Dear Health Conscious Reader,
When my alarm clock goes off at 6 o’clock in the morning, I do two things: lace up my cross trainers and strap on my heart rate monitor.
Then I go to the kitchen, drink 12 oz. of pure H2O and start my PACE program.
Fifteen minutes later, I’m finished. That’s all the time it takes to strengthen your heart, expand your lung capacity, and keep yourself in shape. You don’t need to suffer through long, boring workouts or sign up for an expensive gym membership.
The one thing I do recommend, though, is a heart rate monitor. It’s one of the best tools to make sure you’re doing PACE right.
Your heart rate gives a clear and accurate picture of your progress. It helps you…
- Track Your Recovery Time. Your recovery time is a marker for your heart health. If your heart rate doesn’t slow down at least 30 beats in the first minute, you’re in poor shape. If your recovery heart rate slows down more than 50 beats in the first minute, you’re in excellent shape.
- Gauge the Intensity of Your Exertion. Measuring intensity is an important aspect of PACE workouts. Underperform and you won’t get the benefits. Overperform and you’ll put yourself at risk.
If your heart rate is less than your target range during exercise, you can speed up or work harder. But if your heart rate is higher than your target zone, you’ll need to slow down.
- Determine Whether You’ve Entered the “Supra-aerobic Zone.” When you finish an exertion period and go into a recovery period, your heart rate should go up a few ticks. This usually takes place in the first 10 to 15 seconds.
As your recovery period continues, your heart rate will start to come down. This is a surefire way to know you’re doing PACE correctly and will help you build a bulletproof heart and powerful lungs.
Personally, I use a heart rate monitor during all my PACE workouts. It makes it much easier to track my heart rate than stopping to count pulse beats. Plus, some of the features – especially the alarms and timers – come in handy.
But there are problems with heart rate monitors. I’ve noticed that a lot of them have so many gadgets they’re almost impossible to use. Worse, many of the ones I’ve tried over the years have been downright defective.
I’ve found a reliable, easy-to-use, 6-function heart rate monitor that I’ve been using with my patients… with great success. They’re telling me how much their exercise routines have improved now that they can follow the intensity of their exertions.
My patients are so happy with the monitor that I wanted to make sure you could get one, too. It’s the best kind … the type that has a chest strap and wristwatch. The chest strap rests right up against your heart, so you know you’re always getting an accurate reading.
And it has everything you need to track your recovery time, gauge your exertion levels and find out if you’re reaching your supra-aerobic zone. In fact, it has three different audible (2 visual) alarms to help you track your progress.
When you order your own PACE heart rate monitor, I’ll throw in a set of skin-fold calipers so you can measure your body fat to lean muscle mass ratio. Plus, you’ll also get a myotape measure that lets you see how the inches are melting off of you. I’ll even include a body fat composition chart – all for free – so you can track your measurements over time.
Now you’ll be able to gauge the intensity of your PACE workouts … accurately measure how much body fat you’re losing … and know exactly how many inches you’re losing around the waist, thighs and buttocks.
Click to get your PACE Heart Rate Monitor.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
P.S. If you haven’t tried PACE, get started today. I’ve put together a special PACE complete package that gives you 20% off everything you need to get started. The PACE book, the PACE DVD, the heart rate monitor, skin-fold calipers, body fat composition guide and a myotape measure.