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Heart Zones Newsletter
Trusted source for training, education, and coaching to live a healthy, active life.
July 18, 2009
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As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Darwin's Origin of Species about 56% of Americans still don't believe in evolution (David Liberman, Ph. D, Harvard Anthropologist). According to principles of natural selection, studies show that all humans evolved from Africa about 2 million years ago. From the lineage of chimpanzees, the two-legged humans became persistent hunters and gatherers, shedding their fur coats allowing superior heat regulation. Because humans developed sweat glands that most animals are lacking, homo erectus were able to run down and kill large animals for food. These hominoids had a sufficient food supply that led to the development of larger brains. Summarizing, Liberman proposes that we come from paleolithic endurance runners. However, we have evolved squarely into a society of obesity, lethal violence, sedentaryism, global warming, and high birth rates. Liberian suggests that with increased education and government policy making we can survive.

Are you ready for the ultimate in ease of use heart rate monitor? Then, the fairly priced BLINK heart rate monitor from Bion is here. For the first time, there is a heart rate monitor that flashes three different colors to show you visually if you are "in" or "out" of your training, emotional, zone, or stress-free zone. Heart Zones USA is the sole distributor of the Bion Blink. We are celebrating the launch of this new all-purpose monitor with a 50% off coupon for our newsletter subscribers-only. When you place your order be sure to type in the coupon code BLINK at time of checkout and save $40.

The Blink is easy to program. Functions include the patented zone blinking, time of day, stop watch, time in 3 different zones, average/peak numbers, calories burned, day/date. But, best of all, use this monitor for threshold or max training because it blinks a color to match your training effort. How much easier can it get?


According to Jack Daniels, Ph. D. and author of The Running Formula, there are five ingredients for success to become a great athlete. Those ingredients include inherent anatomical and physiological ability, intrinsic motivation, cultural opportunity (access to facilities, equipment, etc.), direction (coaching and support), and luck of the draw. Daniels divided athletes into a quadrant system, combining ability and motivation into four combinations:


Popular dogma suggests that a minimum amount of exercise lowers risks of health-related conditions and diseases. Just released research shows that exercise alone is not enough to live a healthy lifestyle. Getting the recommended 30 minutes of daily moderate aerobic activity or 20 minutes 3 times a week of intense exercise is not enough for health outcomes, according to New Zealand's Neville Owens, Ph.D. The new research on contemporary lifestyles shows that too much sitting can kill you. Active (exercising) couch potatoes (sitters) share nearly the same risks as those who are completely sedentary. The newly identified "active couch potato", someone who sits at the job, sits commuting to work, sits watching screen-based activities but exercises the minimum amount is at equal risk as the couch potato of dis-health. Standing with intermittent movement is a public health priority. One simple suggestion: at the workplace, move the location of your telephone so that each time it rings, you have to stand to answer it. Literally, not politically, stand up for your health.

This is a summary of three difference lectures at the May 28-May 31st American College of Sports Medicine Conference 2009 in Seattle,:

· Fat oxidation or fat burning is slower than fat mobilization, getting fatty acids and triglycerides to the cells. The body has sufficient fat to burn but our ability to burn it, the caloric burn rate, is not high enough to meet the amount of fat available. Fat accumulation then is not the result of fat mobilization. Another way to think of this is that the body has a high enough release rate of fat to satiate the fat oxidation rate.
· Government recommendations for supplementation of Vitamin D* which is produced by our bodies by exposure of our skin to the sun, is too low (200 IU). Latest findings recommend an increase to 800-2,000 IUs or spending 30 minutes a day between 10 am-2:00 p.m. with arms and legs exposed to the sun.
· Exercise creates biogenesis, new growth of brain cells. This increases cognitive function (intelligence), by increasing the activity of brain detected nucleotide functioning (BDNF). Exercise is essential for proper brain function and to decrease the risk of brain diseases such as Alzheimer's.
· The caloric cost and time to burn protein as a source of energy for working muscles is so high that the body preferentially chooses fats or carbohydrates. Typically, 5-10% of the calories burned for exercise are from protein regardless of the exercise intensity. 90-95% of the calories burned for resting or active metabolism are from fats and carbohydrates.

Whack-A-Mole is a children's game. The goal of the game is to take a hammer and smash the mole's head each time it pops out of the gameboard. Similarly, Whack-a-Myth is an adult game to smash old dogma's and replace them with scientific-based information that works the way the human body works. Here are five different myths about heart rate training that deserve a Whack-A-Mole treatment:

(1) Train in the target heart rate zone. Wrong.
There is no target heart rate zone. Rather, there are multiples zones that provide to you multiple benefits. There is no one single zone that is optimum for everyone. If you want health benefits, workout in the low zones. If you want fitness benefits, train in the mid-intensity zones, and if you want performance improvement, train in the top three zones.

(2) You can determine maximum heart rate from a formula. Wrong.
There are dozens of formulas that suggest that you can determine your maximum by a simple math equation like 220 minus your age. The amount of error from these formulas is unacceptable. I am a good example. My running maximum heart rate is 195 bpm. The math 220 - 62 years = 158 bpm or a 38 beats per minute error. Thirty-eight beats is too large an error. All formulas that estimate maximum heart rate are useless.

(3) To lose weight, exercise in the fat-burning zone. Wrong.
"The fat burning zone is one of the worst concepts ever created in the fitness business," says Carl Foster, Ph.D. and past President of the American College of Sports Medicine. Used by cardio-equipment manufacturers as a button that you can press on a treadmill or elliptical, it uses the worthless formula 220-age to set a low zone from about 65%-75% of your estimated maximum heart rate (useless). Low intensity exercise burns low amounts of calories. Hence, the fat burning zone can actually make you fatter unless you train at low intensity for long periods of time.

(4) Low intensity exercise burns more fat. Wrong.
Training in Zones 1 and 2 or at 50%-70% of your tested maximum heart rate doesn't burn more fat than exercising in your Zones 3 and 4. It doesn't burn very many total calories either. The higher you can exercise to your threshold heart rate, the more total fat calories, not percentage of fat, you will burn making you a more efficient fat burner.

(5) Using Threshold heart rate zones is better than using Maximum heart rate zones. Wrong.
Anchoring training zones on a bio-marker is essential for establishing a valid way of setting intensity ranges. There are reasons to use low and high threshold intensity (measured by lactate or ventilation) that are credible. Similarly, there are reasons to subscribe to the maximum heart rate system. They are two different anchor points and one is not better than another. They simply are different.

If you possess the "xx" chromosomes, the female chromosomes, then you qualify to participate in a new triathlon series. The Trek Women Triathlon Series is produced by the xx chromosome company, The Extra Mile. Owned by the individuals that brought 19 years of all-women triathlons and built the category of triathlon, the new Trek Women Triathlon Series is producing eight races across the USA including Austin, Disneyland (California), Chicago, Seattle, Long Island (New York) , Disneyworld (Florida), Denver, and Mt. Snow (Vermont). Join National Spokeswoman Sally Edwards, Heart Zones USA's very own head heart and thousands of women reaching out for a finisher's medal in this, the inaugural year. Sign up at www.trekwomenstriathlonseries.com.

To do your best or to get started right, join a Heart Zones Coaching team and train with others. Or sign up for any of the other four different official training programs at www.heartzonescoaching.com. If you aren't sure if an all women's triathlon, an XX chromosome race is for you, then watch and listen to Sally Edwards explain why to do any triathlon in the video "Why Do a Triathlon".

Intermittent or interval training improves your speed and strength in any sport. One of the common dogmas of high intensity training (HIT), is that the work or hard effort interval should be set at a ratio to the rest or recovery interval. An example of a standard 1:2 ratio represents 1 minute hard effort for every 2 minutes of easy recovery. Recent research compared the ratio method to the recovery heart rate method and found the latter to lead to faster improvement. That is, don't rely on time but rather that your heart rate has recovered down within max Zone 2 or 60%-70% before you begin the next high intensity effort.

Cycling and Personal Training Certifications

· Reno, Nevada June 19-20th Sports West Reno,
· Austin, Texas June 19-20th YWCA Austin
· Livermore, California July 31-August 1st Lifestyle RX
· Denver (Lakewood), Colorado August 28-29, National Personal Trainer Institute
· Sacramento, California October 23-24th, Anytime Fitness
· St. Louis, Missouri November 6-8th, Chesterfield YMCA Heart Zones 3-Day
International Conference

Triathlon Coaching Certifications
· Chattanooga, Tennessee August 28-29th Sports Barn
· Los Angeles (Santa Monica), CA November 7-8th Tri Fit Multisport
· St. Louis (Chesterfield), MO November 6-8th, YMCA

Upcoming Events Dates to be determined:
· Minneapolis, Wisconsin YMCA
· Sun City, Arizona
· Washington, District of Columbia YMCA
· Mill Valley, California (Power-Watts Cycling)
· Houston, Texas

As the sport of triathlon grows, so does the demand for a year-round approach to triathlon. Indoor triathlon competitions are the new frontier for the sport allowing triathlon to become a 365-day a year cross training event. In response to this growth, Heart Zones USA is offering the first-ever indoor triathlon coaching certification. This 2-day course qualifies you to become a certified indoor triathlon coach or Heart Zones CITC and includes an educational component on becoming an indoor triathlon event or race director. Here's an opportunity for personal trainers, coaches, or indoor cycling instructors to add to their programming abilities and offer to their clubs or communities indoor triathlon training programs and indoor triathlon fitness events. Expand your knowledge and certifications by becoming a Heart Zones CITC, Certified Indoor Triathlon Coach. Attend our national conference in St. Louis, Missouri from November 6-8th to become nationally certified as an indoor triathlon coach. http://heartzones. com/events/

Note: Certified Triathlon Coaching for outdoor coaching is also offered at Conference 2009.

Receive 20% off when using code: conferencespecial09

With Heart,



Sally Edwards and the Heart Zones Team
Heart Zones USA


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