When I started strength training, doing aerobics was nowhere in my agenda. I think this was a mistake. I now firmly believe that weight lifting, plus some kind of aerobic are both required in order to maintain a good health.
And for the middle age person, it simply cannot be left out:
However, as one gets older, aerobics becomes more important. After 35 years of age aerobic work should be included, increasing in emphasis as one gets older, but NOT ignoring the weight-lifting aspect and its myriad benefits too.
Extract from Hardgainer Bodybuilding & Weightlifting FAQ, by F. Kelly & C. Sadler, section 5.2.
Target Heart Rate
With my training, whether it is weight lifting or aerobic, I set some basic rules. These rules allow me to monitor my workouts and mesure progress.
For aerobic, I’m using the target heart rate. This is a pre-determined range of Beats Per Minute. There are many formulas out there. I chose a very simple one:
(220 bpm – age) * target intensity (%)
During my workouts, I keep the intensity in the range of 65 -85%.
Heart Rate Monitor
To monitor my heart rate in “real time”, I use a Polar watch. The model I own, M52 (discontinued) has this nice feature, OwnZone. With OwnZone, I can set my target heart rate and have the watch warn me if I’m above or below.
Finally, please refer to this post on how I put together weight lifting and aerobic.
Until next post, Lift Consciously 