heart rate measures your level of fitness and also tells you how safe it is for you to step up the level of intensity of your exercise program. Your resting heart rate, which is normally between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm), is used as a measure of your fitness.
The lower it is when you’re at rest, the more efficient your heart and the fitter you are. However, if you’re training more intensely and pushing yourself to the limit, your recovery heart rate is a more dependable indicator of your fitness.
According to a study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, undergoing a 20-week endurance program does not lower your resting heart rate which means that you cannot use it to measure your fitness level. Rather, the best way to check how fit you are is to measure your recovery heart rate, the time it takes for your heart to slow down to near resting rate after an intense bout of exercise.
It’s obvious that the lower your recovery rate, the fitter you are. Also, when your recovery rate is low, you’re at a lower risk for heart disease. So all in all, the fitter you are, the lower your chances are of suffering a stroke or a heart attack.
People who have weak hearts are advised by their doctors to avoid strenuous exercise because their recovery heart rates are high. And while intense exercise is good for healthy hearts, it can cause more damage to those that are weak.
If you want to know how safe it is for you to exercise, ask your doctor to check your safety heart rate, the number that is prescribed for beginning an exercise or rehab program. It is usually 60 percent of your maximum heart rate (the highest number of times your heart can contract in one minute and a great determiner of training intensities) and represents the least amount of stress you can place on your heart and still get the most out of your exercise program.
If you’re new to exercising, it’s best to consult your doctor before starting a strenuous and intensive program. And if you feel any discomfort or pain, don’t push yourself further without talking to a medical professional. Your heart is the best indicator of your fitness, so listen to the unspoken message the beats send out to avoid medical complications.
This guest article is written by Teresa Jackson, she writes on the subject of online nurse practitioner school . She invites your questions, comments at her email address : teresa.jackson19@gmail.com.
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There’s a difference between exercising for health and exercising for fitness – when you’re engaged in the former, it’s not necessary to exercise intensely; but if you want to improve your fitness, you must undergo an intensive training program that includes both cardio and strength training workouts.
Now intensive training is not for everyone – some people are able to go the extra mile and push their bodies without triggering any adverse reactions while others have to exercise caution when they exercise.
Typically, your heart rate measures your level of fitness and also tells you how safe it is for you to step up the level of intensity of your exercise program. Your resting heart rate, which is normally between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm), is used as a measure of your fitness.
The lower it is when you’re at rest, the more efficient your heart and the fitter you are. However, if you’re training more intensely and pushing yourself to the limit, your recovery heart rate is a more dependable indicator of your fitness.
According to a study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, undergoing a 20-week endurance program does not lower your resting heart rate which means that you cannot use it to measure your fitness level. Rather, the best way to check how fit you are is to measure your recovery heart rate, the time it takes for your heart to slow down to near resting rate after an intense bout of exercise.
It’s obvious that the lower your recovery rate, the fitter you are. Also, when your recovery rate is low, you’re at a lower risk for heart disease. So all in all, the fitter you are, the lower your chances are of suffering a stroke or a heart attack.
People who have weak hearts are advised by their doctors to avoid strenuous exercise because their recovery heart rates are high. And while intense exercise is good for healthy hearts, it can cause more damage to those that are weak.
If you want to know how safe it is for you to exercise, ask your doctor to check your safety heart rate, the number that is prescribed for beginning an exercise or rehab program. It is usually 60 percent of your maximum heart rate (the highest number of times your heart can contract in one minute and a great determiner of training intensities) and represents the least amount of stress you can place on your heart and still get the most out of your exercise program.
If you’re new to exercising, it’s best to consult your doctor before starting a strenuous and intensive program. And if you feel any discomfort or pain, don’t push yourself further without talking to a medical professional. Your heart is the best indicator of your fitness, so listen to the unspoken message the beats send out to avoid medical complications.
This guest article is written by Teresa Jackson, she writes on the subject of online nurse practitioner school . She invites your questions, comments at her email address : teresa.jackson19@gmail.com.
Other Posts You'll Find Useful: