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GENERAL
TRACK YOUR PROGRESS
Now that you have set your exercise goals, it is time to write them down
and make an exercise schedule that will help you achieve them. By
keeping a fitness diary, you will stay motivated and know where you are
in terms of reaching your goals. As time goes on, you will be able to look
back with pride to see how far you’ve come. For your convenience, we
have included exercise log sheets at the end of this manual.
EXERCISE DURATION
A common question asked is, “how much exercise do I need?” We
recommend following the guidelines set up by the American College of
Sports Medicine (ACSM) for healthy aerobic/anaerobic activity.
• Exercise three to five days per week.
• Warm up for five to 10 minutes before anaerobic activity.
• Maintain your exercise activity for 20 to 45 minutes. This can be a
combination of aerobic/anaerobic activities.
• Gradually decrease the intensity of your workout, then stretch to
cool down during the last five to 10 minutes.
EXERCISE INTENSITY
The next question asked is, “how hard do I need to work out?” To reap
the most aerobic/anaerobic benefits from your workout, it is necessary to
exercise within a recommended intensity range. Depending on your goals
or exercise format, the level of intensity will differ. If you are performing a
general strength building or muscular endurance routine, the intensity level
will increase throughout the exercise movement. It is recommended that
with any new activity of exercise you start out at a very low intensity level
until your body adapts to the stress you are subjecting it to. If you are
performing a resistance routine that focuses on a joint benefit (aerobic and
anaerobic), we recommend using one of two methods to measure exercise
intensity. These two methods are performed by monitoring your exercise
heart rate or by using the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE).