Running on the treadmill, pedalling on the exercise bike, training on the step: How demanding should your training be to enable you to achieve your desired results?
Aerobic disciplines involving sustained exercise are very useful to heighten your metabolism, boost circulation and tone your muscles.
However, not everybody knows that too frequent or too intense exercising may actually put our bodies under undue strain and even endanger our health.
While running at a speed of 8 km/h may be a breeze for trained individuals, it can be quite taxing for the untrained.
The golden rule is that training intensity should be matched to the profile of each person (age, physical status, training status, possible medical conditions).
Standard guidelines for safe and effective cardiovascular training state that the optimum training window is between 60 and 80% of the theoretical maximum heart rate, a figure indicating the number of heart beats per minute, and which is calculated by using the following formula:
(220 - age) = maximum theoretical heart rate
Example: Age: 35
Maximum rate = 220 - 35 = 185 bpm
Target rate = 185 * (65%) = 120
Thus a correct training load starts from here; but to make it really effective something else is needed.
The system now making it possible to set a training programme based on heart rate is the CPR (Constant Pulse Rate), a software that monitors your heart rate from the beginning to the end of each workout.
All you need to do is enter the heart rate you wish to maintain during your workout (target heart rate) and the machine will set your workload accordingly.
So, next time you train on a Technogym cardiovascular machine, remember to strap you heart rate monitor to your chest, then enter in the display your age, target heart rate and type of workout and the machine will pick up your heart rate and start a personalised workout sequence, leading you to gradually achieve your desired results.
This indeed is “training tailored to your heart”.
