Are You Maximizing Your Cardio 2006-10-20
Are You Maximizing Your Cardio?
One of the most common questions I am asked by men and women is, “How do I get rid of this?” This is usually accompanied by them grabbing some excess skin on their body usually in or around the stomach area and or butt. The other question is How do I get rid of this followed by what we call the wave where they reach out there arm and proceed to wave their hand back and forth where the skin on the back of the arm loosely waves back and forth on its own! My answer is Cardio, Cardio and yes more Cardio. Usually they reply with but I am on the treadmill for an hour at least 3days a week! Yes I say but are you sweating or out of breath at the end of that hour? Usually the look I get is that of bewilderment. And then an answer of No why?
The reason is simple if you are not getting into your target heart rate zone, the zone in which your body starts to burn fat – you are wasting your time! Your target heart rate should be between 60-80% of the maximum your heart can beat. No one wants to hear that they are wasting time in the gym when they thought they were doing so good but the truth of the matter is that unless you are getting your heart rate up you are not burning an effective amount of calories to lose the fat. If you train with me you know that losing the fat is simple 1lb of fat = 3,500 calories, if you create a deficit of calories through doing your cardio the right way and eating right you can lose up to 1-2lbs of fat per week.
One of the funniest things I think of when it comes to cardio is being in spin class one weekend and remembering the instructor telling a girl that she needed to have a towel with her to cover the handle bars of the bike because in that class we sweat a lot and we like to keep the bikes clean. Her reply was “I don’t sweat.” My immediate thought: Honey if you’re not sweating you’re not working hard enough!
Figuring out your target heart rate is not brain surgery. It is determined by age and fitness level being beginner, intermediate and advanced. There is a formula you can do or simply use the chart I have provided below. Once you have your number how do you know if you are staying within that range during your workout? Most of the cardio equipment except the revolving stairs at the gym has heart rate sensors on the handles for you to hold on to that will tell you where your heart rate is allowing you to determine whether or not you need to increase or decrease the intensity of your workout. The other thing I have found to be useful is a heart rate monitor. There are several types and brands of heart rate monitors ranging from $50 – $200. The one I have is a watch with a heart rate monitor built into it that only cost me $55 at Big 5 Sporting Goods. It does the job and the price fit into my budget. I really like to run and with the timer and monitor in one I can see how long I’ve been running as well as see where my heart rate is at. The other thing I like about having your own heart rate monitor is that it gives you the freedom to take your workout outside – so if you are serious about fitness and tired of playing the guessing game of whether or not you’re burning the calories this is a really good tool to have in your toolbox.
Posted in Articles, Workouts on January 5th, 2007 by | | 0 Comments
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