written by John c Ashworth

Last time on Fitness Friday, Leigh Mills and I discussed the concept of EPOC or "exercise post oxygen consumption" or what really means, how and why high intensity exercise is the key to your weight loss success. Because when you workout hard enough your body has to work that much harder later in order to recover. This extra work or "oxygen debt" has to be paid back and when it finally is, you burn more calories post-exercise.  For a more complete explanation, you can read my last fitness friday post on the subject.

In this segment, I want to lay out the specifics of how you increase your exercise intensity, build-up oxygen debt, create your afterburn (the heat), and burn more calories while you sit and sleep.

Your target heart rate

The first thing you have to get right, and that you have to measure, is your heart rate. You want to spend as much time as possible in your high intensity training zone. This zone represents between 85-90% of your maximal heart rate. Your maximal HR represents the absolute fastest rate at which your heart can beat or your Maximal exercise intensity.

Short of performing a maximal exercise test, you can estimate your max heart rate by subtracting 220 from your age. This will get you close, but also remember that this prediction equation does have a standard error of approximately 10-15 beats. You will be able to hone in more closely on your exact number as you practice these techniques.

One really good way to know when you are close to between 85 and 90% of your max heart rate is by measuring your rating of perceived exertion. This is the level you would subjectively rate your exertion level on the rating of perceived exertion scale (pictured here). A high intensity rating lies between 15 and 17. In addition, you will feel significantly out of breath and unable to keep up with the workload for an extended period of time.

So calculate your target heart rate, strap on your heart rate monitor and let's try the following workout so that you can get an idea of what this feels like.

Warmup on the treadmill for 5-10 min and then...

STEP 1. Increase the speed and grade for 3 minutes and get yourself to 75% of your max HR.

Step 2. After 3 minutes, push yourself to the 85% mark for 3-8 minutes depending on how you feel.

Step 3. Recover at a slow walking pace for 3 minutes.

Repeat of you feel up to it.

Step 4. Jump over to the Dumbbells and perform the following movements using these set and rep combinations.

Squats

12/8/8

Star Jumps

12/8/5

Modified Burpees

8/5/3

Each number represents a set and the number of reps u should perform for that set. Perform each move once and move on to the next. You will perform 3 circuits of these movements.

Step 6. Power

Find a rowing machine and follow the interval and intensity guidelines from the treadmill segment of this routine.

The first time you try this, one circuit will likely be enough but as you become more fit, 2-3 rounds of something like this should be possible.

Remember, don't over do it and have fun!

-John