CARDIO-RESPIRATORY ENDURANCE: GET SOME

Cardio-respiratory endurance might be the most important single subject in this book. It is the oxygen-transporting capacity of the body, the cardiac output of the heart (stroke volume multiplied by heart rate), as well as your muscle's ability to extract and metabolize oxygen for sustained periods of time. The better your cardio-respiratory system, the longer you can exercise without fatigue and exhaustion.

Ok, we know it's important, and I mean “Oh the humanity, oh, the humanity” important, but the question arises: how do you improve your cardio-respiratory endurance?  I'll make the answer as simple as possible: exercise harder and longer than you normally do.

The four elements to be considered for cardio-respiratory training and any kind of physical conditioning program are frequency, intensity, time and type, universally known as F.I.T.T. in the fitness industry. All of these parameters need to be pushed to "above normal" in order to see improvements in cardio-respiratory fitness (note how I said "above normal" and not "the limit of physical and mental sufferance"). Training needs to be fun and tolerable or else you're not going to stick with it. Know when to back off and rest. Let's look at each switch a little closer:

Frequency: Regardless of whether the exercise is cardio-respiratory or resistance-based, you need to do it at least three times a week.

Intensity: depending on how good your ticker is and when the last time you exercised with any regularity, you should start anywhere from 50 to 70% of your maximum heart rate. How do you find out your maximum heart rate? Subtract your age from 220.  That's it.  It's that simple.

Type: Choose the specific exercises you need to perform in order to get the results you desire.  For cardiovascular activity, choose exercises like running, swimming, cycling and chasing bad people. Resistance training involves working against opposing forces and exercises usually include weight lifting.

Time: cardiovascular exercise needs to be at least 20 minutes (continuously, nonstop), while the time variances for resistance training is a little trickier to define and more open for personal adaption. Contracting the muscle (called the concentric phase of the lift) of a single repetition should be anywhere from three to five seconds.  Pause for a second at the top of the movement when the muscle was fully loaded. At the eccentric portion of the lift, you might take anywhere from three to 10 seconds, depending on the level of hypertrophy you want to achieve and the amount of stress you want to impose on the worked muscle. Again rep tempo can vary wildly, depending on desired effect, experience, knowledge and fitness level.

"ARE YOU THE UNDEAD?" TEST AND FIND OUT!

Capillaries are the smallest of the body's blood vessels, but they have the important responsibility of swapping oxygen and carbon dioxide between the heart and tissue cells. In living people that is. In the undead, the body doesn't have the ability to supply blood to the extremities (known as perfusion) because the heart is stone cold dead. That's why a zombie's skin get's green and clammy and limbs rot and fall off. You can make sure that's not you with this simple test.

1. Place your thumb on the person's fingernail and apply modest pressure.

2. The applied pressure will force blood away from the capillaries. Release pressure.

3. The fingernail should return to it's normal pink color within two seconds.

If color does not return promptly to the fingernail, there could be a number of factors at play, including a cold outside or room temperature, medications, or you're a dead corpse that has been brought back to life by a supernatural force. Visit a doctor for professional advice.

PREVENT BLISTERS AND STITCHES

If you're going to start running, first and foremost, make sure you get decent running shoes. It doesn't mean spending a mint, but go to a reputable retailer that specializes in athletic footwear and ask some questions. Get shoes that fit properly and have no "play" in them (that's shoe salesman talk for snug fitting). If your foot shifts around inside the shoe when you step, the constant friction will cause blisters, unnecessary wear and tear in the interior of the shoe and ruin many a sock! Running with bad footwear can make your muscles and joints feel like they've been taken out in the back alley and beaten with a bag of oranges. Your feet, which bear the brunt of the workload, will quit and join the witness protection program!

Another tip to preventing blisters is to keep your feet as dry as possible. According to a study at the University of Missouri-Columbia of athletic socks, cotton socks are the worst for causing blisters for walkers and runners. Cotton fiber retains 3x more moisture than acrylic and is downright thirsty compared to other performance-optimized hybrid fabrics on the market that wick away sweat as fast as your pores can pump it out. A wet sock tends to stretch and lose it's shape inside the running shoe and resultantly, the sock will wrinkle and bunch up whilst you run, causing friction which inevitably leads to big juicy blisters.

You can always just apply Vaseline or Bodyglide beforehand to any areas of the foot which seem prone to blistering.

THE NON-STOP ACTION CONTINUES!

It's been the nemisis of man since the dawn of time. Bad footwear. Blisters and stitches round out the top three. But within this episode you can have the power to exile foot problems forever!

The good news: Run faster and longer than you thought humanly possible. We've got the masterplan! The bad news: You'll be going through alot of running shoes!

Monitor and calculate your heartrate the simple way. Pulse pounding action, for real!

If, during 30 days, you aren't 100% satisfied with the value of the Zero to Superhero e-book, I will promptly refund your money. No questions asked. See details.



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