I know that some of us ladies are complaining about not losing weight and I offer the following as a possible reason.
Please be forewarned!
1) I am not an exercise physiologist and much of what follows is what I have read and believe to be true, but I have had no formal training on the subject. However, I did read it on the internet so it must be true, right?! (and I've stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.)
2) I might be boring as "all get out" and this may be way TMI. Sorry if it is.
One persistent myth about exercising to lose weight is that low-intensity exercise--working at less than 55 percent of your maximum heart rate (MHR)--is the best way to burn fat. While your body is burning a greater percentage of calories from fat when your heart rate is lower,
the overall number of calories you expend during a workout is what counts. So, for example, exercising for 30 minutes at 50-60% MHR generally consumes about 220 calories during a 30 minute workout. If you exercise for 30 minutes at 75% MhR, ~330 calories are burned. At the lower heart rate, 50% of 220 calories are fat (110 calories) and at the higher heart rate, 33% of 330 calories (110 calories) are fat. Same fat amount, right? But more calories. AND a study in the journal Metabolism-Clinical and Experimental suggests post-workout calorie burn through increased metabolism lasts
three times longer (up to 10 1/2 hours!) for those who work out at 75 percent of their maximum heart rate than for those who coast at 50 percent.
To get a better idea of your actual maximum heart rate, the researchers now recommend the following formulas: (Males: 214-(0.8*age); Females: 209-(0.7*age).
I am 54 (yes, I know it's hard to believe, but true!). So by the above formula my max heart rate is 172.
The next step is to determine the training zones. It's not quite as simple as just taking a percent of your MHR. You calculate the zones are by taking into consideration your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)
and your Resting Heart Rate (RHR).
These training zones are calcuted with the following formula:
Subtract your resting heart rate (RHR) from your maximum heart rate (MHR) giving your working heart rate (WHR)
Calculate the desired zone as a percent of the WHR giving "Z"
Add "Z" and your RHR together to get the final zone value.
Example: My max heart rate is 172 and my resting heart rate is 60. So to determine the 75% value:
WHR= MHR - RHR = 172 - 60 = 112
Z= 75% of 112 = 84
Target HR = Z + RHR = 84 + 60 = 144 bpm
Better yet, get a program to calculate the heart rates in the different zones for you.
If you're not bored and/or confused read on to learn about training zones. If you are bored and/or confused, I'm sorry. I just can't help myself, sometimes.
The Energy Efficient or Recovery Zone - 60% to 70%Training within this zone develops basic endurance and aerobic capacity. All easy recovery running should be completed at a maximum of 70%. Another advantage to running in this zone is that while you are happily fat burning you may lose weight and you will be allowing your muscles to re-energise with glycogen, which has been expended during those faster paced workouts.
The Aerobic Zone - 70% to 80%Training in this zone will develop your cardiovascular system. The body's ability to transport oxygen to, and carbon dioxide away from, the working muscles can be developed and improved. As you become fitter and stronger from training in this zone it will be possible to run some of your long weekend runs at up to 75%, so getting the benefits of some fat burning and improved aerobic capacity, and the benefit of a more sustained increase in metabolism.
The Anaerobic Zone - 80% to 90%Training in this zone will develop your lactic acid system. In this zone, your individual anaerobic threshold is found - sometimes referred to the point of deflection (POD). During these heart rates, the amount of fat being utilised as the main source of energy is greatly reduced and glycogen stored in the muscle is predominantly used. One of the by-products of burning this glycogen is lactic acid. There is a point at which the body can no longer remove the lactic acid from the working muscles quickly enough. This is your anaerobic threshold or POD. Through the correct training, it is possible to delay the POD by being able to increase your ability to deal with the lactic acid for a longer period of time or by pushing the POD higher.
The Red Line Zone 90% to 100%Training in this zone will only be possible for short periods. It effectively trains your fast twitch muscle fibres and helps to develop speed. Only the very fit are able to train effectively within this zone, and only for short intervals.
For those of you who are still with me, here's some REALLY GOOD news for women:
In studying interval training, researchers found that women who interspersed intervals in their workout, where they would get their heart rate into the aerobic zone, lost
3 times more weight as other women who exercised regularly at a continuous pace for 40 minutes. The women in the study were said to have lost weight mainly from their legs and buttocks.
Burn, baby, burn!So now we know the method in Mark's madness. Ten weeks of muscle building through low impact walking. Now start some running intervals, get the heart rate up, and you'll start to see the weight loss if you're not overeating. That's why it takes three months!
I try to get my heart rate into the aerobic zone for at least 20 minutes a day (except of course, Fridays.) Since I have been doing that, I have seen the scales start to go down at a more rapid pace than they did in the first 8-9 weeks of training.
