Shannan’s Journey

Target Heart Rate Cardio

CARDIO, CARDIO, CARDIO. It is a key component in a fitness program! But do you ever wonder why you are prescribed a certain type of cardio? Do you wonder why, at times, you are asked to perform very intense cardio, and others who are able to do less impactful cardio at a slower pace?

There is a method to the madness! In a previous article, we explored the difference between interval and steady state cardio and the importance of cardio timing and duration in relation to your meals. Look at exertion rates during cardio and why it is important to adhere to your cardio program as written without substituting (easier or harder) alternate cardio.

How do you know if you are training too intensely or not intensely enough for what you want to achieve? This is where Heart Zone Training comes in. Here’s how to figure out your target heart rate:

220 minus your age = Your maximum heart rate

Maximum heart rate x 0.5 = Low end of your target heart-rate range

Maximum heart rate x 0.75 = Higher end of your target heart-rate range

Once you have determined your max HR, you can determine which "cardio zone" you are training at. There are five different training zones separated by 10% increments, each having different characteristics and benefits.

Cardio Exercise - Healthy Heart Zone
The first zone is 50-60% of your max HR. This is the easiest and most comfortable zone within which to train and is best for people who are just starting an exercise program or have low functional capacity. Walkers often train in this zone. Although this zone has been criticized for not burning enough total calories, and for not being intense enough to get great cardiorespiratory benefits, it has been shown to help decrease body fat, blood pressure and cholesterol. It also decreases the risk of degenerative diseases and has a low risk of injury. In this zone, 10% of carbohydrates are "burned" (used as energy), 5% of protein is burned and a whopping 85% of fat is burned.

Cardio Fitness Zone
The next zone is the Fitness Zone, which is 60-70% of your max HR. Once again, 85% of your calories burned in this zone are fats, 5% are proteins and 10% are carbohydrates. Studies have shown that in this zone you can condition your fat mobilization (getting fat out of your cells) while conditioning your fat transportation (getting fat to muscles). Thus, in this zone, you are training your fat cells to increase the rate of fat release and training your muscles to burn fat. Therefore, the benefits of this zone are not only the same as the healthy heart zone training at 50-60% but you are now slightly increasing the total number of calories burned and provide a little more cardiorespiratory benefits. You burn more total calories at this zone simply because it is more intense.

Cardio Aerobic Zone
The third zone, the Aerobic Zone, requires that you train at 70-80% of your max HR. This is the preferred zone if you are training for an endurance event. In this zone, your functional capacity will greatly improve and you can expect to increase the number and size of blood vessels, increase vital capacity and respiratory rate and achieve increases in pulmonary ventilation, as well as increases in arterial venous oxygen. Moreover, stroke volume (amount of blood pumped per heart beat) will increase, and your resting heart rate will decrease. What does all this mean? It means that your cardiovascular and respiratory system will improve and you will increase the size and strength of your heart. In this zone, 50% of calories burned are from carbohydrates, 50% are from fat and less than 1% is from protein. But don’t be discouraged from this type of cardio because of that ratio! Less of a percentage of calories burned may come from fat, but if you burn more calories TOTAL, you will still, in the end, burn more fat calories than you would in a less intense zone!

Cardio Anaerobic Zone
The next training zone is called the Threshold or Anaerobic zone, which is 80-90% of your max HR. Benefits include an improved VO2 maximum (the highest amount of oxygen one can consume during exercise) and thus an improved cardiorespiratory system, and a higher lactate tolerance ability. This means your endurance will improve and you’ll be better able to fight fatigue. Since the intensity is high, more calories will be burned than within the three previous zones. Although more calories are burned in this zone, 85% of the calories burned are from carbohydrates, 15% from fat and less than 1% are from protein. But the same principles apply: more calories burned equals more fat calories burned!

Redline Zone
The last training zone is called the Redline Zone, which is 90-100% of your max HR. Remember, training at 100% is your maximum heart rate (maximum HR), your heart rate will not get any higher. This zone burns the highest total number of calories and the lowest percentage of fat calories. Ninety percent of the calories burned here are carbohydrates, only 10% are fats and again less than one percent is protein. This zone is so intense that very few people can actually stay in this zone for the minimum 20 minutes, or even five minutes (you should only train in this zone if you are in very good shape and have been cleared by a physician to do so). Usually, people use this zone for interval training. For example, you may do three minutes in the Aerobic Zone and then one minute in this Redline Zone and then back to the Aerobic Zone. This idea will sound familiar to anyone who has ever performed a Fitness Factory cardio program! Each of Mike’s unique programs take you through these zones, often varying from higher intensity states to lower intensities. And your rate of exertion is carefully considered and orchestrated in each program.

So remember…if you feel like you are behind in your goals and you are tempted to do an extra boot camp or two, or kickbox class (and it is not on your normal plan)… DON’T.  If you are tired and and not really "feelin’ it" and you are tempted to spend your 30 minutes on the bike instead of the stepper… DON’T.

There is a reason for all of the cardio you are asked to complete by your trainer. If you manipulate your cardio and over or under exert yourself, you are sabotaging your results! Make your time in the cardio room count. Perform the cardio that is suited to your goals. And always remember that pushing through the toughest program, or having the restraint to do the less strenuous cardio when instructed, will certainly pay off in the end!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at 1:08 pm and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.