Cardio Coach Levels/Recovery Question

[Miss Lee]

There have been 2 major turning points in my fitness journey; finding Cardio Coach was the first, followed by the timely death of my HRM battery.

I was making steady progress with the CC workouts but I never really took off until that damn HRM pooped out on me. I swear it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I became a slave to the numbers, and unlike some people who can use perceived exertion while using an HRM, I was never able to do that.

Since I've switched to PE as the sole method for guaging my effort, I've noticed a substantial improvement in my endurance, as well as my speed and resistance levels. And I now know the joy of endorphasms . I'm telling you, workouts are a whole lot more fun when you have THAT to look forward to!

 

[cheval]

Just wanted to join in with a couple comments here.

First off, about the HR not dropping during the recovery in the challenges. There's one of the volumes where Coach Sean says something to the effect of "if you're doing this right, your heart rate will stay in the orange zone even during the recovery stages." I've been able to achieve that very thing. I stay on the upper end of the orange zone in HR during the challenge (let's say sprinting) and then drop to the lower end of the orange zone while walking or speed walking during the recovery.

Second about HR zones...everybody's different. The calculators on the web might work for you, might not. Best thing to do is get tested for your HR zones. At the least find your own max HR (by exercise, not by 220-age) and then use the Karvonen theory to find your levels.

And third, about fat burning zones, I found that even at a relatively high HR (160 - 169), I'm still burning 33% of my calories as fat. My trainer says that's unusual, but not unheard of.

I went to my local YMCA and paid $65 for my test. Well worth the money. My trainer then gave me a workout schedule for 12 weeks to train my body to burn even more fat at my higher HR. That way I can burn fat and lots of calories in the same workout. The training schedule is cardio 3 days a week. Some interval, some steady state.

Of course, I promptly break my ankle 5 days after my test. So I haven't had a chance to do the workouts and find out if they really make a difference.

I digress. At any rate, if you can get tested, you might be surprised what you find out. Some universities will test for free. I just went to my Y because it was convenient.

By using my HR zones, I'm learning how to measure my perceived exertion. For me, when I didn't workout with a HRM, I went all out all the time and hated exercising. Couldn't get all the way through Step Blast. When I began using my HRM, I was able to pace myself and make it all the way through. Then began my obsession with home exercise and led to my current collection of DVDs and equipment.

Not saying that others should use the HRM, only that they still are helpful for some people (like me). And became more helpful with testing to find out my own levels.

I must say, I miss Coach Sean these days!

April