No, reading isn’t really fattening, but at least I got your attention. If you are serious about fat loss, put the magazine down while you exercise.

To optimize fat burning during a cardiovascular workout, you must exercise at high intensity. If you can catch up on Brad and Jen’s relationship while working out, you’re not doing it hard enough!

To maximize calorie and fat utilization and be able to maintain it for a decent amount of time, you should exercise at approximately 75% of your maximum heart rate (MHR). To determine your HRM, subtract your age from 220. Take 75% of this and this should be your approximate heart rate, in beats per minute, while doing your cardiovascular exercise. You may not be able to continue reading a magazine or book if you maintain this level of intensity.

If you don’t have the resources to measure your heart rate, there are some simpler methods to approximate your intensity level during exercise:

RPE (rating of perceived exertion): on a scale of 1 to 10 (called the modified Borg scale), where 3 is “moderately difficult” and 7 is “very difficult” (10 would be “make him stop now or I’m going to do damage “), 75% would equate to a 5-6, or” hard. ”

Conversation test: If you are walking or jogging outside with a friend, an estimate of the appropriate intensity level would mean that you can carry on a conversation with your partner, but you should … have to stop about … every five to six words … to catch my breath. If you can recite the entire Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, you have to go faster or find a hill to climb.

Ideally, you should spend a minimum of 30 minutes, a minimum of 3 times a week, doing cardio / aerobic exercise at this intensity. However, keep in mind that these guidelines do not take into account 12 hour shifts and 3 children who need to go to 5 different places after school. Don’t feel that if you can’t do the minimum recommended time, you shouldn’t do it at all. Something is better than nothing, so 2 times a week, or 15-20 minutes, will still benefit you.

Important rules:

The suggested amount of time corresponds to your target heart rate. You should spend 3 to 5 minutes warming up (at a lower intensity level to warm up your body) and at least 5 minutes cooling down; decreasing the intensity level until your heart rate drops to approximately 100 beats per minute.

If you are just starting an exercise program, or have only done it for a short time, you MUST start slowly. For the first few weeks to a month, don’t even worry about trying to hit a specific heart rate. Go slowly at a pace that you are comfortable with. Gradually increase intensity by increasing speed or resistance (walking uphill). Don’t feel that if you are not working in the 75% range, you are not doing any good. Remember that this target zone is for maximum calorie burn and that even at a lower intensity, you are still burning calories. Work for it! You will feel better exercising for 30 minutes at 4 on the RPE scale than for 5 minutes at 7.

IGNORE THE TABLES

Some cardio equipment has graphs or even flashing lights that show you if you are in the “fat burning zone” or the “cardio zone” based on your heart rate. These zones are misleading. The thinking behind them is this:

Every calorie used to maintain a function comes from the “burning” of carbohydrates and fat. Your body ALWAYS uses a combination of fat, carbohydrates, and protein for energy; So let that quickly dispel the old myth that “you need to exercise at least 20 minutes to burn fat.” (That was going to be my next article). As the intensity of an activity increases, the percentage of carbohydrate fat use per calorie shifts in favor of burning more carbohydrates. Therefore, if you exercise at a lower intensity, you will burn a higher percentage of fat than if you exercise at a higher intensity. WAIT !!! Although you burn a higher percentage of fat, if you exercise at a higher intensity, you will burn a greater amount of total calories which will result in a greater TOTAL amount of fat burned.

Not only are you burning more total fat than at a lower intensity, the only true way to lose excess fat is by expending more calories than you consume. A pound of fat has about 3,500 calories. So if you were to expend 500 calories a day more than the number of calories you eat, you would lose half a pound a week.

So those graphics and zones on the gear tell you to stay at an intensity level lower than where you should be.

Whatever your goals, it’s important to get up and move. The American College of Sports Medicine and the Surgeon General suggest that people should get 30 minutes of some form of physical activity every day of the week.

But if you’re serious about fat-loss exercise in particular, put the magazine down and keep up!