Welcome to the March 2005 edition
of The Heart Zones e-Newsletter
copyright: Heart Zones, your source of heart rate training information
1. New Heart Zones and New Website
Welcome to the totally new Heart Zones website – new features, new functions, new folks, well…it is just all new.
Go to the library and read an article. Visit the Heart Zones Training Center. See if there is a Heart Zones educational event or course coming to your town soon. If not, just ask us and we will host a workshop, seminar, or certification so you can attend.
Spring time is here – the season for long, slow easy training miles. For most, this is the period in your schedule for slow base-building period or developing your “aerobic base”. One important reason to build a large aerobic base is to improve your capacity to burn stored body fat as a major source of fuel during exercise. Working out to intensely, too high, hot, and hard, at too high a adds unnecessary stress to your system. Working out at too low a heart zones does not burn a lot of fat. The first step to getting started is to measure your sport specific maximum heart rate and set your five zones. Next, use a calendar to calculate the time that you have available to exercise (days per week and session time). Reviewing the training tree (found in Sally Edwards book, The Heart Rate Monitor GUIDEBOOK) use the percentages suggested to determine the length of time you will spend in each phase of training. Note that base training is a time when you are not focused on speed or getting faster. Patience is your mantra because the bigger your base, the higher your fitness. Take assessments along the way - such as your delta heart rate, daily resting heart rates and monitor your recovery heart rates after each workout. If you haven’t already picked up one of Sally’s books – a starting book is Heart Zone Training – especially if you are new to using your monitor. It reviews all the benefits that come from training in each of the different zones and provides a prescription that is easy to follow on how to build a base, get stronger, faster and if you like – get into performance shape.
Five Questions:
1. BALANCE: How long can you stand on one leg (shoes off) with your hands at your sides?
A. 30 seconds or more
B. 15 to 30 seconds
C. Fewer than 15 seconds2. HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY: Lie back with your left leg extended on the floor and raise your right leg, foot flexed, toward the ceiling. Keep both legs as straight as possible. How do your legs look?
A. Both legs are straight; right leg is perpendicular to floor.
B. Right leg is pretty much straight and perpendicular to the floor but left leg is bent.
C. Both legs are somewhat bent.3. CORE STRENGTH: Get on the floor with hands aligned under shoulders. Raise your knees so your body is in a straight line from head to heels (contract your abs to keep back from sinking toward floor). How long can you hold the position?
A. 30 seconds or more.
B. 15 to 30 seconds.
C. Fewer than 15 seconds.4. LEG STRENGTH: Stand a few inches in front of a chair. Keeping feet hip-width apart, sit down and stand up as many times as you can in 30 seconds (without using your hands). How many can you do?
A. 20 or more.
B. 15 to 20.
C. fewer than 15.5. CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS: Walk one mile as flat as you can on a flat surface. What is your time?
A. 12 minutes or faster.
B. 12 to 15 minutes.
C. More than 15 minutes.
Score: If you scored mostly A’s, congratulations! Your body is physiologically young, no matter what age. If you scored mostly B’s (and you’re under age 45), you could slow down the aging process by exercising more. If you scored mostly C’s (and you’re under age 45), your physiological body age may be older than its chronological age! You may be setting yourself up for age-related problems such as muscle weakness, limited mobility and poor balance. All of which negatively impact your quality of life and health down the road. Now is the time to start a focused cardio and strength routine that also incorporates elements of balance and flexibility. Wondering how to get started? Looking for a solution? I suggest any of our video’s but I urge you to watch the DVD titled “Testing and Measurements – How Fit are You?” (and yes, your editor stars in this video. Available through: www.heartzones.com
Got a committee in your head that stops you from being consistent and committed to an exercise program? The good news is that we ALL have that committee in our head! Most often, these are the billboards we see in our minds which when too busy are called “monkey brain”.
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“I’m not very athletic.” We let apprehension prevent us from finding out just how skilled or how much we might actually like something! Sadly, we acquiesce and stay terrified and lazy. Re-write the billboard: Create evidence that challenges your assumptions. If we want to achieve fitness then we need to write it out as a goal with a list of objectives to get us there.
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“I just don’t really have the time right now”. It’s true – our lives are filled to the brim with stuff. Re-write the billboard: How about thinking about, “I don’t have time to deal with age or inadequate health issues that stem from not being active now.” Consider how much time, energy, money and other stuff that comes into play because we are not active and healthy. If you have time to go shopping – you have time to exercise – and if not, hire someone to do your shopping.
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“I’ve never been in great shape and now that I am older, I will never be able to attain the body/health that I want anyway.” Focusing on what has not gone as planned, likely means that you never made a commitment in the first place. Re-write the billboard: When a self-defeating thought enters your mind, ask yourself, “Does this statement get me where I want to go? If it offers direction and guidance, then follow up on the information but if it doesn’t concentrate on the actionable steps that will get you to your goal.
To change our lives, we need to challenge our beliefs about the future – to get healthy and fit, we need to accentuate the positive benefits that we gain from exercise. Want a 30 day plan? Want to stoke up your metabolism and energy. Read Fit and Fat by Sally Edwards and Lorraine Brown.
From Linda in Denver: I have been told by a trainer that I appear "cardiovascularly fit," that I can work out for prolong periods of time in my highest zone. My heart rate recovery is very quick. Is recovery heart rate a better measure or the percentage of maximum heart rate that I can sustain during a workout?
Both of these assessments of your current cardiovascular fitness level are valuable. If you are not adequately recovered from previous workouts then your recovery heart rate will not drop as quickly or as low in comparison to other times when you are fully rested and recovered. Being able to sustain a high percentage of your maximum heart rate also means that your anaerobic threshold, also known as our maximum fat burning heart rate, is high – a clear measurement that you are fitter.
Want to know more about these two assessments? Do you have another question? Email the editor jessica.menendez@heartzones.com
7. Seminar and Certification Schedule
April 2, 2005 in Edmonds, WA |
April 3, 2005 in Naperville/Bolingbrook, IL |
April 23 & 24, 2005 in Houston, TX |
May 6, 2005 in Ocean City, MD |
June 11-12, 2005 in Washington, DC |
July 5-9, 2005 in Las Vegas, NV |
Oct 14-16, 2005 in Denver, CO |
October 22 New York City (Asphalt Green) |
To schedule a course or event in your town, call the National Event Director, Bobbie Jackson at 304.667.6693 or http://heartzones.com/events
This one is sweet – tells you how far you have run or biked and how fast. It is like having your own dashboard on your wrist – constant feedback and the essential info. Save $60 when you snag one and watch your friends be envious that you have a “secret training weapon” that is going to get you faster and help you go farther.
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If you would like to contribute to the newsletter content, or have ideas, questions, or concerns for us to address, please contact the editor by email at: jessica.menendez@heartzones.com
copyright: Heart Zones
staff@heartzones.com
http://www.heartzones.com
Phone: (916) 481-7283
Fax: (916) 481-2213
Mailing address:
Heart Zones
2636 Fulton Avenue Suite #100
Sacramento, CA 95821
The Heart Zones e-Newsletter is a Heart Zones publication
Publisher: Sally Edwards, the Head Heart
Editor in Chief: Jessica Menendez, the Head Editor
PLEASE forward this e-mail to friends and colleagues who are also interested in fitness and sports training using the heart. THANK YOU!