The Importance of a Cardio / Aerobic Workout

With all the recent gardening I have been doing I have been getting an excellent cardio workout even though I have not hit the gym in a week. This is so important because our hearts are just like any other muscle, you have to push yourself in order to stay heart-healthy! With this in mind, I wanted to share another tidbit of information that Stephanie, my trainer at the gym, shared with me!

What occurs during an aerobic workout?

• Your breath deepens and becomes quicker, increasing the amount of oxygen in your blood.
• Your heart beats faster increasing blood flow to your muscles and lungs.
• Your capillaries open, delivering more oxygen to your muscles and taking away more waste products.
• Endorphins, your natural pain killers, are released giving you an increased sense of well-being.

Cardio on a regular basis - your body adapts!

• Your heart becomes stronger and more efficient.
• Your heart rate decreases ( a stronger heart is able to pump more blood with each beat).
• Your muscles become more efficient at consuming oxygen.
• Your mitochondria (the fuel your body uses to move) increase in number. They use oxygen to burn fat and carbs.

Working a regular cardio/aerobic workout 20-60 minutes per session, 3-5 days a week leaves you with a strong, fit heart and body! (If you are not in condition, split it up into 10 minute segments, increase the duration by 5 minutes until you reach your desired goal)

The Result:

• your clothes fit better
• you have more energy and endurance
• you have a better outlook on life
• your chance of heart disease, cancer and several other diseases and conditions decreases

Stay strong and healthy over 50! Happy Friday everyone!

Staying MOTIVATED is the key!

I was at the gym today with Stephanie for my last official training session ( I only paid for 4) before going out on my own. I have to admit I have many reservations about whether I will stay motivated by myself to keep going. One thing I definitely noticed was that my endurance has improved in this short time span. When I started my journey about 10 days ago I was not able to stay on the elipticle more than 2 minutes without having to stop to catch my breath! Today, I was able to go 6 minutes, stop and catch my breath for a second and go another 5 minutes. I am told that many people have to take baby steps, but before long they will be improving by leaps and bounds. If you find yourself wanting to give up, DON'T!! KEEP GOING!! Nothing worth accomplishing is ever easy at the beginning! Now that Stephanie is letting me loose on my own she gave me a very specific work-out plan to follow. You can use this routine or tweak it a bit depending on your own ability:

Minimum 3 days a week:

FIRST: 6 min on EACH--------eliptical, bike, treadmill. This is great cardio work and will get your heart rate up which helps you burn more calories.

SECOND: 3 SETS OF 8 REPS------rowing (45lbs), pull down (60lbs), tricep press(20lbs)

THIRD: 3 SETS OF 8 REPS-------leg press (100lbs), leg extension (40lbs), leg curl (45lbs)

FOURTH: 3 SETS OF 12 REPS-----back extension (40lbs), abdominal (30lbs)

FIFTH: 3 SETS OF 8 REPS-------chest press (15lbs), shoulder press (15-20lbs)

LAST:  3 SETS OF 8 REPS-------multi-hip(40lbs-for the outer leg), (20lbs-inner leg)

Today's Tip: I learned that to achieve maximum weight loss and gain endurance you should strive to get your heart rate up to 80-85% of your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is figured by subtracting your age from 220. For example: 220-54(my age)=166x85%= 141. So in my case I should try to get my heart beating at 141 beats per minute to really burn calories!