There can be a lot of concerns from people when they begin to monitor their heart rate. Am I working too hard? My heart rate monitor says that I am out of my zone. Should I hold back? My heart rate is really high, is that ok?
If you never monitor your heart rate, you don’t have any of these problems. You just BRING IT and know you need to slow down when you can’t push any harder and you have keel over to catch your breath LOL! I am here to tell you that even if you monitor your heart rate, you should have the same mindset! BRING IT until you can’t push any harder!
You’ve probably heard about the “fat burning” zone. Maybe even the “aerobic” zone. Or that there is a certain range, or target, that you need to keep your HR in to effectively lose weight. These restrictive zones can be helpful for people with heart problems (you should consult a doctor before changing any workout routine if you do have a previous heart condition!). They can keep you safe and still provide valuable benefits to your overall health.
But I’m sorry, there is no such thing as a “Fat Burning” zone! You lose weight by eating fewer calories than you burn in a day. We help create that difference by increasing the number of calories we burn through working out. When you workout and increase your cardiac output and you burn more calories. So a greater cardiac output, the more calories you burn! The same person running a 6 minute mile will burn more calories than if they were to run an 8 minute mile because their average HR would be much higher. Why not see just how many calories we can burn by going as hard as we can?
Two zones that I am interested in are at the upper end of the scale, the anaerobic zone and the VO2 Max. Let me start by saying, these aren’t the end goal. You don’t need to fixate on these numbers or names. I am interested in these “zones” because it is really cool what happens in these zones. And with P90X, X2, Insanity, TurboFire, and The Asylum; these zones just happen! Do you think the Asylum Legends or the X2 Crew were only in their “Fat Burning” zone? Heck no! They pushed to the brink, and the results show that!
In the anaerobic zone (usually 80-90% of your max HR), your body begins to have trouble removing as much lactic acid as you are producing. Lactic acid is a byproduct of all normal exercise. It is created when you push your body past its aerobic capacity. Normal energy production can’t cut it anymore and your body gives you a readily available source of energy, lactic acid. Now too much lactic acid, and not properly cooling down, can lead to soreness and stiffness. But by working in anaerobic zone, you can increase you body’s ability to manage lactic acid by stressing the system. You increase your lactic acid threshold.
Straight from the source of all helpful info, Wikipedia, the “VO2 max (also maximal oxygen consumption, maximal oxygen uptake, peak oxygen uptake or maximal aerobic capacity) is the maximum capacity of an individual’s body to transport and use oxygen during incremental exercise, which reflects the physical fitness of the individual.” This is the peak of your body’s performance (usually 90-100% of your max HR). Stressing your body at this level produces a great response. You increase you ability to work at all other levels and even can increase your fast twitch muscle fibers!
Both of these zones also do a very important thing, they burn WAY MORE calories! Not only during the workout, but after the workout is over. Working out at these levels of intensity will raise your resting metabolic rate for up to 24 hours. You burn more calories all day long than the person that stayed in their “zone.” We already know to be this to be a problem — comfort zones. Nothing changes when you are in your comfort zone!
Our bodies are very self regulating. If you are just starting working out, it may not be very difficult to get in these zones but difficult to stay there. You want to work as hard as you can, but don’t worry about the ranges. As you progress, you need to make sure you are still challenging your body. Not just your muscles but your respiratory system too.
Note on Maximum Heart Rate
If you have a heart rate monitor, it is not a bad idea to know you maximum heart rate. You want to work as hard as you can, but you also want to stay safe. The general rule is HRmax = 220 – Age. So if you are 40, your projected max HR would be 180. Now physical fitness levels effect your max HR and this is just another starting point. I have had my heart rate well above that. But be mindful if your heart rate is getting into the 200s, you may want to see a doctor!
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My email: coachwayne@teamripped.com
IG: @wayne_wyatt
