Fitness And Fashion Guide
Monday, September 19, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Heart Rate Monitor
I can’t say that I really valued or understood the need for a heart rate monitor. At least not to the extent that I do today. As I was working out the trainer was talking about why we need to have a heart rate monitor and also explaining what type he uses.
Top Reasons To Have a Heart Rate Monitor
1. To know when you heart rate is high enough
To get an effective cardio workout you need to get your heart rate up high enough so that it is truly working at a pace that will be beneficial to you. If you are only doing mildly strenuous activity it will not push you far enough or hard enough and therefore be less effective. By knowing when you heart is not quite there, you can push further and dig deeper to give it just a little bit more, or set your workout gear maybe just one setting higher.
2. To know when your heart rate is too high
On the other hand, you don’t want your heart rate to be too high, which is not good for your heart. You want to find a heart rate monitor that will give you a warning when you have reached a preset rate that is too high for you.
3. To know when your heart rate is back to normal / resting rate
After your workout you want to cool down and gradually bring your heart rate back down to your normal resting heart rate.
A wrist watch style monitor will give you a secure method to attach it to your body without fear of it falling off, straps getting tangled or it becoming lost.
Normal heart rate can vary and it would be best to check with your physician / doctor to make sure you are healthy enough to participate in vigorous activity and also to learn what your heart rate parameters should be.
P90X Plyometrics
Today I did my first session of P90X. Wow. That was really a workout. The plyometrics is designed to help pro athletes be more agile and jump higher. It is so tough that I had to do the modified version just to make through about 1/3 of the entire session. Each session is about one hour long and although there are a couple of quick breaks, it’s a strenuous and vigorous body building session.
Running Stance Squat, Jumping Squats, Knee High Heisman Jump and so much more in the first section that helps build leg muscles and core strength and balance. And by the way, my legs are sore.
For first time workout, this is way too tough and I’d recommend starting with something far easier to get into good enough shape to work on plyometrics. If you are going to tackle this, make sure you are wearing comfortable tennis shoes, and make sure you have enough room to jump a reasonable distance vertically. Ceiling height does matter.
One of the additional demonstrators in the P90X workout video session had one artificial leg and was able to keep up and do far more than I could. I really need to stay at this way better, and certainly don’t have any excuses (though I was trying to come up with some good ones) :) It’s definitely more fun if you are doing with someone else who is there to help egg you on and keep pushing you.
P90X is a good workout training with a diverse menu of exercises to choose from and is typically started on a 90 schedule. They recommend taking 6 sets of photos before and then also after your 90 days so that you can see the incredible difference there will be in your before and after photo shots.