Heart Rate Pg. 2
ACSM- Guidelines for Cardio-Respiratory Fitness:
Many people are currently involved in cardio- respiratory fitness and resistance training programs, and efforts to promote participation in all forms of physical activity are being developed and implemented. Thus the need for guidelines for exercise prescription is apparent. Based on the existing evidence concerning exercise prescription for healthy adults and the need for guidelines, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) makes the following recommendations for the quantity and quality of training for developing and maintaining cardio- respiratory fitness, body composition, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility in the healthy adult.
ACSM Position Stand, (1988).
1. Frequency of training: 3-5 days per week.
2. Intensity of training: 65%-90% of maximum heart rate (HRmax)… The lower intensity values 55-64% of HRmax are most applicable to individuals who are unfit. (To use the percentages, you must first figure your max HR which quite simple. You take the constant value 220 and you minus your age. So if you are twenty, 220-20=200. You multiply 200x.65=130, than you multiply 200x.90=180. Therefore, your working HR range is 130/180. If you are starting your program use 55-64% of Maximum heart rate.
3. Duration of training: 20-60 min of continuous or intermittent (minimum of 10-min bouts accumulated throughout the day) aerobic activity. Duration is dependent on the intensity of the activity; thus, lower-intensity activity should be conducted over a longer period of time (30 min or more), and conversely, individuals training at higher levels of intensity should train at least 20 min or longer. Because of the importance of "total fitness" and that it is more readily attained with exercise sessions of longer duration, and because of the potential hazards and adherence problems associated with high-intensity activity, moderate-intensity activity of longer duration is recommended for adults not training for athletic competition.
4. Mode of activity: any activity that uses large muscle groups, which can be maintained continuously, and is rhythmical and aerobic in nature, e.g., walking or hiking, running or jogging, cycling-bicycling, cross-country skiing, aerobic dance/group, rope skipping, rowing, stair climbing, swimming, skating, and various endurance game activities or some combination thereof. ACSM Position Stand (1988).
The next question to be answered is how and where do you monitor my heart rate? There is a learning curve here so please be patient. It is best at first if someone in the know (e.g. a nurse) can physically show you the exact location on neck or wrist to take a HR. Again this takes practice, and for some folks it is very difficult to find their HR sites; also taking a manual HR while exercising is challenging. That is why I recommend a heart rate monitor. Monitors have been around for quite some time. They are very accurate and lately inexpensive.