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Circuits

This basically means a number of exercises (as little as 3) all performed one straight after the other; with no rest in between. Choose an upper body exercise, a mid section exercise and finally a lower body one too e.g.: -

• Tricep extensions (Working the back of the arm)

• Sit ups (Working your abdominals)

• Lunges (Working your thighs)

For each of these exercises pick a resistance to help you reach what is properly known as “fatiguing the muscle” otherwise known as “feeling a burn” by the time you have reached 15 repetitions.

It is very important that YOU DO NOT do the exercise until you reach Failure! (Not being able to move the weight anymore) If you do that you are aiming more towards muscular gains!

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2

The Karvonen Formula

This is extremely affective, there are a few steps to follow before you know the basics and this is through a mathematical calculation explained below.

We will break it down into 5 easy steps i.e.

1. Take away your age from 220;

2. Count your Resting Heart Rate (RHR), the best time to do this is as soon as you wake up, count your pulse for 60 seconds and write it down e.g. 58 Beats Per Minute (BPM);

3. Take your RHR and minus it from the answer that you got from step (a.);

4. Now find 65% of this new figure;

5. Finally add your RHR back onto this new total and make sure every time you exercise that you work hard enough to bring your Heart rate up to that BPM but no higher.

If you found that confusing follow my own example below, whilst referring to the above steps.

1. Assuming you are 22 years old, 220 - 22= 198

2. Assuming your RHR is 58 BPM

3. 198 – 58  = 140

4. 65% of 140 = 91

5. 91 + 58 = 149

Now if you wanted to loose weight, you should go and buy yourself a Heart Rate monitor, the type that has a belt worn just underneath your chest and a wrist watch that displays your heart rate - typically between £40-£70 sold in all good sports shops. Using this keep an eye on your heart rate whilst exercising in a cardiovascular manor and make sure you are working hard enough to reach your target of 149 BPM.  This is when you know for a fact that you are in your own PERSONAL fat burning zone.

If you have any queries about this feel free to contact us and we will break it down for you again, we can even run through your own personal karvonen formula over the phone.

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