Nautilus EV9.16 Owner's Manual page 15

C H A N G I N G T H E G A M E I N H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S
EXERCISE & FITNESS GUIDELINES
those individuals who
just train aerobically
(without strength
training) do maintain
their cardiovascular
endurance over
the years, but they
generally lose lean
muscle mass as they
get older. However,
those individuals who combine strength training and
cardiovascular training can maintain their lean body
mass as they get older. What this means is that if you
just do cardiovascular activity, your body will naturally
lose muscle mass as you get older, and that means
that you will actually get "fatter" as you age, unless
you incorporate strength training.
We have also learned that consistent strength
training helps maintain bone and muscle mass as we
get older. For women, strength training (along with
cardiovascular training) may also protect against
post-menopausal bone loss and osteoporosis in
their later years.
And strength training is not complicated. It is
recommended that you do 8 – 12 repetitions of
8 – 10 major muscle groups at least 2 days a week.
However, you don't have to do all these exercises at
once. You can break them up into shorter workouts
throughout the day. For example, you can do just
upper body exercises in the morning, and your lower
body exercises in the evening. Or, you can alternate
strength exercises with cardiovascular exercise
(often known as circuit training) by switching back
and forth every couple of minutes.
Flexibility is being able to bend, reach, twist and turn
with comfort and ease as we perform daily tasks, play
or exercise. It is perhaps the most ignored component
of fitness, but certainly the easiest one to incorporate
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into our daily lives because it can be done anywhere
and almost at any time.
To maintain your flexibility, you simply need to stretch.
This could be as simple as reaching for your toes, or
reaching overhead when you wake up in the morning.
Or maybe you enjoy it so much that you would be
interested in trying the Nautilus yoga workout
®
video. You can even incorporate stretching into your
strength training workouts by stretching the muscles
you have used immediately after you have completed
your exercise set.
Like cardiovascular training, it is recommended that
you stretch every day. However, you do not need to
create a formalized program. You can simply make
sure that you stretch your major muscle groups
throughout the day. Make sure you include your thighs,
calves, hamstrings, back, chest, neck and shoulders.
Do what feels good, but also remember to mix it up.
Don't just do traditional "reach and hold" stretches.
Also, try gently moving through a range of motion that
is comfortable to you. For example, you don't have to
stretch your neck simply by pulling on your head with
your hand. You can also just rotate the neck slowly
around and look side to side.
Nutrition
Of course, every good health and fitness program
will also include a good nutrition component.
Good nutrition is likely the most important factor
in maintaining ideal body weight and managing
weight loss.
There are a variety of schools of thought regarding
which nutrition program, diet or eating plan is best.
While we do not promote or endorse any particular
one, here are some things to consider that will help
you get on the road to a healthy diet:
EXERCISE & FITNESS GUIDELINES
Understand caloric balance. How many Calories
you intake, and how many Calories you burn off will
determine whether you will gain or lose weight day
to day. It is impossible to achieve weight loss without
some sort of "Caloric deficit" that can be obtained
through cutting Calories, or burning off more than
you take in. The wisest approach is to do a little of
both – cutting Calories and exercising. It is the only
proven long-term weight management program that is
successful. You should ensure that you are consuming
at least 1,200 Calories per day total. A total weight
loss of no more than 2 lbs. per week is recommended
for long-term weight management.
Eat a variety of foods. Regardless of your eating plan,
you should be sure to include a variety of foods in your
diet, maximizing your intake of fruits and vegetables
whenever possible. Colorful meals and snacks that
are divided amongst the 4 food groups will ensure
that you obtain the nutrients needed for your body to
function at optimal levels. Any diet that focuses on
just one food group source or processed foods can be
unhealthy in the long run, and should be avoided. Don't
focus too much on any particular meal or snack, but
rather on your overall intake of a variety of different
foods during any given day.
Drink water. Our bodies are made up of over 70%
water, and most of us don't drink enough. Carry water
with you everywhere you go, and drink as often as you
can. This helps the body function at optimum levels,
and can significantly help with weight management.
Eat more often and be mindful of your portions.
Research has shown that it can be helpful to
eat smaller meals more often versus 3 larger
meals a day if you are looking to promote healthy
weight maintenance or weight loss. And we have
discovered that many portions we eat are much
larger than necessary, and can be laden with
Calories. So, try snacking more and not eating so
many large meals, and share your snacks or food
with others (or break your portions in half) to help
manage your Caloric intake.
Monitoring Your Intensity
When you are doing cardiovascular workouts, it is
important that you work at the appropriate intensities
when you are first starting out. It is also important
that you workout at a variety of intensities after you
have built a fitness base.
Research in recent years has indicated that one
of the best ways to monitor your cardiovascular
intensity is to pay close attention to how you are
feeling when you workout. Most individuals can do
a very good job of choosing the correct intensities if
they simply categorize how they feel into one of four
intensity "zones."
These zones could be described the following ways:
• Easy
Zone 1 • Warm-up
• Cool-down
• Challenging, but comfortable
Zone 2
• Steady endurance pace
• Challenging, and slightly uncomfortable
Zone 3 • Race pace
• Borderline out of breath
• Breathless
Zone 4 • Not maximum, but winded
• Can't keep the pace for very long
When you are first starting out, you should exclusively
work in the Zone 1 and Zone 2 intensities. After a few
weeks, you can occasionally incorporate Zone 3 and
Zone 4 intensities for short periods of time. Remember,
when you begin to incorporate Zone 3 and Zone 4
intensities, you will find that you will likely have to
drop down to Zone 1 intensities shortly thereafter as
brief recovery periods.
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