Stop Jogging, Start Sprinting!

• Most exercise programs recommend moderate exertion for about an hour, but the body thrives on short bursts of high-intensity exercise. Your goal should be to create an oxygen debt by exercising at an intensity that can only be maintained for a moment. The difference between exercise that creates an oxygen debt and exercise that doesn't is like the difference between jogging and sprinting. A jogging pace can be sustained for a prolonged period but sprinting burns energy from oxygen faster than the body can supply it. At this point, breathing becomes labored and the body's anaerobic system makes up the oxygen deficit by converting carbs and fats to energy. When aerobic capacity is exceeded this way, the heart and lungs are strengthened and trained to store and release reserve energy at a moment's notice. This reserve allows them to respond to stress, illness and injuries that are part of life.
  
  

Heart Smart Exercise Routine

• If you are used to time-consuming workouts that require specialized equipment, the Progressively Accelerating Cardiopulmonary Exertion program, or PACE, will be a pleasant surprise. It is primarily concerned with the duration and intensity of an exercise, not the method. You can also do other exercises, such as walking on a treadmill, riding a bike, swimming, running, or jumping rope. It's all good.
  Start out with a 10-minute routine made up of alternating 1-minute intervals of exercise and recovery. Each minute of exercise should cause you to break a sweat while challenging your heart and lungs. At the end of each 1-minute exercise cycle, slow down to an easy pace for a minute of recovery time. When the minute ends, resume your high-intensity activity for another minute. Continue the exertion-recovery pattern until 10 minutes have passed. After you have adapted to this routine, you will need to vary it to maintain its effectiveness. You can do this by increasing the intensity of your 1-minute exercise intervals while reducing the length.
  
  

Taking It To The Next Level

• To get the most from this workout program, track your progress. A good heart monitor delivers the feedback you need to optimize exercise and recovery cycles. Your heart rate must climb to a level that challenges it during exercise and return to a resting pulse before you exert yourself again. The goal is to build reserve capacity that protects you from dying of a heart attack.
  
  There are four measurements you should refer to during each PACE session. They are your resting heart rate, maximum exertion heart rate, recovery heart rate and recovery time. Average adult resting heart rates range from 60 to 100 beats per minute. Maximum heart rate is 220 beats per minute minus your age. The recovery heart rate ranges from 60 to 80 percent of this number. Recovery time is how long it takes for your heart to drop from the maximum exertion rate to its resting rate when you stop exercising for a few minutes. Since recovery heart rate is a true measure of heart health, it is the best way to track your progress. If you monitor your heart's response to exercise and adjust your exertion and recovery cycles accordingly, your recovery time will decrease and your heart will thank you for it!