To be honest I'm not sure Pilates is for me. I find it a chore to do and think I would much prefer to do yoga so I think I`ll go back to my `beat fatigue with yoga` DVD.
My therapist explained about MET which is the metabolic equivalents of how intense an activity is. So making the bed, carrying heavy groceries, swimming and unloading the washing machine are all considered to be of high MET value. She gave me a calculation to figure out what my maximum heart rate should be during exercise so I can avoid PEM (post exertional malaise) the next day. Interestingly she said this also applies to a regular person doing exercise (although they could maybe push up to 80% of their resting heart rate).
Here is the calculation:
220- (your age) = (answer) then x by 0.6 = (answer) then x by either 0.60 or 0.75 depending on whether you want to work at 60 or 75% of your heart rate (or anywhere in between). The total should give you a number roughly between 100 and 140. Hopefully that makes sense as maths was never my strong point at school!
I now have a cardio circuit to do but I`m going to attempt these on the days I'm not working. Will let you next time how its gone. Hoping I`ll be as fit as this by the end of the programme :D