3. Fitness
What is fitness? In general a fitness exercise can be described as an activity that makes
your heart pump more oxygen from your lungs to your muscles by means of circulating the
blood. The more strenuous the training, the more fuel (oxygen) the muscles need and the
more work the heart has to do to pump oxygen rich blood to the muscles. If you are in good
physical shape your heart can pump more blood to the muscle with each contraction. This
means the heart doesn't have to contract as many times to transport the necessary oxygen
to your muscles. Your resting heart beat and heart beat when exercising will therefore
decrease.
3.1 Training by heart rate
While training it is important to monitor your heart rate. The heart rate is essential for
the result of your training. Your best training heart rate depends firstly on your age. Your
maximum heart beat can be determined by this. Secondly the most effective heart rate
depends on your training goals. If your training goal is to lose weight, then the most
effective training is at 60% of your maximum heart rate. If your training goal is to improve
your stamina, then you should train at 85% of your maximum heart rate.
The body stores energy in two forms: carbohydrates and fat. When we exercise we use a
combination of these two energy supplies. If the training intensity is at a high level the body
will mostly choose the energy that burns fast: carbohydrates. Since there is a limited supply
of these carbohydrates you can't continue this for a long period of time. When training at a
low intensity the body will mostly choose to use a long lasting source of energy: fat. Since
this is stored in large quantities in the body, you can continue this kind of training for a
longer time.
Below you will find a schedule allowing you to calculate the best heart rate for your
training. In this schedule each age category has a range that your heart rate should be in
during your training. The middle column has the values you should try to maintain if you
want to lose weight. If you want to improve your stamina you should try to maintain the
rates in the right column.
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