Exercise is an important aspect of every persons life. If you don’t have a career which allows you to live as our forefathers, then you are undertaking a regime it was not intended for. The old adage ‘use it or lose it’ is truer than ever, whether we are talking about you muscle strength, general fitness or even your mind.
Heart monitors has developed a test which allows you to calculate the maximum heart rate or appropriate heart rate you ought to achieve in order to achieve certain health-related goals, whether its:
1. Maintaining fitness
2. Losing weight
3. Increasing stamina
4. Increasing muscle strength
These are all goals which we can achieve at all ages, though their utility will differ at different times in your life. The best exercise regime is that which is embedded in your life, but is also flexible enough for you to adjust depending on the context of your life. For instance:
1. Establish a routine. Going to a gym 5km from your home might be a chore. But what if you made it a part of your daily routine, like always going prior to shopping for the family, or perhaps as a train stop on your way home from work. If you have an appointment some days, then you can always go another day to make up for lost time.
2. Make it serve a purpose. You are more likely to sustain an activity if you recognise the functions it serves; whether its mental alertness, toned body, physical stamina, business networking or extra-family relationships.
3. Making it fun is the best way to ensure you do it. Some of us like competitive sport because it appeals to our basic values. I hate the idea of working out in a gym, but I do like bike riding because I like exploring. I like table tennis because its competitive and is not going to strain muscles reaching for a shot.
4. Make it sustain physical health – not diminish it. I am one of the few family members who has not strained his muscles, and thus maintained an achieve exercise regime. As we get older our bodies degenerate. Our muscles weaken, our bones become brittle and they lose mass. Some sports like squash, and even tennis become too strenuous on our bodies, so more care is needed, or an alternative needs to be considered.
5. Replace fluids. If you are performing sport, drink before, during and after to ensure adequate fluids. This is particularly important if you are riding a bike because you might be on a road when you collapse from heat exhaustion or dehydration.
6. Good diet: If you exercise without a healthy diet you are actually diminishing your immune system. Ensure enough Vitamin B & C, and enough sunshine (Vitamin D).
The value of exercise has long been recognised for reducing the effects of depression, creating a more positive outlook on life, as well as conferring the positive effects of changed environment and positive body image.
The first step before you start exercising is to establish your maximum heart rate.
There is a mathematical formula to predict your Maximum Heart Rate, which is based on your age. Some formulas also consider your weight. The formula is simply:
WOMEN: HR = 226 - your age
MEN: HR = 220 - your age
If you are a 32-year-old woman, your age-adjusted maximum heart rate is 226- 32 years = 194 bpm (beats per minute).
The second task is to establish the required heart rate to achieve your exercise objective.
The following table is intended to match your exercise regime with your intended goal. For instance, if the 32yo woman above intended to simply lose weight she should exercise at 60-70% of her maximum HR of 194bpm. i.e. 116.4 to 135.8bpm. Since her goal is to lose weight, the amount of exercise she does will depend on her dietary intake of calories. Her exercise regime will however affect her metabolism.
| Ideal For | Benefit Desired | Intensity Level (% Maximum heart rate) |
| Light Exercise | Maintain Healthy Heart/Get Fit | 50% - 60% |
| Weight Management | Lose Weight/ Burn Fat | 60% - 70% |
| Aerobic Base Building | Increase Stamina Aerobic Endurance | 70% - 80% |
| Optimal Conditioning | Maintain Excellent Fitness Condition | 80% - 90% |
| Elite Athlete | Maintain Superb Athletic Condition | 90% - 100% |
Source: www.heartmonitors.com/exercisetips/heart_rate_basics.htm
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