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| Easy Heart-Rate Trick Gets You Fit - and Skinny Too! |
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| By Howard McGarity |
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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"
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About The Author
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/
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