TW Wdl Mow page 4
I ' I llll! !!!!*!.' ■-1-1-r-r--1—
* ‘ tlie Student Health Center Newsletter
Reach vour target heart rate for cardiovascular fitness
By Dan Porter
If you have begun an aerobic exer
cise program, you might be curious
about what exercise level is the most
beneficial to your body This level is
called your Target Heart Rate (TI IR),
and it occurs when your heart is besting .it a certain per
centage. usually percent, of your heart's maximum
level. In the THR zone, fat is burned most efficiently and
you get the most out of your workout
Your THR is the best training indicator that your body
is equipped with because it will let you know when you
are exercising effectively Knowing your TJIR will also
help you exercise within a safe range so that you will not
overexert your body Taking your THR will also let you
know if you nix'd to exercise’ at a higher level of exertion
Your 11 IR is the optimum heart rate at which aerobic
exercise will help you in attaining cardiovascular fitness
You can calculate your THR by estimating your Maxi
mum Heart Rate (MHR). MHR is an estimation of the
highest potential that your heart can reach safely during
intense exercise. To find your Ml IR, subtract your age
from 220 Next, you need to know your Resting 1 leart
Rate (RHR) This is the rate your heart beats per minute
while resting The best time to calculate the RHR is nght
after you get up in the morning or after a nap
When you know both your MHR and your RHR sub
tract the MHR from the RHR anil multiply this number
by and add the result to your RHR This calculation
will toll you wh.it your THR is at 65 percent of your maxi
mum Next, to find your THR at 80 percent you not'd to
take the difference between the MUR and the RHR and
multiply it by HO and add this number to your RHR
These two numbers will tell you vour Target
40rw which will be* at hs-HO percent of
your Maximum Heart Rate and will be
the "/one" which you will want to
achieve during exercise
Now that you know what your
I I IK Zone is, what are you going
to do with it? When aerobically
exercising this /one needs to be
reached and maintained for 15-20
minutes lor optimal benefits. K>r
example, if your THR is 130-lhfl,
running for l*v2fl minutes with
your heart beating at this level
will maximize your cardiovas
cular fitness and your body
will bum its fat stores most
efficiently.
teaming to monitor your
T! IR dunng exercise is important
for health and fitness reasons
Monitoring your TMR is easy dur
ing exercise with a h second count
taken at the wrist or brachial artery
by using your middle anil index fingers
to register the beats To do this, take your
pulse for si* seconds, counting the first beat as zero, (i.e
0,l,2,.\ ) and multiply the number of beats by 10 This
will give you an estimate of the number of beats per
minute your heart is working Please note that the t> sec
ond count is not the most accurate method The longer
you take your pulse the more accurate
the reading will be
Keep in mind that it is impor
tant to periodically monitor
your heart rate and to stay
within your THR throughout
your aerobic exercise Also, if
during any part of the exercise
you begin to feel taint, di/yy, or
anv pain, stop exercising and
walk around
A Before and after any aero
jjj hie activity you must warm
w up and cool down. Never
" jump into a full fledged
work-out without warming up
your muscles failure to an so can
result in strained or pulled muscles.
Always start slowly and gradually increase intensity
until you reach your THR /one and then stay within that
intensity for 15-20 minutes. Then gradually decrease
intensity for 5-10 minutes for a cool-down. Warm-ups and
cool downs involve stretching and moderate intensity
exercise to warm up the muscles. Bv following these sim
ple rulis and through utilizing your THR during exercise,
you will he able to become fit the safe and fun way.
Weights: not just for serious body builders
My Dnnn l winy
> Aerobic exercise ek*
I v.iles your he.irt r.ite over .1
I sustained period of lime
1 Anaerobic exercise involves
j shtirf bursts of high
demand activity Along wnn proper numwon
and aerobic exercise. anaerobic activity is
essential to being healthy It increases our
metabolism, protects our bodies from injury,
and improves our self-image 1 xpcrls say
that a combination of aerobic and anaerobn
exercise is important for a tit and healthy
body
Anaerobic activity builds muscle fiber,
which increases our lean body mass
Increasing our muscle si/e or lean body mass
has many benefits I he most important is
(hat il helps burn more calories As lean
body mass increases, the metabolic rate
increases. Muscle tissue uses energy even at
rest, while fatty tissue use. very little energy
and burns fewer calories A person w ith
more lean bodv mass is able to burn calories
easily during rest anil exercise than their fal
ter counterpart
Along with increasing metabolism, anaer
obic activities help the body in other ways
l or instance, building muscle in tin- abdomi
nal and lower back help to prevent excess
curvature of the spine A strong hack
improves your chances of avoiding low back
pain or iniurv When the surrounding mus
cles are strengthened, joints are protected by
improving shock absorption and stabilization
capabilities. The increases of lean body mass
make the bones stronger, which may aid in
resisting problems associated with osteoporo
mv l it mu scles hold our bodies up straighter
and help to maintain good posture Strength
is also a great value in improving personal
a p pea ranee and self-image, in developing
sport skills, and in meeting certain emergen
eies where strength is necessary to cope effec
tively
I here are many t\ pes of anaerobic exer
cist". The most common form is weightlifting
Many people think that they will become tint
muscular it they lift weights, but it actually
depends on how much weight they lift anil
how often Many repetitions of a light weight
will simply tone up a muscle, not make it
bulky You can get the same affect by doing
sit-ups, push-ups, chair dips, leg lifts, squats,
and other exercises in which the muscles are
used to lift your own body weight. Covert
Bailey, the author of I he New bit or t at
writes that "Chin-ups an- the classic weight
lifting exercise, requiring practically evi'fy
muscle in the upper body, from the wrists,
.inns, .ind shoulders to the Kick, and abdomi
nal muscles all the wav down to the pelvic
girdle A chin-up is one the best weight-lift
ing exercise's, yet it requires almost no equip
ment at all " Other forms of anaerobic exer
cise- an- sprinting and tennis, which nxjuire
quick bursts ot energy Circuit training is a
form of exercise- that accomplishes Kith aero
bic and anaerobic exercise-s in one workout
In a circuit training workout a person would
move quickly from one weight-lifting posi
tion to another and periodically do an aerobic
activity such as riding a stationary bike or
lumping rope There is no one best method
feir developing strength; the method selected
must be de-temune-d by the individual's spe
cific needs
There are many different ways to improve
muscular strength and many more resources
to find out how to start and what to do A
great way to begin weight-training is to take
a class The instructor can show you the
proper and safe wavs to lift weights, and
work with you until you are comfortable and
familiar with the weights I here are also
many magazines and books that give exam
ples ot different types ot anaerobic activities,
but he sure they are creditable Many maga
zines give false information Some maga
zines that I suggest are H I NhSSand Si IAl’1
There are magazines geared specifically
toward weight-training, but they primarily
target serious Nk.Iv builders I he I lealth
Education Office at Student Health Center is
a gn-at place to tmd information about anaer
obic activities and how to incorporate them
into your overall fitness program
MYTHS
Continued from page 3
• Myth: Weight-lifters
need protein supplements to
"Bulk up.'"
Although protein is neces
sary for muscle growth, more
protein is not always better.
The body is capable of
absorbing only so much pro
tein before it begins to flush it
out with other wastes. To
ensure that you are including
etuiugh protein in your diet,
maintain a healthy intake of a
variety of foods and aim for
10-15% of your calories from
protein. By keeping your diet
balanced, you shouldn't have
difficulties in getting enough
protein
If you feel that you are not
obtaining enough protein for
your activity level, protein
supplements are available.
However, first try to alter
your diet to include more
protein, such as including
legumes and low fat dairy
products, before you turn to
supplements. If you are
interested in examining your
protein intake, drop by the
Health Ed room at the Stu
dent Health Center. We have
a variety of nutrition texts
and articles that can help you
make more informed choices.
Ihe Well NOW StAff
Director of Health Education: Joanne Frank
Peer Health Advising Coordinator A nine IXx'hnahl
Special Services Coordinator I la Ausland
Health St Nutrition Counselor Tanya laotov
Cholesterol Educator Sureish Nathan
Editor of Well Now: Joe Livingston
Salesperson: Angie Windheim
Production: IXe McCobb
Second Term Peer Health Advisors: Tracy Anudsoa Robin Baily,
Dana Ewing, Erika George, Krista Holst Morgane McCarthy,
Grady O'Connor, Dan Porter, Renee Schmidt
First Term Peer Health Advisors: Melanie Beauvort Britta Davis,
Cariee Faro, Anthony Hoy, Nick Jacob, Jensen Ling, Bichson Pham,
Orion Protonentis, Carla Spangler, D&orah Tucker, Peter Vellutini
The Well Now is a newsletter sponsored by the Student Health
Center and produced by the Health Education staff with the assis
tance of the Oregon Daily Emerald.
All articles are written by students and GTFs for the Health
Education Program.
Information and resources for well-being
I mil I u I Kc mi I it t mil
University Counseling Center
13th Street dt Agate 346-3227
UO Crisis Center hotline
3184488 24 hours a day
Sexual Assault Support Services
484-9795
U of O Mediation Program
EMU Room 318
346-4240
Office of Student Advocacy
EMU 318 346-3722
Women's Resource
and Referral Center
Suite 3 EMU 346-3327
Office of Academic Advising
and Student Services
164 Oregon Hall .146-3211
Carver Planning and Placement
244 Hendricks Hall 346-3235
Center for
Academic Learning Services
68 PLC 346-3226
Office of Affirmative Action
474 Oregon Hall 346-3123
Office of Public Safety
Straub Hall 346-5444
Student Conduct Coordinator
364 Oregon Hall 346-1141
Coordinator Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual Concerns 346-1142
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Alliance
346-3360
I III.nil l.li C OIK Cl II
Office of Student Financial Aid
260 Oregon Hall 346-3221
Student Employment Office
12 Hendricks Hall 346-3214
1\ lit .1 I \ I 1 I 1 If I I t s
Student Health Center
13th Street at Agate 346-4441
I I, I I I I I I It! I i Mt ..11 H
Health Education Program
346-4456
Physical Therapy and Sports
Medicine 346-4401
Slocum Sports Medicine Lab
346-4147
Club Sports 3463733
Recreation and Intramurals
346-4113