Bed Time Reading - "Ride to Fitness"

(For Bed Time Reading)

Cycling can do wonders for your cardiovascular system

HEAVY BREATHING

Athletes train their hearts by working out at a sustained rate. There are a couple of ways to establish the best rate for you. The first is a "stress test," done on a treadmill and monitored by electrodes and doctors, and the best way to determine your maximum heart rate and overall fitness.

> However, there is also a formula that you can use that is fairly accurate and very helpful for determining your maximum and target heart rates.

> First, take the number 220 and subtract your age. The resulting number is your maximum heart rate per minute. For example, a 30-year-old's max heart rate would be 190 ( 220-30 = 190 ).

> To determine a target aerobic zone, take eighty percent of 190, which would be 152 heart beats per minute.

> Optimally, you would then want to work out at that level for around two hours. For shorter sprint intervals, you want to get the heart up to within ten percent of max.