“THE FIRST WEALTH IS HEALTH” ~EMERSON……….

Physical Fitness: An overall measure of physical attributes including cardiovascular and muscular endurance, muscular strength, body composition, and flexibility. “Physical Fitness” includes cardiovascular (♥heart) and respiratory (lung) harmony. Cardiovascular endurance is the bodies ability to exchange oxygen for physical functions. Your 600+ muscles a.k.a “rubber bands”, including the ♥heart, provide the muscular endurance.

Long Term Effects of Exercise :
♦decreased resting heart rate (RHR): less resistance within the vessels, may drop RHR as much as 20+ ♥beats per minute. (normal: 60-100 beats/min.)

♦increased stroke volume (SV): the amount of blood pumped out with each ♥ beat, about 70mL. (more blood=more oxygen–> hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells which carries oxygen)

♦increased cardiac output (CO): the amount of blood ejected by the ♥ per minute, about 5 L. (during exercise, the CO in fit athletes may even rise to 40 L/min.)

CO=HR x SV

♦like every muscle that is exercised, size and strength increases.

♦improved breathing through strengthened chest muscles.

♦weight loss, less clogging in vessels.

♦decreased risk of developing high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems,diabetes, and other preventable disease processes.

♦improved mood.

Conditioning via Circuit Training:Circuit Training has been proven to decrease total body fat a.k.a body composition, increase body strength, and maximize aerobic endurance in about 3 months. A mixture of both aerobic (with oxygen) + anerobic (no oxygen) exercise provides a path for maximum health related physical fitness.

The Basics:

♦aerobic: bike, stairs, treadmill, track (gets ♥ pumping)

♦anaerobic: weights, lunges, push-ups, sit-ups (forced energy production)

♦strength workout: low repetition/heavy weight

♦endurance workout: high repetition/light weight

♦alternate anaerobic/aerobic exercise every minute or so, for 20 minutes+.

♦stretch: before/after exercise to increase flexibility, relax and lengthen muscles, prevent injuries.

♦warm-up: prepares the body for stress by firing up the muscles, most importantly kick starting the ♥. Examples include 15 minutes of a slow jog, lively walk, jumping roping+. This provides proper time for your ♥ rate to elevate and allows your circulatory system to adjust, gradually preparing your body for a state of increased oxygen/nutrient use.

♦cool-down: done after exercise, for the initiation of rhythmic muscular contractions, which redistributes blood back throughout the body (termed “muscle pump”).  A 10 minute, light activity such as walking is best. It also decreases muscle soreness.

Circuit training comes with many choices, get into search mode, and find an exercise that fits your psychological fitness!

Examples:

♦Via American College of Sports Medicine (click here)♦

ACSM recommends intensity levels at 60%-90%  for maximum target heart rate

*target heart rate= (220) – (your age x intensity level of .60%-.90%) *

To reach target heart rate for heart/lung benefits, resistance and speed must be increased.
Basic recommendations from ACSM and AHA: Guidelines for healthy adults under age 65:

Do moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week
Or
Do vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week
And
Do 8 to 10 strength-training exercises, 8 to 12 repetitions of each exercise twice a week.

♦Via Three Fat Chicks on a Diet (click here for more):

1. Squats: Start out with an exercise ball between your back and the wall. Keep your abs tight, your feet shoulder width apart, and slowly bend your knees and lower yourself to 90 degrees. Repeat the process for about a minute and if you want more intensity you can hold free weights while you do it.
2. Jump Rope: Use a jumping rope and jump with both feet together for about 30 seconds to a minute. Keep your feet together and try to only jump about an inch off of the floor.
3. Lunges: Stand with your feet split apart and with your right front in front. Bend your knees and lower into the lunge position. Lower down as far as you can go and then switch legs, switching back and forth for about a minute.
4. Jog or walk: You can jog or walk inside or outside. Start out slow for 1-2 minutes and then slowly increasing your speed and go as hard as you can for two minutes. End with a slow wind down for about a minute. In total you should be jogging or walking for about 5 minutes.
5. Push ups: If you cant do push ups at your level yet, then start off on your knees. If you feel strong enough then do them on your toes. Do as many reps as you can in about a minute.
6. Squats and front kicks: Stand with your feet together. Slowly raise your right knee and extend it out frontwards without locking your knee. Lower back down and switch lacks. Repeat the process, kick, squat, kick for up to 3 minutes.

Photo via "Reclaiming Life: How I lost 90 lbs" >>

REMEMBER: You still need a proper lifestyle changes:diet+hydration+elimination of stress.