Tip #8 -- Keep an Eye on Your Heart Rate

When doing aerobic or cardiovascular exercise, keeping your heart rate inside your target heart rate zone will help you burn calories most efficiently and optimize the benefits for your heart and lungs. Dropping below your target heart rate will not burn nearly as many fat calories, and going above your target heart rate may lead to muscle breakdown. Most modern treadmills, bikes, and elliptical cross trainers have heart rate monitors built in for easy tracking. Other options include purchasing a personal heart rate monitor (see www.polarusa.com or your local sporting goods store) or manually taking your pulse (count the number of beats for 6 seconds then multiply by 10 to get your heart rate).