Cardiovascular Equipment

All of the following equipment is designed to provide a cardiovascular workout.

Treadmills:

1. Life Fitness treadmills (speed .5 -12 mph; incline 0-15%) 2. Precor treadmills HHP – also decline 3%

3. When not in use, treadmills should always be kept at 0% incline.

Bikes:

1. Life Fitness recumbent bikes 2. Precor upright bikes

3. Sci Fit bike and upper body ergometer (adaptable for wheelchairs)

• To adjust the seat have participant sit on the bike, adjust seat so that there is a slight bend in the knee when the pedal is at the bottom of the pedal revolution (6 o'clock position for

upright bikes). Have the participant pedal a couple of times and ask if they feel comfortable.

For safety, make sure hips do not rock back and forth and that they are not pedaling with toes or heal on the pedal. Pedaling should be done with the balls of the foot on the pedal.

• Remember that you must begin pedaling and then maintain a consistent pedaling speed of approximately 60-80 revolutions per minute (rpm) to turn on and operate the console/display on the bikes.

Stair Steppers:

1. Life Fitness Lifesteps – considered a dependant stepping machine, as one pedal goes down the other pedal will come up because of this mechanical design. This stepping machine usually feels easier than an independently designed stair stepper

2. Stair Master Freeclimbers – considered an independent stepping machine, as one pedal goes down the other pedal will stay until you move your feet; pedals may not move at the same rate. You must keep up with the machine and keep both feet moving or you will sink to the floor.

3. Stair Master Stepmill - revolving staircase

• While using any stepping machine, the participant should stay in an upright position (NOT leaning on hand rails) and the handrails should be used only to maintain balance while stepping.

Elliptical Cross Trainers:

1. Precor Cross Ramp Elliptical Trainer (lower body) – with this machine you can vary the intensity by elevating the ramp or changing the resistance level.

2. Life Fitness Elliptical Crosstrainers (total body) – with this machine you can use both upper (arms) and lower body (legs) or just the lower body.

• Both cross trainers use an elliptical movement pattern and can be done in a forward or a reverse motion.

Rowing Machine:

1. Concept II rowing ergometers

• Have the participant sit on the seat and place their feet in the straps. Secure the straps snugly around the feet. Make sure the participant has their shirt tucked in, so it doesn’t get caught in the track.

• Adjust the resistance using the lever at the front on the right. If the lever is all the way up (10), the rower is at the highest resistance and will be more difficult; if the lever is all the way down (1), it will be easier.

• As the person begins rowing, the display will light up. The participant should extend the legs first and then follow by pulling with the arms. On the return, the movement begins with the arms releasing forward and the legs following. (Legs, arms/arms, legs). The participant should keep their back straight (not leaning way back when pulling). They should not round their shoulders or hunch over.

• The display console allows you to choose whether you want it to record calories, watts, or split time (at the pace you are rowing at, the amount of time it will take to complete 500 meters). Time will be tracked in the upper left corner. In the upper right hand corner, SPM or strokes per minute will be recorded. Down in the lower left corner tracks meters

Cross Country Ski machine:

1. Nordic Track

• The participant first stands with feet on the sliding pedals with their hips up against the hip pad. The pad should be about 1 inch below the navel (belt buckle level). Have the participant adjust the pad by turning the large knob to the right counter clockwise to loosen it, and then either increase or decrease the height of the pad.

• The participant may begin by grasping the handles and practicing the leg motion. The participant should extend the legs backward heals will slightly lift off the pedal as you make the skiing motion) After the participant has learned to stand in an upright position on the machine while gliding at a moderate pace, they may wish to add in the arm motion.

• The participant should grasp the handles attached to the cord, and swing their arms opposite their legs, as they would do when walking. If desired you can increase the resistance on either the legs or the arms by turning the appropriate resistance knob.

Simulated Climbing machine:

1. Versa Climber

• When the participant steps onto the Versa Climber make sure that the handlebars are just above shoulder level. If they are higher or lower, push the button on the end of the pin and pull it out to adjust it accordingly. A beginner will find it more comfortable to have the bars at shoulder level; a more advanced person may want to stretch their arms a bit more.

• Press the ON button. The console will track time and number of feet climbed, along with the pace of the climb. There are 8 pre-programmed options. If a pre-programmed option is chosen, the console will also display a pace that the participant should strive to match.

Programs

The majority of the cardiovascular equipment will come with pre set exercise programs. These programs allow the participant to select from a variety of program choices. Become familiar with the various programs and know which ones are good for beginners. Once familiar with a machine, recommend that the participant use a variety of programs to make their workouts different and challenging. The common programs found on the Life Fitness equipment include the following.

• Fat Burner: This is a low intensity workout that is programmed to keep the heart rate at 60% of age predicted maximum heart rte.

• Cardio Program: This program is similar to the fat burner program, except it keeps the persons heart rate at 80% of age predicted max heart rate (220 - age) x .80. The cardio program is good for those who have been participating in cardiovascular activity for a while. If the participant chooses the "Fat Burner" or "Cardio" program, the screen will prompt them to enter their weight, age, and then it will ask to "accept" the target heart rate. It will ask for number of minutes (length of the workout) and level (intensity of workout). The person can begin at a moderate intensity level 3 or 4, to warm up. The program will have about a 3 minute warm up, and then will direct the participant to hold the sensors to determine the "target heart rate".

• Hill Program: This program consists of progressively harder hills with recovery periods of equal time. The screen will ask essentially the same questions as for

cardio and fat burner programs, but will not compute a target heart rate. The participant can change the intensity of the hills during the program simply by keying in another number. For example, if they begin at level 8 and it is too difficult, they can press a lower number at any time during the program and the intensity level will decrease.

• Random: This program randomly increases and decreases intensity, as if you were riding up and down hills. You can change the level at any time during the program simply by pressing another number.

• Manual: The manual program stays at the specified resistance level until you change it by increasing or decreasing the level.

• Mets/Watts: These programs use metabolic rate or power output as the measure of intensity. They are frequently used by doctors to give a patient an exercise program. One MET is the amount of energy expended at rest, so an exercise prescription of 5 METS would be about 5 times the amount of energy used at rest. WATTS is a unit of power.