As a trainer, it is sometimes quite agonizing to be heading off on a self indulgent overseas adventure, abandoning all responsibilities and leaving behind all the precious clients....for a moment anyway! However in the absence of the trainer, there is a (temporary) virtual replacement : the fitness tracker (or heart rate monitor) . It's how to use it that can be a bit daunting so I have included a talk test for those without a heart rate monitor. Consider this homework:
As we age, our heart rates decline so a bloke called Walrod has come up with a formula for calculating the heart rate reserve for clients in their prime, i.e over 50. Once you have this number, you can calculate the best training zone for your heart rate, based on your objectives.
Here's how it works:
208 - (.7 x age) = HRR
If you are say 50, HRR is 208 - (.7 x 50) = 173
Training Zones are:
Aerobic/low intensity: 50-75 percent of HRR. Talk test: puffing but able to converse
Anaerobic/moderate intensity: 75-85 percent of HRR. Talk test: able to speak short sentences
Anaerobic/high intensity: 85 + percent of HRR. Talk test: can only speak a couple of words
Weight Loss Objective: (50 -75% of 173= Target Heart Rate 87-130) stay in the aerobic/low intensity zone for at least 35 minutes, 5 sessions per week. In this zone, your body is utilizing fat for its fuel source. Higher intensities will not burn more fat.
Fitness & Endurance Objectives: either anaerobic zone. Moderate intensities (75-85% of 173=130-147) are more sustainable and High intensities (85% of 173=147 +) will obviously be for shorter time frames, with recovery periods being allowed between the bouts of exertion.
So on my return, am I possibly now redundant? Please come back to Chocolate Fitness Sessions, if only to hear the officially sexiest accent on the planet!