Tuesday, Nov 4 through Wednesday, Nov 26 challenge. This is a total of 23 days.
1 for 20 min of cardio, 2 for 40 min of cardio, 3 for 60 min of cardio. I pasted Carol Joy's explanation of target heart rate (THR) below. (For those who didn't know Carol Joy, she is a fitness trainer who organized challenges here and because of knowledge as a trainer could also give we posters advice on our workouts. She mysteriously stopped posting in mid-August.) Each of us needs to be sensible and follow our doctor's instructions. Even without health problems, any of us needs to gradually increase our aerobic level and duration.
1 point once or twice a week for a day off from cardio (particularly if someone does the 60 min once or more per week, then 2 days off from cardio probably makes good sense).
1 point for strength training; aim for at least a 20 to 25 min session; if we alternate upper and lower body workouts, then 4 or 5 of these a week is okay. Obviously, if we do whole body strength training, we should do no more than 3 a week.
1 point once a week for a weekly weigh-in and tracking (no details needed in the post, just simply that we did it).
Last month, Kathy began counting 90 minutes of leaf-raking as equivalent to 20 min of cardio. I don't have any problems with us making trade-offs like that. A trade-off like that makes our lives work, gives our workouts some variety, is certainly within the spirit of the challenge and the Alli program, and Kathy's approach on the points is quite conservative.
Time permitting, I'll tally the points once at the mid-point and at the end of the challenge.
I believe the only difference in the above and what we have been doing are the items with the bolded text. I'm not planning on a challenge on this board in December.
In my warm climate, the weather is now mild and beautiful so my husband and I took a nice walk today. I hope everyone had a wonderful, healthy and enjoyable weekend!
Jane
Below is Carol Joy's explanation of target heart rate:
How do I calculate my THR zone?
We will use a variation based on the scientifcally proven method called "The Karvonen Formular"...the accurate method (unless your heart is smaller or larger than 'normal' or medications you take affect your HR), used by Fitness Professionals and endorsed by the American Council On Exercize (ACE). The formula is adjusted for ease of use and does NOT consider your Resting Heart rate as the longer method does; however it is used as a good predictor of how hard you are working.
The simplified method (not taking resting heart rate into consideration) is this:
220 BPM (a newborn HR)
- __ YOUR age
=__ YOUR Predicted Maximal Heart Rate
NOW, since you know that number...
___ Your Maximal HR ___ Your Maximal HR
x 70% Lower training zone x 80% Higher training zone
= Minimum Herat Rate for your training = Maximum Number
You should be within this range for a safe and effective workout!
Using MYSELF as an example:
220 Newborn 169 169
- 51 My age x 70% x 80%
=169 My Maximal HR =118 BPM =135 BPM (BPM= Beats Per Minute)
I should be between 118-135 beats per minute.