FireFighters workout

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THE FIREFIGHTER'S WORKOUT

Stored body fat is the "gas tank" of the human body, or nature's way of making sure you never run out of fuel. Unfortunately, you can't tuck away this fuel supply in some barely visible corner of the body the way today's car manufactures can hide your vehicle's gas tank.

To meet the metabolic demands of the day, stored body fat along with glucose (sugar), supply us with most of our energy requirements. During aerobic, or cardiovascular exercise, an average person wil burn about seventy percent fat and thirty percent sugar. A very fit individual can tip the scales to as much as eighty percent fat and twenty percent sugar.

To be most effective, and generate the most fat burning, the exercise has to be in the target heart rate zone. So what does this "target heart rate" mean exactly, and how does it apply to YOUR daily walk, jog, or bike ride?

When you exercise and your heart is beating between sixty and ninety percent of its maximum rate, you're training in your target heart rate zone, and burning the greatest percentage of body fat possible. At a pace that's too intense, your heart rate will approach maximum (above 85% to 90%), and ALL FAT BURNING WILL CEASE, as glucose becomes the ONLY source of fuel being used.

Anaerobic exercise, or training that takes place above ninety percent heart rate has its place. Sprinting, or lifting weights is an example of anaerobic exercise that increases strength and endurance, as it builds and tones muscles. But to burn the greatest amount of fat in the shortest period of time, aerobic exercise is has no equal.

Target Heart Rate
To be most effective, you need to maintain this sixty-five to ninety percent of maximum heart rate for 15 to 30 minutes, at least three times per week, during some type aerobic exercise (IE: walking, jogging, bike riding, rowing maching). To estimate your maximum heart rate (MHR), start with the number 220 and subtract your age.


For example, a 40 year old woman would subtract:
220 minus 40 equals 180 beats per minute (BPM)

Calculate 65, and 90 per cent of 180 (108 and 162 BPM). A 40 year old would have to get her heart to beat between 108 and 162 beats every minute to get an aerobic workout.

The higher in the zone she trains (without going over the 90 percent mark) the more fat she'll burn and the faster she'll get fit. At a lower, more gentle pace, she'll still see good results, but just not as fast. For beginners it's not necessary to train at higher than 80 per cent to achieve dramatic results.

Pulse Check
During exercise, you need to stop and do a quick pulse check at either your wrist or neck, count for the beats for ten seconds, then multiply by six. The result will now be in beats per minute (BPM).

To feel for a pulse simply:

Use the index and middle fingers only
Press lightly on the underside of the wrist or side of the neck until you feel the beat
Count for ten seconds and note result

With a little practice this becomes a simple process. You might consider purchasing a heart rate monitor, a useful little gadget that will keep track of your heart rate for you, while you can view the beats per minute on a handy wrist watch.

Unfortunately, not everybody can use the 220 minus your age formula to calculate their maximum heart rates. Some individuals can run as much as 15 BPM above or below this standard. To determine true maximum heart rate (not an estimate), a cetain percentage of the population would have to run at full speed for 20 or 30 seconds and then do a pulse check. This procedure is NOT recommended, especially if you're out of shape. But there is another alternative, the talk test method.

Talk Test Method
Use your breath as an alternative to heart rate to determine if you're in the aerobic zone. This is a convenient method to see if your body is working aerobically, and burning the most fat. Pay attention to how you're breathing and your ability to speak.

At subaerobic levels:
You can breathe comfortably. At this pace you can carry on a full conversation. Your heart rate is probably about half it's maximum or below. Great for long gentle workouts such as walking.

When working aerobically:
You can speak but not extensively -- about three words. A great way too see if you're training aerobically, is to attempt to sing a few words from a familiar song, and see how many syllables you can get out before you need an inbreath. Any more than three words you'd be training sub aerobically.

At anaerobic levels:
You're gasping for air. You can't speak three words without taking an inhalation. Remember, at higher levels of training (above 90 per cent of your maximum heart rate), your muscles switch to sugar as their major source of fuel supply. This kind of training has its place. It will tone and tighten, exactly what we want when resistance training and our aim is to tone up, but when exercising aerobically our goal is to burn fat.



Some common aerobic exercises include, jogging, brisk walking, bicycle riding, swimming and, circuit training (resistance exercises done in a series). Remebember - the exercise you choose to get fit is not as important as monitoring your heart or breathing rate during the activity, and working within your Target Heart Rate Zone for at least 15 to 30 minutes, three times per week for maximum fat burning.




EVERYBODY KNOWS FIREFIGHTER'S HAVE SOME OF THE TOUGHEST WORKOUTS. BUT I JUST LIKE THIS SITE FOR BASIC INFO ON WHAT TO BE DOING FOR CARDIO AND WHAT NOT.