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While
training for the Olympic Games, I spent a significant
amount of time at the Riekes Center for Human
Enhancement in Menlo Park, CA. It is a great facility
and they train athletes of all abilities starting from
young age to amateur and professional athletes.
The
staff and the founder, Gary Riekes, are wonderful. I
highly recommend it if you need to take your training
to the next level or you are simply looking for a
place to improve your fitness level. For more
information, visit the Riekes
Center website.
Q: My weekly workout consists of alternating between
the Elliptical trainer,
treadmill, and stationary bike. I'm still in my Zone
but they all seem too
easy as compared to a few months ago. What does that
mean and what should I do?
(courtesy
of Ellen Karpay-Brody, president Ellen
Karpay Health, a fitness and nutrition consulting
company and author of The Everything Total Fitness
Book)
A: The Overload Principle of exercise states that in
order to improve
physical fitness the body must be taxed using work
loads that are greater
than those to which the body is accustomed. This
applies to all forms of
exercise but for now let's address your aerobic
concern.
A lower heart rate, as a result of regular aerobic
exercise, means that you
are getting fitter. Your exercise sessions create a
greater demand for
oxygen. Your heart muscle responds to appropriate
overload by getting
stronger, more efficient, and with less physical and
perceived effort. Your
sense of it feeling too easy is a sign that you are
ready to adjust your
overload.
You can overload yourself by pushing a bit beyond what
you are accustomed to,
not by overdoing it. Slightly increase either the
F-I-T (frequency,
intensity, or time) of your exercise session or a
combination of them. You
can increase the resistance (speed, workload, level)
slightly and elevate
your heart rate a few more beats per minute. You can
add 5 minutes of
exercise time or you can add another exercise session
to your week.
Regular exercise even at low levels of F-I-T produce
numerous benefits to
your health. For specific, timely goals such as
performance or body weight
and composition you will need to adjust your F-I-T so
that you maintain an
overload situation. Productive exercise need not feel
hard. Progress slowly
and be gentle with yourself.
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