Posts Tagged ‘Fitness of Heart’

Testing the Fitness of Your Heart

Anytime you start a new fitness program, it is always important to evaluate your current level of fitness. This gives you a baseline for key information about your health and fitness. A fitness evaluation can be performed by a professional, or it can be done by yourself.

Since your fitness program will almost certainly include cardio exercise, you’ll want to know your baseline heart rate. By placing two fingers on your wrist, count the number of times your heart beats in a 60 second period while you are in a “resting” state, i.e., not doing physical exertion. (If you enjoy precision, repeat this over the course of a few days.) A resting heart rate is typically 60-85 beats per minute, and you can expect it do go down after you’ve been exercising regularly.

You should also have your blood pressure checked before you start your exercise program. While some pharmacies have blood pressure machines, they tend to be inaccurate, so you’ll want to have a professional give you a reading. In general, you want you blood pressure to be 120/80 or less. Read more…