Welcome to the February 15, 2003 edition of The Heart Zones e-Newsletter
copyright: Heart Zones, your source of heart rate training information

1. Max out! Getting the Most Out of Your Fitness Commitment
2. Heart 'ole timer - Paul
3. Are you fitter than what a mathematical formula is saying?
4. Workout Challenge: Red Heart Hill!
   also...
   
5. WARNING: Fat Burning Programs Can KEEP you Fat!
6. Sensor Dynamics ProSPORT 2 Heart Monitor Review
7. Heart Zones Seminar Dates

During the first few weeks of the new year, health clubs are crowded with new members, morning and evening hours in the neighborhood are busier with folks walking and jogging, or our heads are simply busy with our chattering voices saying to ourselves that this is the year we are finally going to get in shape. Just having a membership to a club isn't enough and just exercising without a goal or plan isn't enough.

This paragraph isn't going to be about how to set goals and develop a training plan (we have a GREAT workshop for that, anyway) - rather how can you collect on your investment into your club membership. Scope out your club. Get oriented or better yet, re-oriented with the club's facilities. Most fitness clubs make it their job to keep up with new equipment and variety in their group exercise classes and specialty sports classes. So treat yourself to a group exercise class and forgo your treadmill or indoor cycling routine once a week. Variety helps you adhere to any exercise program and besides, you may find another activity where you can monitor your heart rate! Many clubs offer free fitness assessments or personalized instruction as part of your membership - take advantage of this and use it.

Don't fall into the "I'll wait until I'm in shape" loop. Establishing a fitness baseline gets you out of the gate knowing where you're at and direction you need to go. For those of you who are not club athletes: many clubs offer punch cards or free introductory classes - again, consider splashing some into variety in your training and learn something new. Book yourself a fitness assessment and/or a meeting with a personal trainer. Many trainers hold certifications and education in other specialties such as triathlon, running, weight management or sports rehab. The bottom line - get educated. Fitness clubs and sports clubs often sponsor seminars, travel opportunities or simply because of their membership have a body of knowledge you can tap into. Finally, and really - most importantly: if you are engaging in a cardiovascular training program, please learn about your heart - the muscle that you are training. It is not just our business at Heart Zones, it is your responsibility to know how to develop a healthier heart: how your heart works, what intensity to train in to achieve your goals, and the differences between exercising for health, fitness or performance. We have for you many ways that you can begin to learn about heart-based training. Seminars, books, workshops, training software, educational curriculums and even our very own fitness conference! So, in keeping with the spirit of Valentines Day this month - give a gift to YOUR heart; join the heart zones family and get the most out of your fitness investment. Visit our website for the most current information on Heart Zones activities and seminars. www.heartzones.com

Meet Paul Camerer from Sacramento - an ultra marathon runner in the 1970's and 80's, and now at age 83, he continues to use his heart every day defying the formula that as you get older you get worse. He is the poster child for the fact that the formula 220 minus your age and the Karvonnen formula (a formula from the 1950s that uses resting heart rate in the calculations) are old school and not an accurate estimation of your maximum heart rate or training zones. Quickly review the profile below. This is a download of his heart rate profile for the Heart Zones cycling ride #48 he enjoyed on his trainer at 6:45 in the morning! Using the old formula, 220 minus his age gives him a maximum heart rate of 134 bpm - but clearly this is NOT accurate! Paul uses the Heart Rate Monitor Workbook for Indoor and Outdoor Cyclists written by Sally Reed and Sally Edwards, and is one of our test riders for the "new" training rides due to be released this summer. Thanks for sharing your ride profile with us, Paul! As Paul says, "I challenge each of you younger folks to keep up with me - if I can ride all 50 workouts in that book and hit a peak heart rate of 175 bpm - so can you. Now go and do it." The Heart Rate Monitor Workbook for Indoor and Outdoor Cyclists is available for $17.95 at www.heartzones.com

Recently we received a question about maximum heart rate - Bev Robinson, Heart Zones Red Shirt Master Trainer, Calgary Canada provided an excellent chart to help understand the difference between mathematical formulas. Essentially the issue was that this individual used a mathematical formula to determine her maximum heart rate, however, she felt that if she were fitter at the time she would be able to hit a higher peak heart rate. Her average heart rate during her runs was 10 beats below what her mathematical maximum heart rate. Remember that formulas to determine maximum heart rate (Max HR) are riddled with huge errors. There are no formulas that take into account fitness level and they rarely are accurate for older individuals or those who remain fit throughout their lives. Max HR is genetically determined. Two people, the same age, sex and similar fitness level can have radically different Max HR. And a high or low maximum heart rate does not determine better or poorer health or athletic performance. So, what should you use to estimate your Max HR? For an individual who is really healthy and fit, do your favorite workout and after a long warm up and have gotten to what your typical average heart rate is for that activity, gradually begin raising your heart rate every two minutes and see how high you can go. A final big hill running or riding works great or have a friend cheer or push you on for the final 2-4 minute sprint. Look to see what is your biggest number. Use your biggest or this one-workout-peak number as your new Max HR number. I guarantee that this will be much more accurate than any formula. You will need to be fully rested and hydrated and avoid sugar and caffeine 3 hours before as this can affect your heart rate. At our Heart Zones Seminars, we guide you through a number of other assessments to help you ascertain your maximum heart rate. For the protocols for each of these assessments, you can pick up any Heart Zones books. I'd recommend The Heart Rate Monitor Guidebook to Heart Zones Training because it is easy to read and follow. Determining your maximum heart rate is important - it is the number you use an anchor for determining your five training zones. NOTE: There is not a perfect linear relationship between %HR max and %V02 max.

• *VO2max means maximum volume of oxygen which is the amount of oxygen that you are consuming per kilogram of body weight per minute or your aerobic capacity
• Karvonnen training intensity estimate (HHR = HRrest + (training percentage) (HRmax- HRrest)
• Karvonnen method utilizes formula 220-age, unless individual knows their true max HR
• Training percentage is that number you use for training intensity such as 70%

Try this workout on an indoor bike or treadmill or you can do hill repeats outside. The Red Heart Hill workout is another leg and heart strengthener and can be performed in Zone 2, 3 or 4. The “challenge” of this workout is that whatever zone you decide to train in – KEEP the entire workout in that zone.

After a 5-10-minute warm-up, place yourself at the base of a hill (imaginary or real). You need to leave room to gear up (or add more grade on the treadmill) 3 times (every 60 seconds). This means that whatever mode of exercise you choose, you will be adding more grade (steepness) for a total of 3 times to the top then work the grade back down to where you started. First minute: work the first 15 seconds at a comfortable pace. Pick up your pace (go faster) for 10 seconds (remembering to keep your heart rate in the zone that you decided to train in). Then resume your comfortable pace for the next 35 seconds. At the start of your second minute, you will add more resistance if you are on an indoor bike, pick up the grade if you are on a treadmill or gear down on your bike and repeat the same sequence as above: Work the first 15 seconds at a comfortable pace. Pick up your pace (go faster) for 10 seconds. Then resume your comfortable pace for the next 35 seconds. Now at the beginning of the 3rd minute, add more resistance – you should feel as if you are at the steepest and hardest part of your hill and again, repeat the same sequence. Work your way down in the same fashion. Repeat the ladder up and down 6 times or for whatever length of time within an hour that you have! If you use a downloadable monitor, please email your profiles to jessica@heartzone.com.

Lorraine Brown, Co-Director of our new Heart Zones Max Fat Burning Program and author of soon-to-be released book Fit AND Fat has written an important article about why some stay less fit and fat when they are on what some call “fat burning” program. The article is free and available for you to read on our website (www.heartzones.com) on the front page – upper right corner. Please share this with others who you know who may be struggling with this experience – and learn the reasons why many have been fooled by the manufacturers of exercise equipment and heart rate monitors.

If there are 2 things you surely want to have in a heart rate monitor for a good price, it is 1) a tool that has the ability to give you at least one target zone setting with an audio and visual alarm, and 2) a back light for indoor cyclists and nighttime trainers. Most indoor cycling studios have low lighting for ambiance, which is not nice if you ride by your numbers, because it is difficult to see your heart rate. The Prosport 2 by Sensor Dynamics has another feature that I really appreciate: a recovery timer. Remember that one indication of how fit you are getting is your hearts ability to recover back to your pre-exercise heart rate. A standard recovery heart rate measurement is the 1-minute recovery heart rate test. This is done immediately following your exercise. We recommend “active” recovery. Continue to move slowly after you stop your workout. If you are out running, this means that you spend the first minute walking very slowly. Similarly, if you are riding a bike change gears so that you are simply spinning your legs with no effort. After the one minute, let your monitor record what your recovery heart rate and then all you have to do is put it in your logbook.

If your heart monitor has a recovery timer, as the PROSPORT 2 does, – then the watch will tell you how many beats per minute you dropped. But remember, a good logbook keeps that information for you to compare and recall. Other features of this monitor are: ECG Accurate, Time of Day, Time Alarm, Stopwatch, Target Zone Setting w/audio-visual alarm (5 bpm increments), Recovery Timer, Nightsight, Dual Display, Sports Watch Design and Water Resistant. Go to www.heartzones.com for your Heart Zones Training LOGBOOK and we are offering this month this monitor as our “Web Special” for $20 off. So go grab one and if you already have a monitor – give it as a gift. It is durable and small on your wrist, and comes with a one-year warrantee for everything.

Join the Zoner Team and the Heart Zones Faculty for your start or restart in fitness and health. If you don’t see a location close to you, contact Kathy Kent at mkent11@aol.com to explore how we can get a seminar in your area! Dates and locations are constantly being added so get regular updates by visiting www.heartzone.com for registration information.

Date Place February 15 Sacramento, CA February 15 Edgewood, NY February 16 Massapequa, NY February 22-23 Denver, CO March 9 Orland Park, IL March 15 Glendale, CA April 6 Milwaukee, WI April 12 Seattle, WA April 22 Austin, TX April 26 Chicago, IL May 2-4 Atlanta, GA May 9-10 Washington DC September 6 Juneau, AK October 3-5 Seattle, WA

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copyright: Heart Zones
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The Heart Zones e-Newsletter is a Heart Zones publication
Publisher: Sally Edwards
Editor in Chief: Jessica Menendez

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