Lifetime Activities P.E.
Miss Wagner
Walking is widely recommended for its health benefits. The latest recommendations from the U.S.
Surgeon General suggest that you should try to walk two miles at a brisk pace of three to four miles per hour nearly every day. Four laps around a standard track and approximately 2,000 steps equal one mile.
Benefits of Fitness Walking
It is increasingly obvious that one of the best ways to maintain good health is through physical activity.
Regular participation in exercise has been shown to be helpful in the prevention of such killers as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Exercise also helps to control weight. (According to the latest research, one out of three Americans is obese.)
And because fitness walking helps to strengthen muscles and bones, it can even decrease your risk of developing diseases such as osteoporosis and arthritis.
Exercising for a sustained period of time is still the best way we know to make improvements in your cardiorespiratory fitness. Significant health benefits can be realized by simply ceasing to sit and starting to move. The risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, and colon and breast cancers can be reduced just by becoming more physically active.
Pulse & Heart Rate
Your pulse is your heart rate, or the number of times your heart beats in one minute. Pulse rates vary from person to person. Your pulse is lower when you are at rest and increases when you exercise. The most common place for adults to take their pulse is at either their carotid artery (neck) or radial artery (wrist).
How to take your pulse
1. Place the tips of your index and middle fingers on the thumb side of your other wrist, below the base of the thumb. Or, place the tips of your index and middle fingers on your lower neck, between the muscle and the windpipe.
2. Press lightly with your fingers until you feel the blood pulsing beneath your fingers. You might need to move your fingers around slightly up or down until you feel the pulsing.
3. Use a watch with a second hand, or look at a clock with a second hand.
4. Count the beats you feel for 10 seconds.
5. Multiply this number by six to get your heart rate (pulse) per minute.
Check your pulse: _______________ x 6 = ________________
(beats in 10 seconds) (your pulse)
A normal pulse for children (ages 6 – 15) is 70 – 100 beats per minute. A normal pulse for adults (age 18+) is
60 – 100 beats per minute.

Maximum Heart Rate?
The maximum heart rate is the highest your pulse rate can get. To calculate your predicted maximum heart rate, use this formula:
220 - Your Age = Predicted Maximum Heart Rate
Example: a 20 year old’s maximum heart rate is 200 beats per minute.
Target heart rate
The target heart rate is when your exercise heart rate (pulse) is 60 percent to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate.
To find out if you are exercising in your target zone (between 60 percent and 80 percent of your maximum heart rate), stop exercising and check your 10-second pulse. If your pulse is below your target zone (see the chart below), increase your rate of exercise. If your pulse is above your target zone, decrease your rate of exercise.
Age
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Target Heart Rate (HR) Zone
(MHR * .6; MHR * .85)
124 – 175
123 – 174
122 – 173
122 – 173
121 – 172
121 – 171
120 – 170
Predicted Maximum Heart Rate
206
205
204
203
202
201
200