Ready, Set, Go!!!
photo courtesy of lusi
Hello all. I hope you enjoyed the last post, Stride Into Summer, which was about running and tips to get started. Below is a simple and easy workout for you to try. This will be a good test run; you will see how your body feels and reacts to running and you will get a sense of recovery time (both will get better; we all know after working out the first few times, especially if we haven’t worked out in awhile, soreness will set in.)
To get started you will first want to determine your Maximum Heart Rate, which is the highest number of times your heart can contract/beat in one minute. There are many ways to determine your “max” heart rate, but we use a simple method at the gym, which is
220-AGE = Max Heart Rate.
Example: 220-30 years old = 190 max contractions per min or beats per min (bpm)
Once you have your Maximum Heart Rate, you will need to calculate various percentages in order to determine the various Target Heart Rates or Intensity for your workout. Continuing with the example above, according to the workout below, during the warmup the intensity should be 50% of the “max.”
Example: 190 max contractions per min x 0.50 (50%) = 95 beats per min (bpm), so on and so forth. This means, during the 3-minute warmup, your heart rate should be 95 bpm. Now you may ask, “how do I know if my heart rate is where it should be?” This is where finding your pulse comes in.
To determine your pulse:
1. You can find your pulse on your neck or wrist, count the number of beats for 30 seconds, then multiply that number by 2; giving you the number of beats in one minute.
2. Some machines have sensors that you can grab, which will register your heart rate. This may not be the most accurate reading, but you can use it.
3. There are heart rate monitors that you can buy from Modell’s, Sports Authority, or possibly right there at your gym.
Put your running shoes on, you’re ready to go!!
30 minutes
| Duration (minutes) | Description | Target Heart Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | warmup | 50% |
| 8 | elliptical trainer | 65% |
| 8 | treadmill | 65% |
| 8 | elliptical trainer | 65% |
| 3 | cool down | 50% |
I know, this is a good amount of information to take in, but don’t let it overwhelm you. If you need additional assistance or if you have any questions whatsoever, please leave them in the comment area or email directly at homebodymedia@gmail.com, I will be more than happy to help.
