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Types of Exercise
There are four types of exercises: aerobic, resistance training,
flexibility, and anaerobic.
AEROBIC EXERCISE (CARDIORESPIRATORY
ENDURANCE)
During aerobic exercise, there is sustained physical activity. The heart
rate and breathing rate increase to supply additional oxygen and fuel to the muscles. Walking, bicycling,
jogging, swimming, and racquet sports are examples of aerobic exercise.
The American College of Sports Medicine defines moderate exercise as 55 to
69 percent of maximal heart rate; hard (or higher intensity) exercise as 70 to 89 percent of maximal heart rate;
and very hard exercise as 90 percent of the maximal heart rate and above. You can determine whether your
exercise is moderate or intense in several ways:
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Measure
your heart rate using a heart rate monitor. Your maximal heart rate will vary
depending on your age and gender. A simple formula is to subtract your age from 220 for men and
from 226 for women. There are also a number of websites that will calculate your heart rate for
different levels of exercise and your age and gender. You can also go on a treadmill with a pulse
monitor and run an intense program supervised by a fitness coach to determine your maximal heart
rate.
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The talk
test. This is a simple way of determining if your exercise level is too high. If it is
just possible to hold a conversation while you are exercising, then your exercise level is
moderate. However, if you are having a hard time getting your words out, then the exercise
intensity is greater than the recommended range (that is, it is vigorous
exercise).
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Assessing
your perception. Evaluate how hard are you exercising by your breathing rate and level
of fatigue. In the Borg perceived exertion scale, you would rank this on a scale of 6 to 20,
where 6 is no exertion and 20 is maximal exertion.
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