Welcome to the 27th March, 2002
edition of The Heart Zones e-Newsletter
copyright: Heart Zones, your source of heart
rate training information
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In this issue:
1. Can
fat burning programs keep you fat
2. Mark your calendar - Heart Zones Training
dates
3. Heart Zones Training books for Physical
Education Specialists
4. Workout goals - fat burning
Also...
5. Where is Your FatMAX ?
6. Which
exercise machine burns the most calories?
7. You need weight training too, not just Heart
Zones Training
8. Take a Heart Zones Training Workshop
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1. Can
fat burning programs keep you fat?
Did you know that fat
burning program can actually keep you fat rather than, as they promise, help
you melt the fat away? Well, it’s
true. And the reason is that most fat
burning programs at health clubs are given to people on the basis of how fat
they are, not how fit. If the program
is too easy for you and not challenging your fitness, your so-called ‘fat
burning program’ could really hold you back from burning more fat, or even lead
to an increase in fat. Here’s why.
The amount of fat your
body can burn at any one time is NOT a product of how fat you are, but rather
of how FIT you are. The only way you can change how much fat you burn is not
with medium intensity exercise, but with FITNESS. When you increase in fitness you become better at burning fat
when you exercise, after exercise and even throughout the day during your
regular daily activities. In addition
you are able to exercise for longer and at a higher intensity - burning more
fat and more calories.
Fat burning programs of
low intensity exercise don’t help you to get fitter. Without pushing on that ceiling of your anaerobic threshold your
fat burning potential will either stay the same or even drop back. If you want to really make a difference to
how your body handles fat, follow these guidelines:
·
Focus
on your fitness, not on weight or % body fat
·
Measure
your anaerobic threshold with a heart rate monitor by finding the highest heart
rate you can sustain for 20 minutes
·
Weekly
training should include at least one training session above your anaerobic
threshold
·
Weekly
training should include one or two sessions of ‘at-about-around’ training. This is where you train within a range of 10
beats either side of your anaerobic threshold.
For example if your anaerobic threshold is 145, do a session where you
keep in the range 135-155 and the average is 145
·
At
least 60% of your training time is at a easy-moderate level more than 10 beats
below your anaerobic threshold.
To find our more about
fat burning, follow this link: http://www.heartzones.com/index.shtml
Look in the column on
the right hand side called ‘News’ for articles on fat burning.
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2. Mark your calendar - Heart Zones Training
Dates
To get up to date with
the latest findings on the best way to train with your heart rate monitor,
whether you are an elite athlete or a ‘rookie’ who just wants to get in shape
in the least available time, you need to schedule a Heart Zones Training day
into your year-planner. Don’t miss out
on information that can help you achieve your full potential. Mark your calendar today!
April 13, 2002 in New
York City, REGISTER
<http://www.store.yahoo.com/heartzones/seminars.html>
May 18, 2002 in
Washington, DC
August 10, 2002 in
Austin, Texas
September 21, 2002 in
Denver, Colorado
October 4-6 2002 in
Seattle, Washington - SPECIAL - ****Heart Zones Fitness Conference****
November 16, 2002 in
Boston, Massachusetts
December 7, 2002 in
Dallas, Texas
For more information as
it emerges, go to www.HeartZones.com
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3. Heart Zones Training
Books for Physical Education Specialists
If you are a Physical
Education Specialist or a club coach for young athletes, there is a new Heart
Zones Training book for you:
Middle Schools Healthy
Hearts In the Zones
by Sally Edwards and Deve Swaim Published By: Human Kinetics 2001 ($19.95
available now).
If you are teaching
children and youth lifetime physical and health education, this is one of the
best curriculums on the market. The book is the teacher’s guide and the key
part of our curriculum kit - the complete solution for your schools needs. This
supplemental program includes lesson plans, workouts, fitness testing, circuit
training, and how to buy and program your heart rate monitors. There are two
editions, one for Middle School and one for High School Healthy Hearts.
Healthy Hearts in the Zones (available in July of 2002) is co-authored by
Sally Edwards and Deve Swaim, President, Heart Zones Education.
For more information and to buy go to: http://www.heartzones.com/books/index.shtml
4. Workout goals - fat
burning
To make the most of your
training, never start a training session without a clear idea of why you are
doing it. To be better equipped to
workout so you really get the benefits you want you need to know what type of
training gives you which benefits.
If burning fat is one of
your main goals, then you should design your training so that it is focused
around these benefits:
1) teaching your
metabolism to burn fat - get this through Energy System Training
2) becoming fitter so
that your anaerobic threshold is higher - get this through Fitness Training.
Energy
System Training
If you are concerned
about fat then it’s quite probable that you’ve tried dieting. Dieting teaches your body to burn fewer
calories, store the food you eat in fat stores rather than in glycogen stores
where you can use them easily, and encourages loss of muscle. All in all it can ruin the way your body
uses energy and your ability to burn fat - just the opposite of what you want
to achieve!
Energy System Heart
Zones Training
can help you upgrade your metabolism into one where the food you eat is used
for energy and not stored as fat. The best way to do this is to exercise for a
long time at an exercise intensity where you are burning a high proportion of
fat. This is Zone 3 60% - 70% Maximum
heart rate(approximately 40% of energy burned comes from Fat, and 55% from
Carbohydrate), or even better Zone 2 50%-60% maximum heart rate (approximately
80% of energy from Fat, 15% from Carbohydrate). At this level you are training at an intensity that still allows
your body to adapt to the new challenge - at this level it’s not scrambling to
provide what you are asking for it - it’s doing it well and getting better at
burning fat.
Fitness
Training
This is where you focus
on raising your anaerobic threshold.
Your anaerobic threshold determines the upper limit of where you stop
increasing the amount of fat that you burn.
You will burn more and more fat the harder you exercise, until you reach
your anaerobic threshold. After this
point the extra energy you need will come solely from your limited stores of
glycogen, which means you won’t be able to keep going for long (even if you can
stand the lactic acid build up!).
Fitness training is
harder than Energy System Training but essential to make you a better
fat burner. First, find your anaerobic
threshold. Then calculate a heart rate
range 10 beats either side of this number.
Your fitness training should take place in this range, and 20% of your
total aerobic training time should be above this level in order to really make
a big difference. To check how you are
doing, re-test your anaerobic threshold after 6 weeks - you’ll be amazed at the
difference!
To find our more about
fat burning, follow this link: http://www.heartzones.com/index.shtml
Look in the column on
the right hand side called ‘News’ for articles on fat burning.
5. Where is Your FatMAX ?
Researchers have come up
with a new concept that we think you’ll be really interested in. It’s called FatMAX and it’s exercise intensity with the highest burn rate for fat.
To find FatMAX
researchers
took a group of fit male cyclists and got them to exercise over a range of
exercise intensities and measured their fat-burn rate. Here’s what they found:
·
FatMAX occurred at an exercise intensity around
75% Max. Heart Rate.
·
The
‘FatMAX Zone’, which the researchers defined as the
range of intensity with fat burn rates within 10% of the peak rate, was 70% -
80% Max. Heart Rate.
·
Fat
burning rates decreased between 80%-90% of Maximum heart rate
·
Above
90% Max. Heart Rate, only negligible fat was burned.
This and other recent
research on fat burning will be incorporated into Heart Zones Training
workshops on Fat Burning.
To find our more about
fat burning, follow this link: http://www.heartzones.com/index.shtml
Look in the column on
the right hand side called ‘News’ for articles on fat burning.
To find out about
workshops on Fat Burning, go to: http://www.heartzoness.com/seminars/index.shtml
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6. Which
exercise machine burns the most calories?
In most gyms you are
presented with a wide selection of aerobic machines such as rowers, stair
climbers, steppers, stationary bicycles, treadmills, elliptical trainers, and even cross-country skiers, and skating
machines. If you are interested in the
burn rates on different machines, some researchers in Wisconsin recently tested
the calorie burn rates of exercises on 6 different machines at three different
intensities of exercise. Here’s what
they found:
Burn Rates
(in
Calories Per Hour)
Physical Activity Zone
4 Zone
3 Zonw 2
Hard Somewhat
hard Fairly Light
Treadmill 850 700 550
Stair stepper 700 627 500
Rowing 700 606 500
Airdyne(exercise bike
with 700 509 380
bars to work the arms)
Regular stationary bike 600 498 350
Cross country skier 650 595 500
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7. You
need strength training too, not just Heart Zones Training
Heart Zones Training
focuses on the most important muscle in the body - the Heart. Through regular aerobic activity your heart
will get stronger and more efficient.
However, don’t forget the other muscles in your body too. They are very important and if you don’t do
some strength training as well as your aerobic training, you may find your
muscle mass decreasing. Your lean body
mass is the most important factor in determining your basal metabolic rate, so
you need as much as you can get of this energy-eating tissue.
Strength training is not
all about getting huge or living in a gym.
Here are some of the options for strength training to maintain and build
your lean body mass:
·
Weight
train with free weights
·
Weight
training with exercise machines
·
Weight
training with body weight
·
Circuit
training
·
Plyometrics
·
Hill
training - running, biking, skating, skiing
·
Mountain
walking carrying a pack
·
Cross
country skiing
·
Downhill
skiing
·
Dynamic
sports such as judo, football, karate, volleyball
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8. Take a
Heart Zones Workshop
At every Heart Zones
Seminar you have the chance to take an additional workshop. You take the main Heart Zones Seminar in the
morning and then split in the afternoon depending on your area of interest. Workshops currently being offered are:
Fat
Burning, Designing Your Personal Program
You’ve taken the
seminar, you know the information, but how do you apply this to achieve your
weight goals? It’s really about setting
your personal fat burning range, making it fit into your life, having a plan,
enjoying it, and staying motivated.
You’ll take a test to set your fat burning range, to set your zones, and
get a sensible plan that works - guaranteed.
This is an important workshop for you if you need to lose or gain
weight. After the workshop you will
know how to use your heart and your heart rate monitor together effectively and
sagely for weight management. After
all, isn’t that what you want?
Testing
and Measurements
You will learn to use
your monitor to measure your current fitness level as well as maximum,
threshold, delta, ambient, recovery, and race heart rate. You will have your fat burning zones
determined and learn ways to increase energy expenditure to meet your
performance goals. Come prepared to
workout and leave with your individual heart rate numbers. This is your starting point to an entirely
new way to exercise. If you would like
to perform at your best and get healthier, this is the workshop for you.
To find out when a Heart
Zones Training workshop will be held in your area, follow the link: http://www.heartzones.com/seminars/index.shtml
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Phone:
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Zones
2636
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The Heart
Zones e-Newsletter is a Heart Zones publication
Publisher:
Sally Edwards
Editor in
Chief: Jessica Menendez
Contributing Writer: Lorriane Brown