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Finding Your
Target Heart Rate
Once you feel comfortable doing low-intensity exercise
regularly, consider aerobics for greater, faster weight loss.
"Aerobic" means "with extra oxygen." Aerobic
exercise is fairly strenuous, but it should not feel
exhausting.
Aerobic benefits--weight loss and improved fitness--are possible
only when the heart rate is in its age-specific "target
range." A rate below your personal target range doesn't
move enough oxygen into your heart and muscles, and a rate above
the target range taxes you beyond prudent limits and leaves you
exhausted.
To find your individual target range, first, take your pulse
while resting. Press your fingertips (not your thumb) on either
side of your neck right below your jaw. Count the number of
beats for 15 seconds. Multiply by four to get your heart rate
per minute. |
Target heart rate is 60 to 80 percent
of the maximum heart rate per minute for your age. To calculate your own
personal maximum heart rate, take 220 minus your age. (For a 45-year-old
woman, 220-45=175.) Then after warming up, try to maintain your pulse at
60 to 80 percent of that number. (For the 45-year-old woman, 175 x .6 =
105 beats per minute, and 175 x .8 = 140 beats/minute.)
For best aerobic conditioning, keep your heart rate within your target
range for about 20 minutes three times a week.

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