Sunday, November 4, 2007
Easy Heart-Rate Trick Gets You Fit - and Skinny Too!
Every evening in the gym, the ladies (and a few guys) can be found working purposefully on bikes, treadmills and elliptical trainers. The whir of machinery fills the air and determination is fired by visions of losing weight and getting in really good shape.
Some casually browse the pages of old magazines, read the latest thriller or chat with friends as they dutifully put in their "forty five minutes" of "slow and steady". They are well-intentioned but clueless. I question the results of their efforts but decide it is unwise to offer unsolicited advice.
One lady, however, is focused and pays attention to what she is doing. She periodically refers to the treadmill's glowing red display and adjusts her pace accordingly. Good for her! She is monitoring her heart rate.
What she knows, that the others don't know, is that your Heart Rate is a dead accurate indicator of just how hard your body is working. This is the best way to make sure that you are exercising vigorously enough to improve your fitness level but not so hard as to overexert yourself.
This is also a great way to lose weight and get really fit in the shortest amount of time. What you have to do is exercise at the correct intensity within an optimal range. This is your Target Heart Rate (THR) which is expressed as a percentage of your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR).
You can calculate your personal Target Heart Rate, but this gets a bit tricky. You have to know your Resting Heart Rate (RHR) and plug it into a couple of formulas: (MHR RHR X (50% - 80%) + RHR = THR) where (Age 220 = MHR).
You also have to know how long to exercise, at which point in the optimal range (50% to 80%) and you have to monitor your heart rate while you are working out. There are charts that estimate your THR for you but their accuracy can vary, up or down, by as much as ten percent.
Confused? Don't be. Dump the math and take a low-tech approach. You already have a simple, built-in heart rate monitor that is perfectly calibrated to your body.
And, you already know how to use it because it's as simple as watching your breathing. Your respiration rate is how you monitor the intensity level of your exercise and it relates very closely to your actual Heart Rate. You can use this method with any piece of gym equipment and while walking or jogging outdoors.
WHAT YOU NEED TO REMEMBER is that, as your workout progresses, you may exercise at any one of three levels or zones. I will describe each zone and relate Heart Rate to how hard you will be breathing.
ZONE 1. (50% - 65% OF MHR) Breathing is normal at this level and you can easily carry on a conversation with a workout partner. This is your warm-up and cool-down zone which will do little to get you fit unless you are very overweight, very out of shape or have been ill.
ZONE 2. (65% 80% OF MHR) Your breathing becomes somewhat to very noticeable. This is your training zone where you will do most of your work, develop cardiovascular fitness and burn calories. At the lower end of the range (65%), you will be able to speak to a partner easily but your speech is somewhat broken as you deliver phrases between breaths. At the top end (80%) you will be breathing very hard. Though conversation is possible, breathing may be your priority.
ZONE 3. (ABOVE 80% OF MHR) Entering zone three, you begin panting and gasping for breath. This level can be hazardous for many of us and is best reserved for competitive athletes.
TO GET FIT IN THE SHORTEST AMOUNT OF TIME, DO THIS:
1. Tell your doctor that you are going to begin exercising at a level where you will be breathing vigorously. Ask if, based on your physical condition, you should limit your effort and if so, to what level.
2. Warm up at a conversational pace and then increase your speed or intensity level to 70% - 75% of MHR (breathing strongly) so that after about five minutes you feel fatigue setting in. Back off and catch your breath at 65% of MHR or below.
3. Now really pick up the pace (fit walkers find a hill) and push to 75% to 80% of MHR (breathing vigorously). Hold it there, from one to three minutes, until your body is asking for a break and then slow down to 60% of MHR, or below, until you recover.
Repeat, gradually increasing the number, duration and intensity of intervals as you are able. If you challenge yourself to work hard your workout should, at most, take no longer than thirty minutes.
Cool down and have a refreshing drink of water. These interval workouts, using your breath to gauge intensity will work very effectively to burn calories and get you in shape.
And always remember "Be Strong. Be Lean"
Howard McGarity is a Human Performance Specialist, Personal Trainer and Fitness Coach who has studied nutrition and exercise science for most of his fifty-six years. He creates online programs for MyVirtualGym.com to help busy people get permanently lean, strong and healthy. Get the Free e-book, The Five Fastest Ways to Fitness at => http://www.MyVirtualGym.com/Bed Breakfast Concord Massachusetts
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Some casually browse the pages of old magazines, read the latest thriller or chat with friends as they dutifully put in their "forty five minutes" of "slow and steady". They are well-intentioned but clueless. I question the results of their efforts but decide it is unwise to offer unsolicited advice.
One lady, however, is focused and pays attention to what she is doing. She periodically refers to the treadmill's glowing red display and adjusts her pace accordingly. Good for her! She is monitoring her heart rate.
What she knows, that the others don't know, is that your Heart Rate is a dead accurate indicator of just how hard your body is working. This is the best way to make sure that you are exercising vigorously enough to improve your fitness level but not so hard as to overexert yourself.
This is also a great way to lose weight and get really fit in the shortest amount of time. What you have to do is exercise at the correct intensity within an optimal range. This is your Target Heart Rate (THR) which is expressed as a percentage of your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR).
You can calculate your personal Target Heart Rate, but this gets a bit tricky. You have to know your Resting Heart Rate (RHR) and plug it into a couple of formulas: (MHR RHR X (50% - 80%) + RHR = THR) where (Age 220 = MHR).
You also have to know how long to exercise, at which point in the optimal range (50% to 80%) and you have to monitor your heart rate while you are working out. There are charts that estimate your THR for you but their accuracy can vary, up or down, by as much as ten percent.
Confused? Don't be. Dump the math and take a low-tech approach. You already have a simple, built-in heart rate monitor that is perfectly calibrated to your body.
And, you already know how to use it because it's as simple as watching your breathing. Your respiration rate is how you monitor the intensity level of your exercise and it relates very closely to your actual Heart Rate. You can use this method with any piece of gym equipment and while walking or jogging outdoors.
WHAT YOU NEED TO REMEMBER is that, as your workout progresses, you may exercise at any one of three levels or zones. I will describe each zone and relate Heart Rate to how hard you will be breathing.
ZONE 1. (50% - 65% OF MHR) Breathing is normal at this level and you can easily carry on a conversation with a workout partner. This is your warm-up and cool-down zone which will do little to get you fit unless you are very overweight, very out of shape or have been ill.
ZONE 2. (65% 80% OF MHR) Your breathing becomes somewhat to very noticeable. This is your training zone where you will do most of your work, develop cardiovascular fitness and burn calories. At the lower end of the range (65%), you will be able to speak to a partner easily but your speech is somewhat broken as you deliver phrases between breaths. At the top end (80%) you will be breathing very hard. Though conversation is possible, breathing may be your priority.
ZONE 3. (ABOVE 80% OF MHR) Entering zone three, you begin panting and gasping for breath. This level can be hazardous for many of us and is best reserved for competitive athletes.
TO GET FIT IN THE SHORTEST AMOUNT OF TIME, DO THIS:
1. Tell your doctor that you are going to begin exercising at a level where you will be breathing vigorously. Ask if, based on your physical condition, you should limit your effort and if so, to what level.
2. Warm up at a conversational pace and then increase your speed or intensity level to 70% - 75% of MHR (breathing strongly) so that after about five minutes you feel fatigue setting in. Back off and catch your breath at 65% of MHR or below.
3. Now really pick up the pace (fit walkers find a hill) and push to 75% to 80% of MHR (breathing vigorously). Hold it there, from one to three minutes, until your body is asking for a break and then slow down to 60% of MHR, or below, until you recover.
Repeat, gradually increasing the number, duration and intensity of intervals as you are able. If you challenge yourself to work hard your workout should, at most, take no longer than thirty minutes.
Cool down and have a refreshing drink of water. These interval workouts, using your breath to gauge intensity will work very effectively to burn calories and get you in shape.
And always remember "Be Strong. Be Lean"
Howard McGarity is a Human Performance Specialist, Personal Trainer and Fitness Coach who has studied nutrition and exercise science for most of his fifty-six years. He creates online programs for MyVirtualGym.com to help busy people get permanently lean, strong and healthy. Get the Free e-book, The Five Fastest Ways to Fitness at => http://www.MyVirtualGym.com/Bed Breakfast Concord Massachusetts
Radiant Tube Heaters
Download Friends
Birthday Kid Party Planning
Live3
1 Engine Mobil Oil
Wilson Tennis Backpack
U Of I Basketball Schedule
1 2006 American Holiday January
America Bank Federal First Savings
Va Warsaw
Jewelry
Clairvoyant College
Quickbooks Training
Film History Of The
Man Fur Hooded Jacket
Communication Earth Ground Handbook Satellite Segment Station
Kaunas Lithuania Vacation
Internacional Tv Venezuela Vivo
Map Of Grenoble France
Holidays
Girl Formal Pageant Dress
Office Furniture Leather Chair
House
Make Money With Bulk Email Marketing
0 8 Lcd Monitor Tv
Unlimited Free Forex Paper Trading
Auto Interest Loan Rate Refinance
Albert At Bay Suite Hotel Ottawa
W Hotel Union Square Ny
Date Photos
06 Dancing Star Winner
Box Tea
1 1 2 House Plan Story
Outdoor Sports Wholesale
Eagle Ice Hockey Gloves
Used Motel Hotel Furniture
Catalog From Gift Order
Crystal
Hotel Furniture Manufacturer
Famous Player Soccer Wife
0 0 Apr Balance Card Credit Transfer
Football Trading Card Value
10 Boot Snow
Real1
8 Foot Pool Table
Dishnetwork Satellite
Skincare
Card Dbz Game Trading
1 102 Edge Radio Station
Massage
Mineral Make Up Comparison
1 Bethlehem Christ From Jesus Life Mount Sermon Teaching Through Volume
Tennis
John Macarthur Jr
Apartment New York
Time Share Guide And Directory
2006 Directory Directory Fort Fort Guide Guide Mapsco Mapsco Street Street Worth Worth
Young Underwear Models
Care Dry Product Skin
Bank Hours Wachovia
Apartment
Motel Inn
100 Construction Financing Loan
Bank Drank Got I In Lyric Money Shorty
Mesothilioma Mesothelioma Attorney Peritoneal Meso
By Jessica Lovely Parker Perfume Sarah
Cafe
Student Loan For Private Schools In Argentina
Best Boot Ski
Dead Weight Testers
Small Business Grant Form
Craft Product Wholesale
Retirement
1000 Hotel Seattle Wa
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Icecream
Real33
Personal Injury Attorneys South Carolina
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Law As A Career
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Manufacturer Mega Yacht
Colorado Construction Defect Lawyer
Beach Meshugga Party
0 Apr Business Card Credit Instant Online Services
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London Ontario Canada Obituary
Dean Edell Reading Glasses
Anubis Egypt God
Hilton Head Time Share
Digital Recorder Television
Cell Pcs Phone Sale Sprint
Term Life Insurance Quotes
Company Finance Home Mortgage
1 2 Collar Dog Flea In Tick
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