COMPONENT FOUR - ENERGY SYSTEM TRAINING USING A HEART RATE MONITOR

The Surgeon General and the American College of Sports Medicine

suggest that adults should engage in a minimum of 30 minutes of

“moderately intense” physical activity every day. But what constitutes

as moderately intense activity? Many exercise programs specifically

spell out the strength training portion, and yet they leave you in the

dark with your cardio. There is no specific planning so most people just go for a leisurely jog.

Others just hop on a stationary bike for 20-30 minutes while reading a magazine or watching

ESPN. Most individuals don’t work nearly as hard as they should and thus waste time and fail to

tap into their potential. They do the same thing every day, their bodies stop adapting, and they

end up looking pretty much the same at the beginning and end of whatever program they’re on.

I dislike the term “cardio” for that very

reason. Over the years it’s come to mean

“light exercise”. At the Los Gatos Swim &

Racquet Club, we refer to cardio as Energy

System Training, or EST, because were not

just burning calories for the sake of burning

them, were also improving the function of

the heart and lungs and building endurance.

In short, were teaching the body to tap into

new energy levels.





For maximum effectiveness, it is important to keep your Energy

System Training exercise in the correct zone based on your metabolic

profile. The heart rate training plan and heart rate monitor will help

guide you the client to exercise at the optimum frequency, intensity

and duration to achieve your goals.