myheartratemonitorwatch.com

Interesting discussion of HIIT vs. longer training

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:15:43 +0000

I thought this might be interesting to a few people. There’s always been a discussion about what’s better for losing weight. HIIT training or longer workouts. Since HIIT is relatively short, you don’t burn as many calories during the workout. However, you do burn them for a while afterwards as your body tries to recover.

But, these calories aren’t as significant as some people might lead you to believe. You’re better off keeping under your red line and go longer. You can maximize your caloric burn if you can go fairly hard, but balanced by longer durations.

http://www.howtoloseweightfastsecret.com/lose-fat-quickly/exercises-for-super-fast-fat-burning-and-muscle-building-brandon-carter/comment-page-1#comment-16783

Can you use a heart rate monitor to improve your conditioning for basketball/

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:07:34 +0000

Here’s an interesting article on conditioning for basketball. For many sports, the idea is to figure out how long you’re in certain zones and then try to mimic your workouts to that time. For example, in soccer you probably spend no more than 15-20 seconds in your red line (over the anaerobic threshold) during a match. So, when you train, you probably want to have some training days during the week where you continuously go into this zone.

Using your heart rate monitor to burn fat

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:01:41 +0000

Here’s a users experience and some of their advice on using their heart rate monitor to burn fat. They don’t specify their heart rate zone, but they do talk about their program.

http://www.weight-loss-center.net/weight-loss-blog/2010/01/target-heart-rate-weight-loss/comment-page-1/#comment-14788

The author has a rather long intense run….If you go this route, I would follow this with a day off or a shorter easy day, keeping your heart rate in the 60-65%. If you want a low cost option for a heart rate monitor, you might want to check out the Polar FS1. It doesn’t have a lot of features, but it can do the job, if all you want to do is stay in a heart rate zone.

Maximize your ability to burn fat as fuel

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:12:49 +0000

Whether your training to lose weight, or you want to go longer in your event, you can see great improvements in your goals by learning to utilize your fat stores for energy.

This article talks about how to use fat as a fuel for your workouts. For distance athletes, this lets them keep valuable carbs in their gas tank for fuel that can be used later, when they enter a more intense training zone.

Of course, for people who want to lose weight, we want the majority of that weight to come from fat. In fact, you want to protect yourself from muscle loss so that you can keep your metabolism running high. If you use fat as your fuel source, you are less likely to get into the situation where you body burns muscle for fuel.

Check out the article…Also, to make this work, you need to know what heart rate zone you are training in. For that, a heart rate monitor watch is an essential piece of equipment. Read about our heart rate monitor reviews and find one that’s right for you and in your budget.

Improve your resting heart rate

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 23:31:59 +0000

Here’s an article that provides some information on how to figure you your resting heart rate. It also gives you some tips on how to lower that rate.

If you’re trying to lower you resting heart rate, I’d also add that you want to make sure that you train in a moderate and a low heart rate zone. This will improve the size and the capacity of the heart.

http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/01/12/tips-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-accurately/comment-page-1/#comment-93

Confused by how to up your running milage?

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:39:23 +0000

A frustrating problem for a lot of new runners is they want to up their milage, but they risk injury or actually decreasing their performance. Here’s a blog where a fellow talks about increasing his mileage and there’s a couple of good answers and suggestions as to how to go about that safely.

Aerobic exercise makes your brain function better

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:28:59 +0000

It appears that science is finally catching on that exercise effects every part of our bodies…including our brains. Now many of us already know that based upon our own personal experience with exercise, that we tend to feel better in body, mind and soul. But, now there is proof.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life/health-fitness/health/Exercise-may-help-stave-off-mental-decline/articleshow/5436052.cms

It appears that exercising between 75-85% of your heart rate reserve will produce better cognitive function.

Getting started with a running program?

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:39:01 +0000

This author provide some tips for those people who are brand new to running.

http://www.classesandjobs.com/runners-training-guide-3/comment-page-1/#comment-98317

A jogging program for fat loss

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:07:41 +0000

I came across a question on a blog recently and the person wanted to know more about how to lose fat while running. Apparently, they had tried high intensity interval training, one of the things that many trainers talk about these days for fat loss, and they had no luck with it.

So, I gave them some advice, but wanted to provide a little more detail here. Here was my response:

http://fat-smash-diet.net/2010/01/could-someone-give-me-a-good-beginning-jogging-workout-to-lose-fat/#comment-27707

HIIT for maximum weight loss. It’s based on a little misunderstood study into exercise post oxygen consumption. The theory is that you’ll burn calories for up to 36 hours after your workout…Which is true to an extent, but what later studies show is that the calories you burn post exercise due to HIIT are not that big of a deal.

To start a weight loss running program, you need to burn calories. The best way to do this is to alternate between harder days and easier days. I go into this a bit more on my blog, but the idea is to try and stay a bit under your anaerobic threshold on your hard days. On your easy days, you go real easy, but for longer periods of time. You’ll want a heart monitor to help you with this, or you are unlikely to train in the right zone.

In short, you want to burn calories and you want to maximize the calories that you burn. If you run at a pace that is under your about 85% of your max heart rate, you should theoretically be able to rid the lactate from your body and continue to run for a longer period of time. This isn’t exact with everyone, but you can adjust your pace accordingly, if you find you cannot run around that level for long periods of time.

However, you don’t want to run at that level to maximize weight loss, because you want to be able to go a little longer than you can at that higher level of intensity. Instead, you want to be under that level, so for most people, 80% of your max heart rate is probably a good starting point.

At around 80% of your max heart rate, you’re running hard and burning calories, but you’re not running so hard that you can’t continue for very long. At this heart rate, try and go for around 30 minutes. If you’re not ready to, build up to it by adding time each week.

Now, one mistake that many people make is to think that more of something good will produce even better results. It doesn’t work that way. If you overtrain, you’re going to have problems and may not be able to continue your running program. And, over training will actually impede your ability to lose weight.

Instead, follow up your hard day (the one you ran at 80%) with a long slow day. Go at around 60-65% of your max heart rate. This will clear the lactic acid from your muscles and help you get set for your run the following day. And, this long slow day will help you burn calories, but probably not quite as many as your hard day.

Most people will find this type of program more beneficial than a HIIT only program. If you want to throw in some HIIT for conditioning or because you think it will help your weight loss, add it to your program and have a seperate hit day, or maybe even 2 during the week.

What to wear to spin class?

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:32:24 +0000

Ok, this one is more for the ladies, but it’s got some good advice on not only how to look good, but how to dress functionally for your spin class.

http://cycleandstyle.com/2010/01/spin-class-tips-on-what-to-wear/

I like what they say about the clip on shoes. It makes your workout so much better and works muscles on the pulling portion of your stroke. Also, they made an interesting comment about having an instructor lead the spin class with a heart rate monitor so that they could tell he students what heart rate to go in during the course of the workout. I like that idea.