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.
Once you’ve taken your resting heart rate and blood pressure, it’s time to see how your heard performs during exercise. A common method for this is called the submaximal test (or submax) which aims to get your heart rate up to 75-85 of it’s maximum. Many gyms offer this 15 minutes test, and it’s one you don’t want to skip since this is where you’ll really see the benefits to your heart from your exercise program. If this test isn’t available to you, another common method is to walk or run a mile as quickly as possible, taking your pulse just before you finish. And then take your pulse again exactly one minute after you finish to see how far your heart rate has decreased.
After about 6 weeks of your exercise program, you’ll want to take these tests again. Most people see noticeable improvements in these measurements, which is a great indication that your hard work is paying off in terms of the health of your heart.
Walter enjoys learning and writing about health-related subjects. He’s also a Web 2.0 and Social Media junkie. Check out his latest website on Six Sigma Training including options for Black Belt Certification.
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