BH LK700X, Owner'S Manual

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OXYGEN UPTAKE 

The effort that you can exert over a prolonged period of time is limited by your ability to 

deliver oxygen to the working muscles. Regular vigorous exercise produces a training effect 

that can increase your aerobic capacity by as much as 20 to 30%. An increased VO2 Max 

indicates an increased ability of the heart to pump blood, of the lungs to ventilate oxygen, 

and of the muscles to take up oxygen.

THE TRAINING THRESHOLD 

This is the minimum level of exercise which is required to produce significant improvements 

in any physical fitness parameter.

OVERLOAD 

This is where you exercise above your comfort level. The intensity, duration and frequency of 

exercise should be above the training threshold and should be gradually increased as the 

body adapts to the increasing demands. As your fitness level improves, the training threshold 

should rise. Working through your program and gradually increasing the overload factor is 

important.

PROGRESSION 

As you become more fit, a higher intensity of exercise is required to create an overload and 

therefore provide continued improvement.

SPECIFICS 

Different forms of exercise produce different results. The type of exercise that is carried out 

is specific to the muscle groups being used and to the energy source involved. There is little 

transfer of the effects of exercise, i.e. from strength training to cardiovascular fitness. That is 

why it is important to have an exercise program tailored to your specific needs.

REVERSIBILITY  

If you stop exercising or do not do your program often enough, you will lose the benefits you 

have gained. Regular workouts are the key to success.

WARM-UP 

Every exercise program should start with a warm-up where the body is prepared for the 

effort to come. It should be gentle and preferably use the muscles group to be involved 

later. Stretching should be included in both your warm-up and cool down, and should be 

performed after 3-5 minutes of low intensity aerobic activity or calisthenic type exercise.

WARM DOWN OR COOL DOWN

This involves a gradual decrease in the intensity of the exercise session. Following exercise, 

a large supply of blood remains in the working muscles. If it is not returned promptly to the 

central circulation, pooling of blood may occur in the muscles.

HEART RATE

As you exercise, your heart beat increases. This is often used as a measure of the required 

intensity of  an exercise. You need to exercise hard enough to condition your circulatory 

system, and increase your pulse rate, but not enough to strain your heart.

Your initial level of fitness is important when developing an exercise program for you. When 

starting, you can get a good training effect with a heart rate of 110-120 beats per minute 

(BPM). If you are more fit, you will need a higher threshold of stimulation.

To begin with, you should exercise at a level that elevates your heart rate to about 65 to 70% 

of your maximum. If you find this is too easy, you may want to increase it, but it is better to 

lean on the conservative side.
As a rule of thumb, the maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. As you increase in age, 

your heart, like other muscles, loses some of its efficiency. Some of its natural loss is won 

back as fitness improves. The following table is a guide to those who are “starting fitness.”

Age 

Target 

Heart 

Rate 

  25 

 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65

10 Second Count  

23  

22 

22 

21 

20 

19 

19 

18 

18

Beats per Minute        

138   132  132  126  120  114  114  108  108

PULSE COUNT

The pulse count (on your wrist or carotid artery in the neck, taken with two index fingers) is 

done for ten seconds, taken a few seconds after you stop exercising. This is for two reasons: 

(a) 10 seconds is long enough for accuracy, (b) the pulse count is to approximate your BPM 

rate at the time you are exercising. Since heart rate slows as you recover, a longer count isn’t 

as accurate.

The target is not a magic number, but a general guide. If you’re above average with your 

fitness, you may work comfortably a little above that suggested for your age group. The 

following table is a guide. 
Age 

Target 

Heart 

Rate 

  25 

 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65

10 

Second 

Count 

26 26 25 24 23 22 22 21 20

Beats per Minute  

156  156  150  144  138  132  132  126  120

Don’t push yourself too hard to reach the figures on this table. It can be very uncomfortable 

if you over exercise. Let it happen naturally as you work through your program. Remember, 

the target is a guide, not a rule, a little above or below is just fine.
Two final comments: (1) don’t be concerned with day to day variations in your pulse rate, 

being under pressure or not enough sleep can affect it; (2) your pulse rate is a guide, don’t 

become a slave to it.