TRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPSTRAINING TIPS

THE BASICSQ: WHY IS MY HEART RATE SO IMPORTANT WHEN TRAINING?

Q: HOW DO I CALULATE MY HEART RATE ZONES?

Mark is a qualifi ed Physical Education teacher and has represented Great Britain at the World Triathlon Championships three times!

By Mark Yeoman (Bsc)

1

If you want to lose weight by burning off more calories and fat, your heart rate (number of Beats Per Minute - BPM) will

be different to your Heart Rate (HR) than if you want to increase your aerobic capacity and stamina.

Most gym bikes, running machine and steppers have heart rate sensors built into them to which you hold to gather a

reading, so don’t worry if you don’t poses a heart rate monitor. If you know what your heart rate should be for either fat

burning or cardio vascular endurance, then you can increase or decrease your effort to ensure you are working in the

correct heart rate zone for optimum benefi t.

If you want to lose fat, then you should keep your heart rate around 50 - 55% of your Working Heart Rate (WHR). If

you want to improve your stamina, then you should keep your heart rate around 60 - 65% of your WHR.

Firstly you need to fi nd out your Resting Heart Rate (RHR). Before you get out of bed, count the number of times your

heart beats for 30 seconds and then times it by two. Repeat this three times to ensure you calculated correctly. This is

your Resting Heart Rate (RHR).The average resting heart rate is about 60 – 70 BPM)

The basic formula can be calculated by:

• 220 – your age = ‘X’ known as your Maximum Heart Rate, (MHR)

• MHR ‘X’ – your Resting Heart Rate (RHR) = ‘Y’

• Y ÷ 100 = Z

• Z x 50 + RHR = number of beats per minute for the fat burning zone

• Z x 60 + RHR = number of beats per minute for the cardio vascular endurance zone

And you thought that you fi nished maths once you left school!

2

Q: WHY SHOULD I WARM UP BEFORE EXERCISE?

Q: HOW DO I WARM UP BEFORE I EXERCISE?

There are both physiological and psychological benefi ts to warming up before you exercise. The FOUR main physical

reasons why you should warm up before you exercise are:

1. Jogging or cycling will raise the temperature of the muscles, this in turn,

2. Reduces the chances of an injury to your muscles, tendons, ligaments or joints because they become more

fl exible due to the increase in temperature.

3. By raising your heart rate, you increase the blood fl ow around your body which vitally carries oxygen to the

desired muscles so that they are ready to exercise.

4. This in turn ensures that you begin to work aerobically (with oxygen) rather then anaerobically (without oxygen).

Not enough oxygen in the body will produce lactic acid which starves the muscles of oxygen and makes them

feel heavy, causing you to stop – which we don’t want.

A warm up is broken into TWO simple areas, the warm up and the stretching.

WARM UP

STRETCHING

You should be looking to warm up for between 5 to 10 minutes before you start to exercise. This can be done on the

running machine, stationary bike, swimming pool, rowing machine or stepper. Each piece of equipment should be set to

a low resistance level, for example:

• RUNNING MACHINE: speed - 6 to 10kph on 0.5 % incline

• STATIONARY BIKE: resistance 5 – 7 with cadence around 80 rpm

• ROWING MACHINE: resistance 3 - 5

• STEPPER: resistance 6 – 8

• SWIMMING: 100 – 200m any stroke you prefer

Once you have warmed up, you should then stretch the muscles which you will be using during your main session.

• You need to hold each stretch for between 15 – 30 seconds to ensure that the stretch reaches the muscle belly

(the middle).

• Repeat each stretch twice on both sides to make sure that the body is fully ready for exercise.

3

The MAIN stretches which you will need are as follows:

1. GASTROCNEMIUS (calf): Take a step forward and ensure that both feet are pointing forwards. Bend both knees keeping the heels fi rmly attached to the fl oor. You should feel the back calf stretch.

2. QUADRICEPS (thigh): Stand with your left side to a wall, so you can hold it for balance, and take your right ankle

in your right hand ensuring that both knees are closely together. Stay up-right and avoid bending forward as this

reduces the stretch.

3. HAMSTRINGS (back of upper leg): Place your left leg straight in front and bend both your right knee and

waist placing both hands on your bent knee whilst looking forward. By pushing back you will increase the stretch.

4. DELTOIDS (shoulders): Place your left arm across your chest parallel to the ground whilst keeping it straight.

With your right arm, pull your left arm tight in towards your body.

5. PECTORALS (chest): Clasp you hands behind your back and raise them whilst keeping your arms straight. Stay

up-right and avoid bending forward as this reduces the stretch.

6. BICEPS: At shoulder height, place your hand against the wall whilst keeping your arm straight. Then turn the body away until you feel the stretch in your arm.

7. TRICEPS: Bend your left arm behind your head. Place your right hand on your left elbow and apply pressure to

push your hand down your back.

8. LATIMUSS DORSI (back): Straighten your arms out in front parallel to the ground and with your left hand clasp

the back of your right hand. Push out as far as you can, trying to curve your back. By pushing the right shoulder out

further you will deepen the stretch on that side.

If you require any further stretches, please seek the advice of a personal trainer or fi tness professional.

Q: WHY DO I NEED TO DO A COOL DOWN AFTER EXERCISE? AND HOW SHOULD I DO IT?

Once you have exercised, you need to return your body back to its pre-exercise state by cooling down. The reasons for

this are as follows:

1. It avoids blood pooling. When you stop exercising, you leave blood remaining in the working muscles, which means

that there is less blood returning back to the brain - hence the tendency to feel faint or dizzy straight after exercise.

2. It avoids DOMS. This stands for Delayed Onset of Muscular Soreness which is when the muscle fi bres have been

torn during exercise. This is normally felt 24 hours after exercise.

3. Aids the removal of lactic acid. This waste product along with carbon dioxide will be removed by fl ushing out the

used deoxygenated blood hanging around in the muscles with new, fresh oxygenated blood.

4. Slowly reduces the heart rate back towards its resting heart rate (RHR), which lowers blood pressure gradually.

Your cool down should follow the same format as your warm up with a light 5 – 10 minute jog, cycle etc followed by long

gentle stretching of the muscles which you stressed during the exercise session.

4

Q: IS IT IMPORTANT WHAT I EAT BEFORE AND AFTER I EXERCISE?

If you don’t fi ll your car up with petrol, it won’t go. This is the same for your body. What you eat and drink in the 24 hours

prior to exercise will dictate whether your body can perform to its potential.

WATERYou need to be drinking around 1.5 to 2 litres of water a day depending on your job load, work conditions and size. Tea,

coffee, smoothies, juice and soft drinks don’t count. Dehydration by 3% will have a 30% affect on aerobic performance.

Remember this - if you’re thirsty, then it’s too late!

TOP TIP: Keep a 1.5 litre bottle with you all day and slowly sip through it, this way you can monitor your fl uid intake.

BEFORE EXERCISE

AFTER EXERCISE

Avoid eating a large meal 2 hours before exercise. When you exercise, blood moves from less vital organs such as your

digestive system towards the working muscles which need it most. The lack of blood in your digestive system causes the

smooth muscle to tighten up around the food still inside – this pressure may cause discomfort which you know as a stitch!

Stick to lighter foods which are easy to eat, such as salads, cereals and bananas.

Carbohydrates are your bodies’ main fuel source. They are either Simple or Complex.

• Simple carbohydrates release energy quickly into your system and these can be found in sugary products like

sweets and jam. These are good for a quick boost, but poor for stamina.

• Complex carbohydrates are designed for slow burning and can be found in potatoes, pasta, rice and bread. These

are excellent for stamina, however, if you eat too much then your body will store it as fat so try to limit your intake.

Ideally, you should have a balanced diet of a combination of complex and simple carbohydrates with protein, vitamins,

minerals and fi bre. Protein in your meal prior to exercise aids the bodies’ ability to absorb carbohydrates for exercise. The

desired ratio is 4:1, 4 parts carbohydrates to 1 part protein.

You need to ensure that you eat within the fi rst hour after exercise. Eating a low fat, high protein and carbohydrate meal

will have numerous physiological benefi ts to your body:

1. This is when the body is most receptive to replenishing its depleted energy stores.

2. This in turn speeds up the body’s recovery process allowing it to return back to its pre-exercise state.

3. Protein helps to repair damaged muscle fi bres as a result of the demands placed upon it.

4. Drinking about 750ml post-exercise helps to replace the lost fl uids which you sweat out during exercise. Sweat

carries vital salts - known as electrolytes - such as sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Loss of salts is

the actual cause of cramping and not the misconception that it is lactic acid.

5

Q: SHOULD I WATCH WHAT AND HOW MUCH I EAT?

In a word ‘YES’. As mentioned before, if you don’t eat and drink enough before exercise, your body will fail to perform to

its optimum capacity due to lack of fl uid and fuel to meet the demands placed upon it. The basic daily requirement for fat,

calories and salt can be seen below. Naturally, if you are exercising heavily, you will require more energy in your diet.

• Weight loss is a fairly simple process on the whole. If you exercise regularly and make sure that you are consuming

less calories in your diet than you are burning off, your body will use fat stored in the body to meet the demands and

as a result you will slowly lose weight in a healthy, controlled way.

• However, if you consume more calories than you require, then the body will store the excess calories as fat. It takes

around 30 minutes of exercise to burn of 1 gram of fat.

• Burning fat takes time, you need to sustain low intensity exercise (50 – 55% Working Heart Rate) for prolonged

periods of time - 30 minutes plus. You can still burn fat doing high intensity work, but not as much.

FAT CALORIES SALT

FEMALE 70g 2000 5g