|
Cardiovascular Workout
One of the great ways to increase your fitness
level is cardiovascular training. I personally like
PACE (Progressive Accelerated Cardiopulmonary Exertion)
because of its effectiveness and great benefits that extend
beyond simply getting your heart rate up like most other
cardio workouts. This revolutionary workout was developed by Dr. Al
Sears. The basic principle of PACE is progressively
increasing your cardio-pulmonary exertion using any kind of
exercise that can give your heart and lungs a bit of a
challenge.
It is a different and more effective program of building
heart and lung strength.
Unlike most other exercise programs, the focus of PACE is
not on how long you work out. It’s not about the duration of
your exertion. Instead, you’re focused on a single point in
time. Your goal is to hit a peak of intensity. Then in each
future workout you simply gradually increase the height of
that peak as your fitness level improves.
The other thing you’ll want to remember is that continuous
exertion without time for recovery will break your body
down. That’s what cardio does. PACE is different. Your
periods of rest are just as important as your periods of
exertion. It’s when your body’s at rest that the changes
take place.
As you become more conditioned, your recovery time will
become shorter. This means your muscles, heart and lungs are
stronger and more responsive. And this is your goal – to
build functional strength you can use.
New Workout: Not Your Average Sprint
Some of the biggest and strongest muscles in your body are
in your legs. And the easiest way to work those large leg
muscles is to sprint.
When most of us think of “sprinting” we think of running as
fast as we can. But sprinting does not have to mean running.
In fact, if you are out of shape, older, overweight or have
bad knees, there are several low-impact options that you can
pursue and still enjoy all the benefits of sprinting.
The point of “sprinting” is to get your heart and lungs to
their maximal output as quickly as possible. It’s all
relative to YOUR current level of fitness.
No matter what shape you’re in, you want to maintain your
maximum effort while sprinting until you note a drop off.
When you feel yourself starting to slow down, stop. That’s
the sprint.
Then you rest until you are recovered and do it again at
your maximum capacity.
If you haven’t sprinted for a while, you should ease into
it. And be sure to warm up each time. That doesn’t mean
stretch for 30 minutes or jog two miles. It just means that
you should do the same exercise you will use for sprinting
at a low intensity for five or 10 minutes.
PACE Sprint Example:
-
Start by walking or jogging just long enough to get your
muscles warmed up. Then, choose a random landmark, like a
sign, a tree at the end of the block or a fire hydrant down
the street.
-
Sprint at your maximum capacity until you reach your
landmark. Then walk at an easy pace until you feel fully
recovered. Then choose another landmark and sprint again.
Vary the workout by choosing landmarks at greater or lesser
distances and changing the intensity of your sprint.
-
At first, you might not be able to reach some of the
landmarks, and you’ll have to adjust for your current level
of fitness. But don’t take it too easy on yourself.
Remember, you want to reach that moment of peak intensity.
That’s how you challenge your heart and muscles to become
stronger.
Like interest on a bank account, small progressive changes
can have a monumental cumulative effect. The adaptations
your body makes, day after day, will compound into huge
improvements over time.
So change your thinking from “how long” you worked out to
“how high” your exertion level peaked. Then aim to
progressively increase this peak.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
For examples of PACE exercises please click
here
Thank you for visiting our website. We hope you enjoyed
browsing through our pages, found useful information and were
inspired to start living a healthier, more fit lifestyle.
Please come back and visit us again soon.
|
