Getting Back to the Basics - Understanding the Fundamental Elements of a Health & Fitness Plan

Regardless of a person's experience, ability, or end goal, I firmly believe that every health and fitness plan should incorporate each of the following elements; aerobic training (cardio), anaerobic training (strength training), nutrition, and lifestyle.

• Aerobic Training (cardio): Aerobic training is the type of exercise that overloads the heart and lungs and causes them to work harder than at rest. It is further defined as any activity that uses large muscle groups, can be maintained continuously, and is rhythmic in nature.  Examples include running, cycling, swimming, jumping rope, etc. This type of exercise has many health benefits which include:
• improved cardiovascular function
• lowered blood pressure
• decreased LDL (bad cholesterol) and increased HDL (good cholesterol)
• reduced body fat and improved weight control
• improved glucose tolerance and reduced insulin resistance 

• Anaerobic Training (strength training): In contrast to aerobic exercise, anaerobic exercise involves short bursts of exertion followed by periods of rest. Examples of this type of activity include pushups, pull-ups, planks, leg-lifts, squats, lunges, etc. This type of activity also has many health benefits which include:
• improved muscular strength
• increased metabolism (bigger muscles burn more calories)
• injury prevention

• Nutrition: Nutrition is defined as the sum of the processes by which people take in and use food substances. In order to properly utilize nutrition, a person should develop a solid understanding of their metabolism, the major macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fat), and how the digestion and absorption of nutrients works.  A proper nutrition strategy has the ability to:
• improve health
• favorably alter body composition
• reduce the risk of disease and illness
• increase energy levels
• improve athletic performance

• Lifestyle: Living a healthy lifestyle means doing what you can to keep your body and mind in optimal shape. This involves making wise choices in your daily diet (nutrition), performing the right amount of physical activity (aerobic and anaerobic training), coping well with stress, and controlling your weight. The end results will leave you feeling your best, looking your best, and living your best!

If you're ready to begin a new health and fitness program, or if you feel that your existing program could use some fine-tuning, I strongly suggest that you contact a health and fitness professional.  This person will work with you to assess your current level of fitness and put an appropriate plan in place to help you achieve your goals!

During Training, Does Your Heart Rate Effort Match Your Goals?

Heart-rate training indicates if your aerobic activity is too easy, just right or too exhaustive an effort to keep pace with your training goals. Heart-rate training benefits everyone, from the beginning exerciser trying to lose weight or improve their cardiovascular fitness, to the highly conditioned athlete preparing for their next competition. The key to making progress is to increase (or occasionally decrease) your heart rate into the correct training zone, so your effort matches your goals.

Here are seven easy-to-follow steps that will help you calculate your ideal heart-rate training zone.

1. Calculate your maximum heart rate
:

The easiest way to do this is a simple paper-and-pencil calculation. Subtract your age from 220. The result is an age-predicted maximum beats per minute.

** This method does not take into account your fitness level or inherited genes, which can make your true maximum heart rate 10 to 20 beats per minute higher or lower than the age-predicted number.

2. Determine your resting heart rate:

Take your pulse before you get out of bed in the morning.

Grab a watch and find your pulse. You can locate your pulse either in your radial artery on your wrist or at your carotid artery in your neck. Choose the spot that works best for you.  The only trick to measuring your heart rate is that you must use the correct fingers to do the measuring. Your thumb has a light pulse and can create some confusion when you are counting your beats. It's best to use your index finger and middle finger together.  After you find the beat, you need to count how many beats occur within 60 seconds. The shortcut to this method is to count the number of beats in 30 seconds, and then to multiply that number by 2. This method gives you a 60-second count.  Example: You count 23 beats in 30 seconds: 23 x 2 = 46 beats per minute. Do this for several days in a row to ensure you get consistent readings.

** In general, the lower your resting heart rate, the more physically fit you are.  Some athletes have resting heart rates in the 40s. One way to see if your new workout is succeeding is to check your resting heart rate over a few months. See if it has increased, decreased, or remained the same.

3. Calculate your heart-rate reserve:

Subtract your heart's resting rate from your maximum rate.

For example, if you are 36 years old, subtract that number from 220; your maximum rate is 184. Next, subtract your resting heart rate, 46 (in this example.) Your heart-rate reserve is 138 beats per minute.  This heart-rate reserve represents the cushion heartbeats available for exercise, or the difference between your maximum heart rate and your resting heart rate.

4. Calculate your aerobic training heart-rate range for fat burning
:

This fat-burning range will lie between 50% and 75% of your heart-rate reserve.

Using the example above, 50% of 138 beats per minute is 69. And 75% of 138 is 104. Next, add your resting heart rate to both numbers: 69 + 46 = 115 and 104 + 46 = 150. Your heart rate during aerobic training that will most efficiently burn fat is 115 to 150 beats per minute.

5. Calculate your aerobic training heart rate for fitness
:

The range required to improve aerobic endurance is higher than that needed for fat burning, between 75% and 85% of your heart-rate reserve.

Again using the previous example, 75% of the heart-rate reserve of 138 is 104, and 85% is 117.
Re-add your resting heart rate to both numbers:  104 + 46 = 150 and 117 + 46 = 163.  To improve your aerobic endurance, you need to aim for between 150 and 163 heartbeats per minute.

6. Calculate your aerobic-anaerobic threshold heart-rate range:


This range represents the upper limits of aerobic exercise, the point just before you push yourself into exhaustive anaerobic work. Exercising at this intensity is usually done to improve athletic performance.

The range to accomplish this task lies between 85% and 90% of your heart-rate reserve. Again, using the example of a person with a heart-rate reserve of 138 and following the same math process as in previous steps: your aerobic-anaerobic threshold would be 163 to 170 beats per minute.

** Be advised that operating at this intensity level will not burn body fat.

7. Calculate your anaerobic training heart-rate range
:

This is all-out effort and represents 90% to 100% of the cushion of your heart-rate reserve. The goal here is to go as fast as you can for as long as you can.

Using the same example, anything from 170 beats per minute to your maximum of 184 beats per minute becomes pure anaerobic training.


Via: NASM and Active.com