NWPT Results Manual - Section 3

Cardiovascular Prescription:

The most important type of exercise you can do to increase your longevity is cardiovascular exercise. Heart disease is the #1 killer of both men and women so whatever you can do to reduce your blood pressure, improve your cholesterol levels and improve the health of your heart is critically important.

The Surgeon General’s Report released suggests that 30 minutes of light activity every day (equivalent to household chores, walking, gardening, cycling) will be sufficient to improve someone’s health. This is a nonstructured way of attempting to improve your health. All you have to do is commit to being more active in your life. Just try to get in 30 minutes of activity every day.

If your goals are more aggressive and you really desire to improve your overall fitness, your prescription will require a higher level of volume and intensity. Here are some guidelines:

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends moderate intensity aerobic exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes on 5 days/week (150 minutes per week), or vigorous intensity aerobic activity for a minimum of 20 minutes on three days per week. 

If your goal is fat loss, it is suggested that each aerobic session should expend at least 300 calories minimum (of course, anything is better than nothing). Your own wearable tracking devise like an Apple watch or FitBit smart watch will help you measure calories burned during each workout, but to give you an idea, 300 calories would be equivalent to approximately 30 minutes of a high intensity fitness class, three miles of running, or approx 4-5 miles of walking.

Move Everyday

There’s value to doing something active every single day. That doesn’t mean that you need to push yourself or head to the gym every day and that you shouldn’t have recovery days, but you should have intentional movement planned into every single day. Why?

• You will feel better – Movement creates energy. As soon as you start to move, endorphins are released, and you start to feel better and more energized. Regular exercise helps to reduce depression and improves your confidence and self-esteem. Once you start to move your body every day, you’ll notice that your days are better on the days you exercise versus the days you skip.
• You will sleep better – Studies indicate that regular exercisers enjoy better quality, deeper sleep. This will positively impact every part of your life.
• You will become physically stronger – You will develop the physical strength and endurance to tackle any challenges that present themselves. You will condition your muscles, improve your balance and mobility, and strengthen your bone density. Performing daily activities will become easier.
• Your body composition will improve – Regular exercise will reduce your body fat and improve your muscle tone. Not only will you look better, leaner, and stronger, but you’ll also reduce your risk for obesity related health issues.
• You will think better – Regular exercise improves cognitive health and reduces the risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. Exercise is not just about physical health, but mental and brain health as well.
• You will develop a healthy habit – Just like we brush our teeth every day, we should consider exercise in the same light. It’s good for us and we should schedule intentional activity into our daily lives. We shouldn’t ask ourselves “Should I move my body today?” because the answer to that question is always always yes. Instead, we should ask “How will I move my body today?” and we should balance out our weekly movement. Some days it might be a walk around the neighborhood, other days we might go to the gym and lift some heavier weights, another day we might take a yoga or barre class and another we might take a cycling or rowing class. Every type of movement provides a different benefit so mix it up. Carve the time out so you can work every fitness component including cardiovascular, muscle and flexibility so you can be at your best in every way.

If you are just committing to your health and fitness, start small. Develop the habit of doing something physical every day. You could start with a morning or after dinner walk every day and build from there. Once you are consistent enough to start experiencing the incredible benefits of the magic pill of daily exercise, that will be enough motivation to keep you going. You deserve to look and feel your best!

Choosing an Aerobic Activity:

The actual type of aerobic activity must be continuous in nature and involve your large muscle groups. Some of the best choices are as follows:

• Walking
• Running
• Cycling
• Swimming
• Inline Skating
• Hiking
• Rowing
• Racquetball
• Stairclimbing
• Fitness Classes
• X-Country skiing

The most important consideration when deciding which activity will be your primary activity of choice is deciding which of the above activities interest you the most and that you truly believe you could do on an ongoing basis. The best activity in the world is the one you actually do regularly. If we told you that running was the best way to get in shape, but you hated running, you probably would not stick to the program very well and would probably experience very limited results. So, you really need to examine your interests. For example, if you prefer to exercise outside, trail running or hiking may be your answer. If you prefer indoors, you might enjoy the energy of fitness classes or working out on an elliptical, treadmill or climbing machine. If you like to exercise in groups, a fitness class or a walking/running clinic may help you stick to your program. If you are a solo exerciser, your own individualized program may offer the solitude you are looking for. It is important to determine the perfect-fit, custom-designed program that will facilitate your efforts. Here are some questions to help you design a program that is going to work for you.

• How many days per week can your schedule accommodate exercise? _______
• How much time do you want to commit during each exercise session? _______
• Which days are best to exercise? M  T  W  TH  F  S  Sun
• Which days are best to do active rest? M  T  W  TH  F  S  Sun
• Do you like to exercise in the morning, at lunch, after work or evening? _______
• Do you like to exercise alone, with a friend, in a group or a combination? ______

Consideration: When determining when you will exercise, consider that working out first thing in the morning definitely has advantages. One theory is that an early morning workout will jump-start your metabolism and get you revving at a higher level all day long. In addition (and probably more importantly), many people find if they workout first thing and get it out of the way, there are fewer chances for life responsibilities to distract them away from their exercise ambitions. Finally, an early morning workout sets the tone for the entire day. You already have one success under your belt and thus, may find it easier to make healthier choices at lunch or pass on the donuts mid-afternoon. However, keep in mind that exercise at any time of the day is best. For example, many parents prefer to exercise on their lunch break so they can get home after work and be with their kids. So, if you have tried early morning exercise and it did not work for you, don’t worry. You will accomplish your goals regardless of the time of day you exercise.

When deciding whether an activity is the right one for you ask yourself some of the following questions:

• Do I find the activity pleasurable? Do I like it? Is it a lot of fun? Does it make me happy?
• Am I interested in the activity? Is it stimulating?
• Do I get absorbed in the activity?
• Do I feel energized during or after the activity? Is it invigorating? Is it refreshing?
• Does the activity give me a sense of accomplishment? Is it gratifying?

If you answered yes to all these questions, you’ve made a good choice. If you’ve answered no to these questions and you find the activity unpleasant, boring, frustrating, and you hate every second of it, you should reconsider your choice and search for an activity that will provide you with more enjoyment.

Remember that consistency is the primary key to achieving your exercise goals. Find an activity you enjoy and you will be more motivated to participate, stick with it more consistently and reap the benefits more quickly! Find which activity sparks your interest and soon you will also enjoy a fit and healthier body!

Fine-tuning Tips:

Before we move on, let’s examine the following considerations. We know that in order to maximize caloric expenditure, we need to maximize the amount of oxygen we are consuming. We utilize more oxygen when we involve more muscle mass. So, any activities that involve more muscle mass will make burning calories and body fat easier. So, if your goal is to maximize fat loss, consider these points:

• At least one or two of your primary aerobic activities should involve activities during which you stand to perform them like running, power walking, fitness classes, cross-country skiing or stair-climbing. If your muscles have to support you in an upright position, they must expend more energy to do so in comparison to a seated position.
• At least one of your primary aerobic activities should involve both your arms and your legs. Activities like rowing or cross-country skiing, which involve vigorous activity from both your arms and your legs, will expend a lot of energy. Of course, cross country skiing which occurs in an upright position and involves both your arms and your legs will be a higher calorie burner than rowing.
• Consider the environment in which you exercise. Your heat regulator and your appetite are both controlled by your hypothalamus. So, if you are exercising in a colder environment, like a pool during a swim workout, your hypothalamus must act in order to maintain your core temperature. As it responds to the colder environment, it also acts to stimulate your appetite. This explains why many athletes find they may start a run hungry but once they are finished, it may take them an hour or more before they are ready to eat. In contrast, many athletes have difficulty explaining why, after a swim workout or a long-easy hike, they are famished. This effect makes it more difficult to lose fat with swimming. This is why elite level swimmers still carry on average 5% more body fat than elite level runners. We are definitely not suggesting that you find the hottest environment to perform your workouts – which would pose its own health risks. We are also not suggesting that swimming does not burn fat – it is just not as efficient as, say, running. Swimming has many advantages for individuals who are above their ideal body weight; their bodies do not overheat, so the workout feels more comfortable; the buoyancy factor makes it a lot easier on the joints; and they can definitely improve their cardiovascular and musculo-skeletal systems. Just be sure that not all your primary workouts consist of activities like swimming, outdoor cycling and easy hiking which all take place in a colder environment. Instead include at least one activity during which you will sweat and raise your body core temperature.

Designing Your Weekly Cardiovascular Program:

A Personal Trainer can help customize your cardiovascular training program. Here are the principles and rationale we use when designing your weekly structure.

1. Structure 1-2 short and intense interval workouts into your program each week. These workouts should last for approximately 20 minutes and should involve a Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) intensity of approximately 8 (we’ll discuss RPE at the end of this section). During these workouts you will notice that your breathing is heavier, and you will definitely be able to feel your heart beating more quickly. These workouts will definitely be above your comfort zone or where you would prefer to exercise.
2. Structure 1-2 moderate length and intensity aerobic workouts each week. These sessions should involve a 30-40-minute duration and an RPE effort level of 6-7. This is the intensity zone where most people will train so this will feel comfortable. Most people neglect training in the extreme zones – the very easy and the very challenging.
3. Structure 2-3 long and easy intensity workouts each week. These sessions should be 45 minutes plus in duration and involve an RPE intensity of 5. These workouts will feel very comfortable. You may even feel like you are going too slow – you are not! Workouts in this zone are not very stressful on your system but will effectively target your aerobic energy system and help to develop fat burning enzymes. This intensity zone is also recommended if you are just getting started into exercise. The other zones may be too stressful and uncomfortable for you at this point.
4. Include a 6-12-minute low intensity warm-up and cool-down. The body does not respond very well going from inactivity to very intense activity. The cardio-vascular, musculo-skeletal, neurological and metabolic energy pathways need to be gradually stimulated in order to perform at an optimal level. Muscles that are warm have a much better ability to extract and utilize oxygen to produce energy. As muscles warm up, the enzyme activity level is increased. This means that fats and sugars are broken down more rapidly, and more energy will be produced. This will of course, enhance your performance and increase your ability to burn fat. In contrast, your body also does not respond very well going from intense activity to complete rest. Your heart, lungs, muscles, joints, and energy systems require a gradual cool-down to avoid blood pooling in the lower extremities, dizziness and to assist in the recovery process. Warming up and cooling down is a healthy way to exercise anyways but in addition, it is a way to prolong your caloric burn for each workout. So, for example, if you are going to go for a run, start and finish with a 10 minute walk. A warm-up and cool-down should generally involve the same workout activity but at a much lower intensity.
5. Working out indoors? Use a variety of machines. If you are using indoor cardiovascular machines, try staying on the same machine for a maximum of 15 minutes. This will create better muscle balance. We would rather see someone spend 10 minutes on the elliptical, rowing machine, treadmill and bike than spend 40 minutes just on one machine. If you are using the same machine or activity all the time, the muscles targeted with this exercise will continue to get more fit but the other neglected muscles will get weaker and muscle imbalances are sure to surface. This method of training will develop a more overall toned physique and reduce your risk for injury. Finally, mixing up your indoor machines will also help to prevent boredom. If you’re working out at home and only have one indoor machine, perhaps mix up your program. For example, you could start by walking on the treadmill for 15 minutes. Then get off the machine for a few minutes and skip or step up and down onto a step. Then get back onto the treadmill to finish off your workout.
6. Structure at least 1-2 recovery days into your weekly exercise program. Remember this, muscle tissue does not grow stronger during exercise. In fact, muscle breaks down during exercise! It needs a period of recovery to repair, grow, develop and get stronger. Back-to-back hard workouts means that the muscles never get a chance to fully recover. Incorporating one to two recovery days into your workout week will ensure your body gets a chance to heal. Do not think, though, that you need to stay home, chained to your couch and TV! When we say recovery, we mean, active recovery that may involve you going for an easy stroll, hike or cycle but you are not concerned about getting into your training zone. Just relax and enjoy moving your body at a nice, easy pace.

Low intensity versus high intensity:

A number of years ago, you may remember many fitness professionals prescribing lower intensity activity to maximize fat loss. Many fit people lowered the intensity of their workouts fearful that they were not burning fat. Unfortunately, they were misled, and many people still believe that low intensity activity is the best way to maximize fat loss. The reality is that the activity that expends the most calories will lead to the most amount of fat burned.

Yes, during lower intensity activity you will burn a higher percentage of fat and during higher intensity activity you will burn a higher percentage of carbohydrates or sugars. But the important point to note is that during low intensity activity you are burning fat at a higher percentage of a lower number of calories. When you exercise at a lower intensity you are expending less calories. The selective use of fat as a fuel, specifically at lower intensities, does not translate into greater fat loss, regardless of how tempting it is to draw this conclusion. The more important focus with regard to calories expended, is not the percentage of energy coming from fat, but rather the total volume of fat used, and the total number of calories expended. Let’s look at the math.

At 60% max heart rate (easier intensity)

• Approximately 50% of calories come from fat (50% from sugars)
• Approximately 8 kcal/min are expended
• 60 minutes x 8 kcal/min = 480 total calories
• 50% x 480 kcal = 240 fat calories

At 80% max heart rate (more vigorous intensity)

• Approximately 40% of calories come from fat (60% from sugars)
• Approximately 11 kcal/min are expended
• 60 minutes x 11 kcal/min = 640 total calories
• 40% x 640 kcal = 264 fat calories

From these figures you can see how fitness leaders could have been misled. If you were to examine only the first line, the percentage of fat being burned as fuel, you would definitely prescribe lower intensity activity. However, if you examine the whole picture, it is clear that higher intensity activity definitely expends more calories and also more fat. Here is some more statistics to convince you.

It takes approximately 3,500 calories to burn one pound of fat. Compare the following exercise programs.

Program A – Easier intensity (approximately 5kcal/min) – For example, easy walking

• • 30 minutes of activity 3x/week
• 150kcal/session x 3x/week
• 450kcal/week
• It would take 8 weeks to burn 1 pound of fat

Program B – Same intensity as above but for a longer duration

• 60 minutes of activity 3x/week
• 300kcal/session x 3x/week
• 900 kcal expended per week
• It would take 4 weeks to burn 1 pound of fat

Program C – More vigorous intensity (approximately 10 kcal/min) – For example, jogging or power walking up and down hills

• 60 minutes of activity 3x/week
• 600kcal/session x 3x/week
• 1800 kcal expended per week
• It would take 2 weeks to burn 1 pound of fat

If you followed Program A, it would take you eight weeks to burn one pound of fat! Most people would give up by then. If you could easily handle the higher intensity of Program C, wouldn’t you prefer to just wait 2 weeks to burn off that pound of fat? Remember though, if you can’t handle the higher intensity of Program C, follow Program B which means you can maintain the easier intensity, but you just have to go longer.

Time is definitely an issue for a lot of exercisers, and most don’t want to spend hours in the gym if they can get the same results in a shorter period of time. Consider this. At 60% of your max heart rate, it would take you approximately 40 minutes to burn off 300 kcal. If you could handle a higher intensity and were able to exercise at 80% of your max heart rate, it would only take you approximately 27 minutes to burn the same 300 kcal. If time is a factor and you do not have a lot of time to waste, would you rather exercise for 40 or 27 minutes and still burn the same number of calories?

If we have not convinced you yet, consider this. Did you know that the highest percentage of fat that you burn during any activity is during rest! At rest, you are using approximately 50% fat as your fuel – that is the highest % of fat you can burn – you are never burning 100% fat. That’s right, just sitting here reading this manual, you are burning the highest percentage of fat you could possibly burn. That is because your body can only store a limited supply of carbohydrates (sugars) and so during rest, the demand on your body is low and your body wants to spare your precious sugar stores. Since you have an unlimited supply of fat stores, your body would rather burn fat during rest.

Remember though, that although you are burning a higher percentage of fat at rest, you are expending very few calories (approximately 1 kcal/min) so overall you are not burning a lot of fat. If type of fuel utilized was the critical factor for fat loss, then we would be prescribing more rest because this is when we burn the highest percentage of fat as fuel. But it is a higher percentage of a lower number of calories. So, of course, we know it is ridiculous to even consider rest or sleep as a high fat burning activity.

One last note. Examine elite level athletes like sprinters. Most of their training sessions involve high intensity, sugar-burning activity. But have you ever seen a fat sprinter? Of course not. Although, they are burning a lot of carbohydrates (sugars) during their training sessions, they are also expending a lot of calories and a lot of fat. In fact, some sprinters eat over 5000-6000kcal/day without gaining any fat!

The benefits of higher intensity exercise are as follows:

• Expends more calories per minute
• More efficient – burns more calories in less time
• Most effective method for improving fitness conditioning
• Most effective method for raising anaerobic threshold. Your anaerobic threshold is the stage of exercise where you feel very tired and feel the need to either stop or slow down. You may feel dizzy or nauseous if you stay at this level too long. By incorporating higher intensity activity into your exercise workouts, you raise your anaerobic threshold. This means that you can exercise at a higher intensity before you start to experience those uncomfortable sensations.
• Most effective method for inducing training adaptations. Incorporating this type of training into your program will enable your body to handle the higher intensities more easily. You will find that intensities that used to leave you breathless and fatigued, no longer challenge you anymore. Soon, you will be able to expend more calories per minute compared to when you first started exercise. When people first initiate an exercise program, a comfortable calorie burning level is approximately 5cal/min. Elite athletes can expend more than 20cal/min and sustain it for over 2 hours! As a result, it takes them a lot less time to burn one pound of fat.
• Most effective method for increasing fat mobilization. This means that as you get fitter, you actually get better at burning fat. Inside of your fat cells, you have enzymes called hormone sensitive lipase and lipoprotein lipase. Hormone sensitive lipase, the “good guys”, are responsible for releasing fat from a fall cell to be used for energy. Lipoprotein lipase, the “bad guys”, are responsible for the uptake of fat from the blood stream into fat cells to be stored. Lipoprotein lipase functions to increase the size of our fat cells. If you have lived a sedentary lifestyle and have eaten a poor diet all your life, you will have a lot of the “bad guys” and they will be very good at their job. You will have fewer “good guys” and they will not be so competent with their responsibilities. The goal is to get more good guys doing their job. But changing the internal chemistry inside of your fat cells may take years. So, in the beginning you may not be experiencing results as quickly as you want because your body is actually working against you. But with consistency in your training program, your body will soon start to work for you. Soon you will have increased your ability to mobilize and use fat as a fuel. Training in a high intensity zone will make you fit quick and enable you to enjoy this wonderful training benefit. Soon you will be burning more fat during and after exercise. You will become a fat burning machine!
• Experience a higher EPOC (excess post oxygen consumption). Have you ever wondered why you continue to breathe heavy and sweat after your workout is done? Why doesn’t your breathing and body temperature go back to normal immediately? After exercising you consume a greater amount of oxygen to assist your body in recovering from the stress of the workout and the demands it placed on your body. It is important to know that EPOC uses fat as its fuel. At higher intensities, your EPOC is greater translating into a greater caloric and fat expenditure post activity. Although the effects of EPOC are small, if you expended an additional 100 calories post exercise as a result of a high-intensity exercise session, within 100 workouts (5 months), you would have burned an extra 10,000 calories or 3 pounds of fat!
• Intervals are the best way to add intensity to a workout by adding brief, high-energy outputs followed by active recovery phases which will avoid fatigue and injury.

So, the bottom line is that everyone can benefit from incorporating high intensity training into their program once they have completed the initial level of base conditioning. As we have mentioned, the recommended fitness prescription is one that includes all intensity training zones. That is, sometimes you go easy and long and other times you go hard and fast. This will ensure you train all of your energy systems and minimize over-training. As a reminder, don’t start with high intensity exercise. Complete a couple months of easier, base conditioning first. Important – not all of your workouts should be at a high intensity. Mixing it up is the best prescription.

Based on all your answers and your understanding of the material in the above section, you can develop a weekly exercise program. Keep in mind, a personal trainer can help you customize this plan and ensure it’s effective and efficient.

Design your own personalized exercise program.

Personal Exercise Program

Do not worry about “making mistakes” in your program. Just getting you to exercise regularly is all we need to do at this point. We can fine-tune your program as you go along and as we introduce you to some important concepts. But for now, just remember that the best program in the world is the one you do regularly. So just get moving and commit to it for life!

Review your cardio program. Does it look realistic? Most people who start an exercise program are initially very excited, motivated and ready to commit to anything! Unfortunately, this may not last long if the goals they have set are unrealistic. So, if you believe you can follow this plan, then you can!

Measuring Intensity

Many exercisers question whether they are working too hard or should be breaking more of a sweat. How do you know if you are exercising in the right intensity zones? That is where monitoring your heart rate comes in. Traditionally an intensity of 70 percent of your maximum heart rate was thought to be the ideal. But this one-size-fits-all approach might not provide the best results for everyone. We are finding that a more custom designed approach is more effective. Here is how to go about it:

First, you have to determine which of the following zones fits your goals: general health, weight management, aerobic conditioning, advanced conditioning or a combination of all four.

Zone 1: General Health – A great deal of research indicates that being active at 50 to 60 percent of your maximum heart rate [RPE 4-5], consistently and for a total of 30 minutes on most days, reduces the risk of developing many chronic diseases. Low intensity activities like walking, gardening, household chores or easy cycling will achieve this. If someone does not need to lose body fat and they are not training for a sporting event, this may be all they need to do to stay healthy.

Zone 2: Weight management – If your goal is to reduce body fat and you have been relatively inactive, you will need to train at a level of 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate [RPE 6]. This is still within your comfort zone and allows you to exercise at a steady pace for a long enough time to burn off a substantial number of calories.

Zone 3: Aerobic Conditioning/Weight Management – If your goal is to improve your cardio-vascular conditioning for better stamina and endurance, you should train within a zone of 70-80 percent of your maximum heart rate [RPE 7]. This is also a good zone for fat burning if you are already fairly fit. This zone represents a more vigorous level of activity.

Zone 4/5: Advanced Conditioning – If you are in top shape, training for a sporting event and/or ready to incorporate high intensity exercise, you should be ready to include some workouts that are 80 percent and above your maximum heart rate [RPE 8-9]. This level of training is both physically and mentally demanding so it is not something you would do on a daily basis and remember, it’s not suggested if you’re just getting started. This zone is also a fat burning zone if you are extremely fit and can sustain this intensity.

Remember that ideally, your exercise program will include workouts in each of these ranges – short and hard to long and easy.

Here is a formula to help you figure it all out.

Step One: Estimate Maximum Heart Rate: This is the maximum number of times your heart can beat in a minute. You can determine your true maximum heart rate in a science lab, or you can estimate this figure using this formula.

Male: 220 – age =
Female: 226 – age =

Step Two: Determine Resting Heart Rate: This is your heart rate in beats per minute when you are resting. It is typically your lowest average heart rate. If you take the time to determine your true resting heart rate, your training will be more on target. To determine your true resting heart rate, before you get up in the morning, measure your heart rate for one minute. Be sure to wait a few minutes after the alarm has gone off, so your heart will recover from being startled. Do this 3 days in a row and take the average. This is your resting heart rate.

Determine your true resting heart rate.

Day one:____________ beats per minute
Day two:____________ beats per minute
Day three:___________ beats per minute

Average resting heart rate = ____________ beats per minutes

Step Three: Calculate your Heart Rate Reserve. This is the difference between your maximum heart rate and your resting heart rate – it is the number of beats per minute between your highest and lowest heart rate (MHR—RHR = HRR)

Complete this chart and then use the figures to calculate your Heart Rate Training Zones.

*This would be calculated in a lab. If you do not have this figure, use the estimated MHR to the left.

HEART RATE TRAINING ZONES

Zone 1 – General Health: 50-60% percent of your MHR
Lower Target Heart Rate Zone = [HRR X 50%] + RHR =
Upper Target Heart Rate Zone = [HRR X 60 %] + RHR =

Zone 2 – Weight Management: 60-70% of your MHR.
Lower Target Heart Rate Zone = [HRR X 60%] + RHR =
Upper Target Heart Rate Zone = [HRR X 70 %] + RHR =

Zone 3 – Aerobic Conditioning/Weight Management: 70-80% of your MHR.
Lower Target Heart Rate Zone = [HRR X 70%] + RHR =
Upper Target Heart Rate Zone = [HRR X 80 %] + RHR =

Zone 4 – Advanced Conditioning: 80-90% of your MHR.
Lower Target Heart Rate Zone = [HRR X 80%] + RHR =
Upper Target Heart Rate Zone = [HRR X 90 %] + RHR =

Zone 5 – Elite Level Training: 90-100% of your MHR
Lower Target Heart Rate Zone = [HRR X 90%] + RHR =
Upper Target Heart Rate Zone = [HRR X 100 %] + RHR =

Note the above age-adjusted maximum heart rate formula is perfect for our purposes. A more accurate method is to actually determine your maximum heart rate in a laboratory setting using a stress test facilitated by a physician or sports physiologist. The tests are generally administered on a treadmill or exercise bicycle and cost anywhere between $100-$300. Assuming you don’t want to spend the money on a maximal heart rate test, just use the estimated values above.

Here’s a sample. Let’s say you are a 40-year-old inactive woman who wants to lose body fat. Let’s say we’ve determined that your resting heart rate in the morning is 70 beats per minute. Let’s say you will be working predominantly in Zone 2.

Estimated maximum heart rate = 226 – age (40) = 186bpm
Heart Rate Reserve: 186 – 70 = 116bpm
Low end of training zone = (HRR x 60%) + 70bpm = 140 beats per minute
High end of training zone = (HRR x 70%) + 70bpm = 151 beats per minutes

The training zone for this type of workout would be 140-151 BPM.

Helpful tip: If you’re not a math lover, we’ve made it easy for you! Go to our website and use our Heart Rate Training zone calculator to make this a lot easier!

Purchasing a Smart Watch:

Once you have determined your optimal training zones for each workout, the best way to ensure that you are in the correct zone is to invest in a Smart Watch. This will allow for a more accurate, quick analysis of your heart rate and the ability to easily intensify or reduce the intensity of your workout if you are not in the right zone. Unfortunately, manual heart rate monitoring (on your wrist or neck) has been found to be inaccurate with errors as high as 27 beats per minute. In addition, when testing on your neck or wrist, you have to stop and interrupt your workout to do the reading.

We encourage all clients to make the investment in a Smart watch like Apple or FitBit. A Smart watch will allow you to monitor intensity and will also calculate your caloric expenditure and daily steps so if you have set a goal, you’ll know when to stop. Basically, it’s like having your trainer with you for all your workouts.

Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Your heart rate can be affected by numerous variables such as food, medication, temperature, and stress so it is necessary to monitor the intensity of your workouts with an additional indicator – Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale. It is a scale that calls on your own perception of the intensity of a workout to indicate whether you are training in the appropriate zone. RPE is gaining popularity because of its effectiveness, simplicity, and safety. The RPE scale was developed by Dr. Gunnar Borg from Sweden. Borg noticed a close relationship between exercising heart rate (which is directly related to the intensity of the exercise) and how the athlete actually perceives his or her effort. The original BORG method used a scale from 6-20 however, has since been modified to the RPE scale using a more user-friendly scale from 0-10. Zero on the scale represents a resting level with no elevation in breathing. At the other extreme, a rating of 10 would indicate all-out severe exhaustion. Here is how to match up the numbers with your workouts.

RPE Scale

0 – Represents a resting level with no elevation in your breathing.

1 – Represents a more active rest, like working at your desk with no elevation in your breathing.

2 – Represents an active resting level like getting dressed or walking around in your house with no elevation in your breathing.

3 – Represents a low level of activity like gardening or the warm-up stages in a workout. You may be aware of your breathing, but it is slow and natural.

4 – Represents a low level of activity like a stroll or an easy bike ride with a slight elevation in breathing. You are still well within your comfort zone. This would be your predominant training zone if you fall within the General Health Training zone.

5 – Represents a moderate level of activity like walking briskly. Your breathing is elevated higher than in level 4 but you are still well within your comfort zone. This would be your predominate training zone if you fall within the Weight Management Training zone or if you were scheduled for a long, easy workout.

6 – Represents a moderate level of activity like walking briskly to a very late appointment. Your breathing is faster and deeper, but you are still at a level that is within your comfort zone. You feel that you can comfortably hold a conversation. This will still be your Weight Management Training zone or your moderate intensity workout zone.

7 – Represents a vigorous level of activity like jogging. Your breathing is more rapid and deep and you feel like you can hold a conversation but would probably prefer not to. This intensity is beginning to feel more challenging and outside of your comfort zone. This would be your predominate training zone if you fall within the Aerobic Conditioning/Weight Management zone.

8 – Represents a vigorous level of activity like faster running. You can hold a conversation, but it would be short. You think you can continue for the remainder of your session, but you are not 100% confident that you can make it. You feel that you are outside of your comfort zone and being heavily challenged. This will still be your Aerobic Conditioning/Weight Management Training zone.

9 – Represents a very, very vigorous level of activity like sprinting intervals in a run. Your breathing is very labored and you could not hold a conversation. You would definitely feel fatigued and outside of your comfort zone. This would be your predominate training zone if you fall within the Advanced Conditioning zone or were performing a short, hard workout.

10 – Represents an all-out effort with severe exhaustion. It is not recommended that you train at this level.

Increase your Steps to Improve your Health

One of the simplest and most effective ways to improve your health is to increase your daily steps. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends 10,000 steps per day but is that too much or too low for you?

If you’re currently far below 10,000 steps per day, it’s not a good idea to ramp up to that amount quickly as it can cause overuse injuries. If you’re very fit and athletic, 10,000 steps may be too low for you. The best way to personalize your goal is to use a smart watch or a pedometer to track your current walking habits. Wherever you currently are, add 1000 steps to that number and allow your body to adjust. If your body tolerates the increase, add another 1000 steps per day in two weeks. Gradually increase to 10,000 steps or the goal you have set for yourself.

Also consider that there will be a point of diminishing return. You will want to ensure you are not neglecting other fitness components like strength training and/or mobility to get more steps in. Make sure your program is balanced. Walking is a great activity to start with and once you are consistently hitting your walking goal of 10,000 daily steps (or whatever value is appropriate for you), instead of increasing beyond that value, add in other fitness activities instead.

Getting to 10,000 steps, equivalent to about 5 miles of walking, can be a challenge for many so here are some tips to easily get to that number:

• Take a walk when you wake up before getting ready for the day. Even 10 minutes is a great way to start the day.
• Walk a mile during your lunch break.
• Take a walk after dinner.
• Get up and walk around during TV commercials.
• Walk while brushing your teeth.
• Set an alarm on your computer and do a lap or two around your house or office every hour.
• Schedule walking meetings with co-workers.
• Walk to your co-worker’s desk instead of emailing or calling.
• Park at the edge of the parking lot.
• Park a block away from your destination.
• Walk to do errands.
• Schedule a hike with family or friends on the weekend.
• Buy your groceries at the grocery store versus having them delivered.
• Bring your groceries into your house using multiple trips.
• Take more frequent trips to the grocery store versus just once per week.
• Walk your dog regularly. If you don’t have a dog, consider volunteering to walk a neighbor’s dog or volunteering to walk a dog at an animal shelter.
• Walk while making phone calls.
• Walk while listening to a podcast.
• Walk while watching your kids’ sporting events.
• Walk at the airport while waiting instead of sitting since you’ll be sitting for an extended time on the plane.
• Take the stairs or escalator whenever possible.

Being intentional with your daily movements will make getting to 10,000 steps a walk in the park, literally.

Summary:

It’s important to realize that you do not need to implement all of our suggestions into your cardio program today. You may start by just committing to exercising three times per week. Then once you have made that a habit then you could perhaps, start mixing up the intensity zones by incorporating one easy, moderate and hard workout in each week. Then a few months later, you could try and incorporate a different type of activity. This is a work in progress. Enjoy the journey.