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Designing an Exercise Program for Beginners Using Home Cardio Equipment
By Bill Herren

Perhaps you are planning on purchasing a treadmill, elliptical machine, stationary bike, or some other home cardio equipment. How can you be sure you get the maximum fitness and weight loss out of your equipment?

Assuming you have talked to your doctor and have been approved for exercise, here are some tips for designing your workout routine for maximum benefits and years of success!

Here is the formula for success: Have goals. Your goals should include the number of times you will ride per week, the number of minutes, and the level of difficulty you select on your particular machine.

A. The number of times you ride per week should be chosen based upon your level of fitness and your motivation. For example, if you are extremely out of shape and not very motivated, you may want to set a goal to ride one time per week and then do it no matter what. This is better than setting a goal to ride 5 times per week and then only riding 2. By doing this you will be building a foundation of success which will snowball more success. Adjust this goal upward when you are mentally and physically ready.

B. The number of minutes you ride will also be determined by your level of fitness and your motivation. The difference here is that your time goal will change more frequently than your other goals. At first, you may have difficulty riding for a few minutes. You may start with a goal of 5 minutes and find you achieve that in a short amount of time – at this point it is time to change your goal upward. Again, do not set yourself up for failure but do not go too easy on yourself here. If you easily complete 5 minutes, do not jump your goal immediately to 30 minutes. Build up slowly.

C. The level of difficulty or tension you apply should not be adjusted until you have reached a specific time goal with the minimum being 30 minutes. If you can't complete 30 minutes on a low difficulty setting it is not the right time to be adjusting your difficulty upward. When you go up a level in intensity it may set you back on your time on the machine. Readjust your time goals accordingly until you work your way back to your goal. Repeat.

These goals are designed to gear you toward long-term success. Many people start an exercise program with an intensity and mind-set of getting into shape within a week. This leads to soreness, fatigue, and burn out. Getting in shape is a worthy goal that takes time. When you carefully plan and execute your exercise regimen, your exercise sessions will become a ritual that adds pleasure to your day for years to come.

Bill Herren is the webmaster for http://www.weightloss-articles.com - the Top weight loss site. Weight loss articles, success stories, product reviews and much more! Every thing you need to reach your weight loss goals.

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Heart Rate Monitors: Don't Be Limited by the MHR Formula
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D.

Some people enjoy using a heart rate monitor and find that it helps to motivate them, but you don’t need one. You can tell how fast your heart is beating just by paying attention to how you breathe. The only heart rate that you need to know is the training heart rate that makes your heart stronger. To strengthen your heart, you have to exercise vigorously enough to increase your heart rate at least 20 beats a minute beyond your resting heart rate.

You can tell when your heart rate is high enough to strengthen your heart because your body will require more oxygen than it does at rest, and you will start to breathe deeply and more rapidly. You should still feel comfortable and be able to talk. If you exercise so slowly that you never breathe more deeply or rapidly than your resting rate, you are not strengthening your heart. However, you don’t have to exercise at your maximum heart rate to become fit.

When you have been exercising for several months and your exercise program feels easy, you can decide whether you want to improve. If you would like to compete or just want to increase your level of fitness, a heart rate monitor can help you plan your training sessions, set goals, and measure your progress.

Instructions that accompany most heart rate monitors are based on a mythical maximim heart rate formula that predicts the fastest your heart can beat and still pump blood through your body. Although this formula is the gold standard used today, it is not based on science. In 1970, Sam Fox was the director of the United States Public Health Service Program to Prevent Heart Disease, and one of the most respected heart specialists in the world. He and a young researcher named William Haskell were flying to a meeting. They put together several studies comparing maximum heart rate and age. Sam Fox took out a pencil and plotted a graph of age verses maximum heart rate and said it looks like maximum heart rate is equal to 220 minus a person's age. For the last 30 years, this formula has been taught in physical education and heart function course and has been used to test heart function and athletic fitness.

The formula is wrong because your legs drive your heart; your heart does not drive your legs. Maximum heart rate depends on the strength of your legs, not the strength of your heart. When you contract your leg muscles, they squeeze against the blood vessels near them to pump blood from your leg veins toward your heart. When your leg muscle relax, your leg veins fill with blood. So your leg muscles pump increased amounts of blood toward your heart. This increased blood fills the heart and causes your heart to be faster and with more force. This is called the Bainbridge reflex that doctors are taught in their first year of medical school. The stronger your legs are, the more blood they can pump, which causes your heart to beat faster.

A pencil mark plotted on a graph during an airplane flight more than 30 years ago has been the accepted formula for maximum heart rate for more than 30 years and the fitness community has accepted this dogma for more than 30 years.

Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine.  Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at http://www.DrMirkin.com

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