Welcome to the September 5, 2001 edition of The Heart Zones e-Newsletter
copyright: Heart Zones, your source of heart rate training information
In this issue:
Also...
===============================================================
1. “Club trained” Athletes.
Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of indoor training and what some call “club-trained” athletes. This may be a new term to some people but if you live in dark, damp and non-friendly climates, it’s quite often the best and safest way to heart zone train. Hundreds of thousands of people train indoors for a majority of the year because of the weather. Some are swimmers who have never ventured away from the crisp blue lines on the bottom of the pool or the addictive chlorine fix they crave weekly. They rarely if ever have experienced slimy millfoil and gobs of seaweed wrapped around their arms, neck and legs or the thrill of whitecaps beating in their face and the challenge of battling currents that would send you towards China. May club-athletes are avid runners who do their workouts on treadmills or indoor running tracks with TV’s or music blaring and towels conveniently draped over the display panel. Heart rate, speed, pace, elapsed time, % of grade constantly provide them with motivational feedback data. And of course, one can’t help but notice the high intensity junkies cycling away on indoor studio bikes and sweating away electrolytes faster than they can pedal.
Is this a good way or a bad way to train? It depends. Is it the best training when preparing for an outdoor event? The answer is no and yes. No, in the sense that it doesn’t teach you how to deal with the effects of outdoor environments such as wind, heat, and altitude. If you are a cyclist, indoor heart zone training doesn’t develop basic bike handling skills such as balance, shifting, turning, braking and fending off tenacious animals. If you are a swimmer it doesn’t help with swimming straight in open water. In return though, club-athletes or indoor-trainers may just stay fitter than outdoors-trainers because they do not miss workouts because of incremental weather. Because you are training in a controlled environment, focusing on technique and skill development are big pluses. However, there is a draw back to indoor training in a small or confined area with lots of people. If everyone was as smart as you and used a heart rate monitor the cross-talk between monitors would constantly result in errors in your training heart rate numbers! Have no fear….. first, there aren’t that many smart people and second, coded chest straps and digital monitors’ help to solve that problem. Wear your monitor on the outside hand if you are running or cycling next to someone. Keep your monitors 3 fee away from your training partners chest strap and you will eliminate the interference from cross-talk.
Check out http://www.heartmonitors.com for the new Timex digital monitors and Polar coded chest strap monitors that are cross-talk free.
===============================================================
2. New Math Formula for Maximum Heart Rate
Colorado researchers have recently recalculated the age-predicted maximal heart rate formula (220- age) that has been used for the last 30 years. Many clubs and articles adamantly use this formula when helping you to set your heart zones. These Rocky Mountain researchers are suggesting a revised, new formula: 208 – (0.7 x age). This Colorado formula still uses age as the key number. Yet, age has little to do with maximum heart rate in the fit population. For example, why is it that two people who are exactly the same age have tested maximal heart rates that vary as much as 20 to 30 beats? The answer is, maximum heart rate is an “individual”, genetically determined number. It has more to do with your heart size than your maturity. Unfortunately, all of the mathematical formulas still use age as a determining factor. The most accurate and best way to find out your true sports specific maximal heart rate is to either do a sub-max test or if you are very fit, a maximal heart rate test.
The new equation is based on broad age and fitness-level ranges of healthy subjects. The researchers noted that the new equation contains a 10-bpm standard deviation and they recommend that if the opportunity allows, get a maximal heart rate test. We at heart zones suggest the latter, first.
<The
findings of this study were published earlier this year in the Journal of the American College of
Cardiology. An additional article was published in the July issue of The Physician and Sportsmedicine.>
===============================================================
3. Sub-Max tests to Estimate Your Fitness
The first test is based on your subjective feeling of exercise intensity, called “perceived exertion” or RPE (rating of perceived exertion).
In the 1950’s, a Swedish physiologist named Borg correlated how hard someone exercised with a verbal description or feeling of that sensation and a numbering system to quantify it. However, when the scale was translated into American English, several researchers have found that the words selected did not accurately describe the feeling. One of American’s leading researchers of training methodology, Carl Foster, Ph. D.* has revised the scale to better fit the American training system. For example, Foster’s description to measure perceived exertion at a #1 is described as “very, very easy”. Borg used “very light” to represent the lowest intensity.
When you start to ride or run slowly, just warming up, you might say “3” and describe that as moderate intensity. As you ride faster or run up a hill or as you increase the workload, your heart rate goes up and so does the number you perceive as your exertion level. For this test you will spend two minutes at each heart rate number or level until you reach a perceived exertion of “7” which is described by Foster as “very hard” and to Borg as “strong to heavy”.
Here are some descriptions using the Foster Scale of RPE so you know what number to associate with feeling:
Rating Foster
RPE Descriptor (2)
0 Rest
1 Very, very easy
2 Easy
3 Moderate
4 Somewhat Hard
5 Hard
6 Hard (!)
7 Very Hard
8 #x*! Hard
9 #x*!#x*! Hard
10 Maximal
#x* is American slang for bad words.
#x*!#x*! This is even worse bad words.
Test #1 Sub-Max Test (There is a second test. It will be in the next issue, September 19th)
This method uses your “feeling” of intensity level – the “rating of perceived exertion” combined with your fitness level and your actual heart rate using a heart rate monitor. This test is designed for an indoor stationary bicycle or treadmill. An increase in cadence, resistance, speed or incline may be used to increase workload and exercise intensity
Warm up for a minimum of five minutes at about 100 bpm. The test begins at level 1 by increasing the heart rate to 110 bpm and maintaining that for two minutes. At the end of the two minutes record the RPE number and begin level 2 by increasing the heart rate to 120 bpm. At the end of the two minutes record the RPE number and begin level 3 by increasing the heart rate to 130 bpm. (The test may stop after this level if the RPE number is 7 or higher.) At the end of two minutes record the RPE number. Begin level 4 by increasing the heart rate to 140 bpm and maintain that number for two minutes. At the end of the two minutes record the RPE number. (The test may stop after this level if the RPE number is 7.) Begin level 5 by increasing the heart rate to 150 bpm and maintain that number for two minutes. At the end of the two minutes record the RPE number. Continue up the levels until your receive an RPE number of 7.
Warm down for a minimum of five minutes until the heart rate is below 100 bpm.Bpm are then added to the various levels of heart rate using the Testing Chart Guide. Maximum heart rate estimates are then averaged to determine maximum heart rate.
Sub-Max Test
5 to 10 minutes warm-up
|
Levels (A) |
Heart Rate (bpm) (B) |
RPE from Testing Chart Column (2) (C) |
BPM from Testing Chart Column (3) (D) |
Estimated Max HR Add Column B & D (E) |
|
Level 1 |
110 bpm |
|
|
|
|
Level 2 |
120 bpm |
|
|
|
|
Level 3 |
130 bpm |
|
|
|
|
Level 4 |
140 bpm |
|
|
|
|
Level 5 |
150 bpm |
|
|
|
|
Level 6 |
160 bpm |
|
|
|
|
Level 7 |
170 bpm |
|
|
|
|
Level 8 |
180 bpm |
|
|
|
|
Level 9 |
190 bpm |
|
|
|
|
|
_________
Estimated Max HR Average Column (E) |
|||
|
Words (1) |
RPE(2) |
BPM(3) |
Feeling(4) |
% Max HR (5) |
Very Little Effort |
1 |
90 bpm |
Very, very easy |
|
|
|
1.5 |
85 bpm |
|
|
Very Comfortable |
2 |
80 bpm |
Easy |
<35% |
|
|
2.5 |
75 bpm |
|
|
Easy to talk, no problem to continue |
3 |
70 bpm |
Moderate |
35%-50% |
|
|
3.5 |
65 bpm |
|
|
Could keep this up for a long time |
4 |
60 bpm |
Somewhat Hard |
50%-60% |
|
|
4.5 |
55 bpm |
|
|
Still somewhat comfortable |
5 |
50 bpm |
Hard |
60%-70% |
|
|
5.5 |
45 bpm |
|
|
More challenging, not as comfortable |
6 |
40 bpm |
Hard (!) |
70%-80% |
|
|
6.5 |
35 bpm |
|
|
Tough, very heavy, must push self |
7 |
30 bpm |
Very Hard |
80%-85% |
|
|
7.5 |
25 bpm |
|
|
|
Challenging, breathing deep & rapid |
8 |
20 bpm |
#x*! Hard |
85%-90% |
|
|
8.5 |
15 bpm |
|
|
Uncomfortable, rapid breathing |
9 |
10 bpm |
#x*! #x*! Hard |
90%-95% |
|
|
9.5 |
5 bpm |
|
|
Can not talk, ready to STOP |
10 |
0 bpm |
Maximal |
90%-100% |
*Carl Foster is senior professor and researcher at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Wisconsin, Department of Exercise and Sport Science.
(2)
With permission from “A New approach to
Monitoring Exercise Training” Carl Foster, Journal of Strength and Conditioning
Research, 2001, 15 (1), 109-115.
For more heart zone training workouts go to: Heart Zones Online Store
To contact the Head Heart of Heart Zones Cycling, Sally “Sparky” Reed please email her: Sallyreed6@home.com.
===============================================================
4. The ‘Ten Commandments” of Successful High Altitude Endurance Cycling
For those of you who can’t get enough of “high”, “hard” and “hot” training, try elite cycling coach Arnie Baker’s Ten Commandments from his “Near Death Experience” training camp in the Sierras. This is a cycle training camp focusing on preparation for the Markleeville Death Ride (126 miles, 5 mountain passes, and 16,000 vertical feet).
*If Heart Zones was to add an 11th Commandment – it would be this one
For more go to: http://www.heartzones.com/hz/index.shtml
===============================================================
Also...
5. Facts about Your Heart
A fairly strong argument could be made that your heart is the most important muscle in you body. Its role in transporting oxygenated blood to your body’s tissues and helping remove waste products from the bloodstream are fundamental to life itself.
Similar to any muscle, the human heart will respond to the demands placed upon it. If it is stressed in a sound manner, it will grow stronger. That’s what heart zone training after all is all about. If it is stressed in an unsound manner (sedentary lifestyle, smoking, excessive intake of dietary fat, etc.), its capacity to function properly will be diminished.
Did you know?
· The cardiovascular chain. Your body has 60,000 miles of blood vessels that oxygenate the body’s tissues, unburden them of wastes, and act as stringent regulators of the body’s environment.
· On and on, and on. Placed end to end, the blood vessels in your body would stretch almost three times around the equator.
· Thinner than thin. The tiniest blood vessels in your body, known as capillaries, are 50 times thinner than the finest human hair.
· The sound of silence. A heartbeat is a silent contraction of the muscles, and can’t be heard. When you listen to someone’s heart, the sound you hear is the closing of the heart’s valves.
· It takes two to tango. Your heart can be viewed as having two halves. The left half of your heart is much stronger and better developed than the right because the left half has to pump blood through your entire body, while the right half only has to pump blood through the lungs.
· A systematic slow down. Your resting heart rate decreases approximately one beat per minute for every one to two weeks of aerobic conditioning for the first 10 to 20 weeks of training.
By Cedric Bryant, Ph.D., FACSM, & James Peterson, Ph.D., FACSM and published by Fitness Management. For more go to: http://www.fitnessmanagement.com/home/fr/home.html
===============================================================
6. The Sequential 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 Outdoor Cycling Ride
Training on a bike can be systematic and sequential. This ride will show you how those two words fit because it systematically drives you progressively to Zone 5. The work intervals increase in time and intensity but the rest period doesn’t. That’s the hammer. The rest interval lags behind the work interval by one interval.
The work intervals are sequentially as follows: 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 3-, 2-, 1- minutes building to more than 90 percent of maximum heart rate. After you finish your ride, warm down gradually to the bottom of Zone 2 (15 to 30 minutes).
Pick a flat to rolling course and begin this pyramid climb up and down the summit after completely warming up (15 to 30 minutes)
· Note: Your work and rest intervals are dependent on your current fitness level. You may choose to go to a lower percentage depending on your fitness level.
1 minute at 60 percent of maximum heart rate with 1 minute of recovery
2 minutes at 65 percent of maximum heart rate with 2 minutes of recovery
3 minutes at 70 percent of maximum heart rate with 3 minutes of recovery
4 minutes at 75 percent of maximum heart rate with 4 minutes of recovery
4 minutes at 80 percent of maximum heart rate with 4 minutes of recovery
3 minutes at 85 percent of maximum heart rate with 3 minutes of recovery
2 minutes at 90 percent of maximum heart rate with 2 minutes of recovery
1 minute at more than 90 percent of maximum heart rate followed by a recovery warm down
From The Heart Rate Monitor Book for Outdoor and Indoor Cyclists, by Sally Edwards and Sally Reed, Velo Press, 2001.
To Order a copy go to: http://americancycling.com/
===============================================================
7. Pay Attention, Recovery Heart Rate is Essential
Michael Lauer, M.D. of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation thinks that recovery rate following intensive exercise is a good indication of cardiovascular health and aerobic conditioning. He states that heart rate is an indicator of heart disease, but that the important factor is how quickly it drops when exercise is stopped. He points to three recent studies in which people whose heart rates fell less than 12 beats within a minute after they stopped physical activity were four times more likely to die of a heart attack during the next six years than those whose rate diminished by 13 or more beats. John Cantwell, M.D., who served as the chief medical officer for the 1996 Olympic Games concurs, “there is recent information showing that if recovery rate is extremely slow, you should pay attention to it.”
===============================================================
8. New Website, New Metrics
It is both alarming and astonishing, but now, just eight weeks after the re-design, re-launch of the new Heart Zones websites the results are powerful:
Hits:
Average hits per day: 13,123
Month of August, 2001, total number of hits: 406,223
This is a 400% increase over last year. Thanks to all of our newsletter subscribers and all the Heart Zone Partners and Associates for their support and participation in the development of the new site. While you are at our site: www.heartzones.com, please download a copy of our free “White Paper” which is titled: Enlarging the Fat Burning Zones. It will enlarge your understanding of how to use your heart rate monitor to gain fitness and lose fatness simultaneously.
For the White Paper go to: whitepaper.pdf
===============================================================
9.Update on Free Spirit Adventures Ride Across America
Sometimes you just want to brag about your heart friends and associates when they do something outstanding and we are taking that journalistic time to do so right now. Heart Zones Cycling Red jersey Master Trainers Alinda Perrine and Bobby Guet are almost at the finish line of their adventuresome cycle trip riding from west to east across the USA. If you would like to see them in action (and all of their compatriots) then visit them as they tell their story at:
11. New Hat and T’s, Free Shipping
The September special to all newsletter subscribers is our popular Heart Zones T shirts and baseball caps. They are cool. When you wear the t-shirt, you have your zone chart on your chest all of the time and will always know your zones. Order either of the heart zones tee’s or hats and we’ll ship them at no charge for freight – free shipping
Makes a great gift for a friend who you know for a congrats on finishing an event, a birthday, or just to motivate and support them. Here’s your choice and description
Short sleeve T shirt: $14.95 White, 100% cotton, full color maximum heart rate chart on the front
Long sleeve T Shirt: $19.95 White, 100% cotton, full color maximum heart rate chart on the front
Baseball cap: $19.95. Supplex hat with an embroidered HZ heart logo on the front, black.
Order any of these and we will pay the shipping charges. It’s our way at Heart Zones to say, thanks for subscribing, reading, and participating in our newsletter.
===============================================================
11.Sales and Close Outs on Monitors
If you are looking for a “deal” on a heart rate monitor, visit our partner’s website and get some great prices on excellent monitors that they no longer are going to stock but they warranty completely:
http://heartmonitor.com/specials-sales.htm
12.Attend a Seminar or Workshop in September or October
The Heart Zones National Seminar Tour is headed to the Denver Athletic Club for it’s next stop. You can attend a 3-hour basic seminar, an 8-hour Blue Jersey Cycling certification, or one of two 2-hour workshops of your choice. You will learn and get motivated to train smarter, in less time, and get the results that you want. To learn more about the heart zones seminars visit:
And sign-up on line (hint: you get a special gift at the seminar if you do!).
**********************************************************************
If
you wish to subscribe to the Heart Zones e-Newsletter for free, send an email
to jessicamenendez@gci.net
and make your subject line read: subscribe
To unsubscribe, send an email to jessicamenendez@gci.net
and make
your subject line read: unsubscribe
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:
staff@heartzone.com
The
Staff of Heart Zones
staff@heartzone.com
Phone:
(916)-481-7283
Fax:
(916) 481-2213
Thanks
Sally Reed for writing this issue!
**********************************************************************