THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF AEROBIC EXERCISE
If you do the following, you set the stage for more efficient and enjoyable exercise.
1. FIND ACTIVITES YOU ENJOY enough to actually do on a regular basis. If you can’t find one that appeals to you, go out and do something you think you could like some days and fake it. In other words, keep showing up and the pleasure will come.
2. DRESS APPRPRIATELY. Wear shoes that suit the various terrains you will cover and your movement styles and needs for ankle, knee and hip support. Wear layers in cold temperatures, loose cotton in the heat. Women should wear a sports bra and men should wear a jock strap or briefs.
3. WARM YOURSELF SUFFICIENTLY. Designate at least 5 minutes of gentle motions, full-body movements, and light stretches, held for 10 seconds each, before zooming off into the body of your workout. Keep your heart rate at 35 to 50 percent of maximum as you warm up.
4. WORK WITHIN YOUR TARGET HEART ZONE during the main portion of the workout to assure better use of oxygen and fat for fuel. You should be able to sing or speak with relative ease, mixed with some deep breathing. If it’s too easy, rev up; too hard, bring it down.
5. STAY IN THAT ZONE for 10 (for beginners) to 60 minutes (f9r experienced exercisers). Optimal cardio-enhancing, endorphin-producing and fat-burning time for the average female is 30-45 minutes from the start of a warm-up to the last movement of cool-down, three to five days a week. Males only need 20 to 30 minutes to achieve this.
6. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Move exercise isn’t always better. Avoid burn out and don’t push it when you can’t talk, feel excessively fatigued, or sense an illness coming on (don’t work out when your sick). Trade in quantity for quality: increase the intensity or create a fine-tuned mind-body-spirit connection. Learn to get more out of less.
7. DRINK WATER before, during and after your workout. Keep water handy and drink it before you’re thirsty, while sweating, and guzzle it when you’re done working out. When it’s excessively hot, pour some water on your head.
8. AVOID OVERHEATING. If exercising outdoors, don’t do it in high humidity, blazing temperatures or the midday sun. Choose morning, evening or shade. If exercising indoors in a hot space, have fans handy or spray yourself with water.
9. COOL DOWN. Cool down with gentle motions, a heart rate of 35 to 50 percent of maximum for 3 to 5 minutes. Follow with sculpting, floor work or final stretches. Hold these stretches for more than 10 seconds each to permanently increase flexibility.
10. RESPECT THE WARNIGN SIGNALS OF OVERUSE. Do not draw from the same well ever day or the well will run dry. Find other activities that move you so your workouts will continue to be fun and healthy.
|
