Life Fitness Lifecycle 93Ci Operation Manual page 22

H
ILL
The Life Fitness-patented HILL workout offers a variety of configurations for interval training. Intervals
are periods of intense aerobic exercise separated by regular periods of lower-intensity exercise. The
WORKOUT PROFILE window represents high and low intervals as columns of light, which together
have the appearance of hills and valleys. The computerized interval training workout has been scien-
tifically demonstrated to promote greater cardio-respiratory improvement than steady-pace training.
Each HILL workout goes through four phases, each marked by different intensity levels. The WORK-
OUT PROFILE window displays the progress of the phases, as seen in the chart following these
descriptions. The heart rate should be measured at two stages in the workout to gauge its effective-
ness. To do so, wear the Polar heart rate chest strap. Note that the MESSAGE CENTER does not
display a request for a heart rate measurement during a HILL workout.
1 Warm-up is a phase of low, gradually rising resistance, which brings the heart rate into the
lower end of the target zone and increases respiration and blood flow to working muscles.
2 Plateau increases the intensity slightly, and keeps it steady, to bring the heart rate to the low
end of the target zone. Check the heart rate at the end of this phase.
3 Interval Training is a series of increasingly steeper hills, alternating with valleys, or stints of
recovery. The heart rate should rise to the high end of the target zone. Check the heart rate
at the end of this phase.
4 Cool-down is a low-intensity phase that allows the body to begin removing lactic acid, and
other exercise by-products, which build up in muscles and contribute to soreness.
Each column, as seen in the WORKOUT PROFILE window and the chart above, represents one inter-
val. The overall duration of the workout determines the length of each interval. Each workout is made up
of 20 intervals, so the duration of an interval is equal to the duration of the entire workout divided by 20.
1 to 9 minutes: A workout with a duration of less than 10 minutes is insufficient for the Hill pro-
gram to complete all four phases adequately. The program, therefore, condenses a workout of
this duration at various stages.
10 to 19 minutes: The interval durations initially are set at 30 seconds for a 10-minute workout.
For every minute added by the user "on the fly," each interval increases by three seconds.
A 15-minute workout consists of 20 intervals at 45 seconds each.
20 to 99 minutes: All intervals last 60 seconds. If the user adds minutes to the pre-set duration
while the workout is in progress, the program adds hills and valleys that are identical to the first
eight intervals of the Interval Training phase. This pattern repeats until the workout is completed.
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