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Aerobic fitness
When you're trying to get in shape, aerobic fitness is one of the key indicators that will tell you whether your workouts are meeting your needs.
We all know what it feel like when you're not in shape - difficulty climbing stairs, not being able to run around with the kids without getting puffed - but sometimes it is harder to measure the opposite - aerobic fitness.
As aerobic fitness refers to the ability of your heart and lungs to process oxygen (the term aerobic fitness means 'with oxygen'), then clearly measuring the effectiveness of your heart is one of the key ways of assessing your condition.
You can do this either by taking your own pulse, or better still, by the use of a heart rate monitor. There are two key measures that will track your progress:- Resting heart rate - As you get in shape, your resting heart rate (i.e. when you are completely relaxed, such as when you first wake up in the morning) will slow down. Your heart will be getting stronger, more efficient, so each beat of the heart will send more blood pumping through the body.
- Working heart rate - taking your heart rate while exercising is another key indicator. As you get in better shape, you'll be able to do the same work at a lower heart rate.
Achieving this goal is simple - regular bouts of slow, steady cardio exercise, such as running, walking, biking, swimming, will soon get your heart in great shape.
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