Now you understand why active, regular total-body (legs and arms) is such an important part of gaining control of your weight. More to the point, you can see what exercise, done not just during periods of calorie restriction but lifelong, can do to prevent weight cycling. It's a beautiful, common sense "sword" that cuts both ways - it helps slice off fat, specifically, when you are cutting back on food, and it slices off potential fat regain over the long term.

The message is clear: adopting a healthier lifestyle, which is your ultimate goal, can only be done if you make exercise the centerpiece of your new strategy.The pathway to a healthier you is clearly lit. There are many side roads, wandering paths, and potholes along the road. But, if you are to travel it, for the entire distance you were intended to travel, than you have to stay on the main road.

Important!

I don't need to tell you that the first thing you should do is to have a complete physical by your personal physician. According to the Center for Disease Control and National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute there are certain conditions when it is particularly important to see your doctor. Some of these specific conditions would be:

• Your doctor has told you that you have heart trouble, a heart murmur, or you have had a heart attack.
• You frequently have pain or pressure in the middle or left side of your chest, left neck or arm - that occurs during exercise or just after you finish.
• You often feel lightheaded or dizzy - with or without exercise.
• You experience a significant sense of shortness of breath even with mild exertion.
• Your doctor has told you in the past that your blood pressure was too high and is not under control or you haven't had your blood pressure checked in several months
• You doctor has told you that you have significant joint or arthritic problems
• You are over 60 and have not done any significant exercise in a year or more
• One of your first-degree relatives (mother, father, brother or sister) had a heart attack before the age 50

You should tell your doctor that you are about to start an exercise program and ask if there are any activities you should avoid? People with bad arthritis of the knees probably should not not Also, you should ask your doctor what your exercise heart rate target should be.Your target heart rate is the pulse rate you should sustain for the most instense part of your workout. Your pulse rate is an excellent barometer to tell you if you are exercising too hard or not hard enough. During exercise, and particularly when you are starting an exercise program, you should check your pulse at 5 minute intervals. After you have been exercising regularly for a few weeks, it won't be necessary to chec your pulse as frequently. Initially, though, it should be checked frequently.

How do you check your pulse? The best way to check your pulse during exercise is not at your wrist like you have seen doctors and nurses do on television. The best and most accurate place to check your pulse druing exercise is by placing your index and middle fingers gently over the carotid artery in your neck. Check for it now; it's not hard to find. Place those two fingers about halfway between your collar bone and your jaw and just infron of the large muscle that you use to turn your head right and left (it's called the "sternocleiidomastoid muscle" or SCM).

Press only hard enough to feel the pulse, not hard enough to cause any discomfort. Check you watch and count the number of pulses (heart beats) you feel during a 10 second period. Multiply that number by 6 to get your pulse - the number of times you heart beats in one minute. For example if you feel 20 beats in a 10 second, 20 times 6 is 120 - 120 is your pulse. Practice by checking your pulse standing and sitting in a chair at work or at home. Once you are comfortable checking your pulse at rest, it will be easier to check it while exercising.

To determine your target heart rate, that rate which your heart pumps at a level where you are putting a sufficient amount of muscular stress on the body to improve your heart's functional capacity and get some benefit in your aerobic capacity, you first have to determine your resting pulse. This is best done by checking your pulse on 3 consecutive mornings before you get out of bed. It only take 10 seconds, so take the time. Count the number of beats you feel over your carotid artery for ten seconds, multiply it by 6 and write down the result. The average (add the three morning readings and divide by 3) is your resting heart rate (RHR).

Let's say your average resting pulse (your RHR) is 75 beats per minute. Next, we need to calculate your maximal heart rate. The calculation of the maximal heart rate (MHR) is simply 220 minus your age. If you are 35 years old, your maximal heart rate is 220 - 50, or 185 beats per minute.

Now, you have two numbers: your resting heart rate (RHR) on awakening and at your most relaxed, and your maximal heart

The Karvonen Formula is one of the most popular methods of determining cardiorespiratory-intensity levels. The only difficulty with this method is the accurate determination of resting heart rate. Here are the calculations you need to do, step by step.

The complete Karvonen Formula, in four steps, for a 35-year-old exercising at 85% intensity is:

1. 220 - 35 = 185
2. 185 - 75 = 110
3. 110 x 0.75 = 85
4. 75 + 85 = 160

During exercise to improve cardiovascular conditioning and endurance - the goals of any exercise you chose, really - you should calculate your target heart rate using this formula and try and maintain it during the most intense phase of your exercise. Importantly, you should "warm up" to it and "cool down" from it. By the way, if the math just seems like too much trouble, you can go to this site and have it all calculated for you.

Thus, after warming up and getting well into your exercise session, your pulse rate should stay at or near your calculated target exercise heart rate. If your heart rate, during exercise, stays consistently below your individually calculated target, you need to gradually push your exercise a bit. Walk a little faster, pedal a little harder or faster, or intensify what you are doing for exercise. If your pulse is consistently faster than your calculated target heart rate, you need to back off a little. Slow down until your pulse gets back into the 120-143 beats per minute range.

With a little practice, you will get into a groove and your pulse will remain consistently in the target heart zone. It will become second nature. But, when starting out, it is best to check your pulse frequently and adjust your exertion appropriately. This is the safest way to exercise and the way you will get the most benefit from it.

The Simplest Guideline of All...

Another simple rule of thumb is just the "Talk Test." It doesn't require any math and you can measure it any time you want during your exercise. Simply put, the talk test is a "how do you feel: measure of cardiorespiratory intensity. At low to moderate intensity, an individual should be able to breathe comfortably and rhythmically throughout the entire exercise session. At high levels of cardiorespiratory intensity (65 to 85 percent), breathing is a lot harder than at rest. You can tell when you are at a good level of exercise when you are able to talk, but find it hard to speak in full sentences.

The talk test measures perceived exertion and is considered a fairly good estimation of exercise intensity. It also correlates very well with actual pulse rate monitoring. (1) And the best part of the talk test is it can be done anytime and even when you are exercising alone.

1. Persinger R, Foster C, Gibson M, Fater DC, Porcari JP. Consistency of the talk test for exercise prescription. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004 Sep;36(9):1632-6.
   

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