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thingstodo · 01-21-2006, 07:21 AM

If you read through the Lifetime Fitness instructions and chart to find your AT, you'll see that you may have a higher AT than the age calculation. For example, my AT is usually 160 (it can change based on sleep and other things from the past day or so). By the chart it would be 130 since I am 50. the point is that the math only system doesn't account for individual fitness levels and is just a starting point. Also note...if yo work out and are panting the whole time, at some point you will run out of carbs for fuel. That's the point where your body will draw from muscles for fuel. Kind of counter-productive!

Just try this...start out on a machine and slowly work up intensity for about 10 minutes, watching your heart monitor and increasing your rate about 10 bpm or so every minute. YOu'll get to a point where you have trouble breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. You'll actually have a dropped jaw, you'll be mentally focused and you will feel a little burn in your legs. You are at your AT at that point. From there you can use the chart to ID your zones.

You are using equal amounts of fat & sugar between your AT and 10 bpm or so below your AT and mostly sugar above that. It's good to work above some because that is how you improve your heart fitness and grdually raise your AT. I try to get one hi-intensity workout each week, spending perhaps 10-15 total minutes above my AT during a 60 minute workout. Working below trains your body to do a better job of processing fat for fuel, even when you go above during training intervals. However, it takes several months to really build that fat burning base. You can almost think of it as if you are building conditioning for a sport so you can next work on the skills of the sport, with working above your AT the skills portion. Jordan couldn't do the things he did if he didn't build a base.

Working in zone three will not require that you pant for air...that's a zone four or five function. You should be able to breathe in through your nose and out your mouth on a regular pattern. Your goal here isn't so much to burn calories as it is to burn fat and train your body to do so. Obviously calories will be used if your are using fat. Sounds like from above you are doing that part right. It's also good to push up to zone five for 15-30 seconds during the last few minutes as it gives you a residual benefit for 10-20 minutes after you are done.

As far as the circuit, I think two trips around are fine. 10-15 reps with the last 2-3 at the failure point is good. If you are doing enough movements that should tak eyou about 45 minutes. I personally feel cardio is better after you lift. I try do do 30 minutes on lift days and an hour or more on non-lift days. So lifting, cardio and stretching would take you about 1.5 hours or so with just a lift and stretch an hour.

Key movements:

flat bench
incline bench
chest flys
pull over
seated row
bicep curl
tricep push
shoulder press
lateral shoulder press
leg curl
leg extension
leg press

You can add more to those as time goes on (these are just a basic guide), or to get more specific results as you begin to develop. Then you can decide to move to free wieghts as you understand the proper techniques.

One last thing: listen to your body. It will tell you a lot!

Good luck!!

01-21-2006, 07:21 AM	#11 (permalink)
thingstodo A Storm Is Coming Location: The Great White North	If you read through the Lifetime Fitness instructions and chart to find your AT, you'll see that you may have a higher AT than the age calculation. For example, my AT is usually 160 (it can change based on sleep and other things from the past day or so). By the chart it would be 130 since I am 50. the point is that the math only system doesn't account for individual fitness levels and is just a starting point. Also note...if yo work out and are panting the whole time, at some point you will run out of carbs for fuel. That's the point where your body will draw from muscles for fuel. Kind of counter-productive! Just try this...start out on a machine and slowly work up intensity for about 10 minutes, watching your heart monitor and increasing your rate about 10 bpm or so every minute. YOu'll get to a point where you have trouble breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. You'll actually have a dropped jaw, you'll be mentally focused and you will feel a little burn in your legs. You are at your AT at that point. From there you can use the chart to ID your zones. You are using equal amounts of fat & sugar between your AT and 10 bpm or so below your AT and mostly sugar above that. It's good to work above some because that is how you improve your heart fitness and grdually raise your AT. I try to get one hi-intensity workout each week, spending perhaps 10-15 total minutes above my AT during a 60 minute workout. Working below trains your body to do a better job of processing fat for fuel, even when you go above during training intervals. However, it takes several months to really build that fat burning base. You can almost think of it as if you are building conditioning for a sport so you can next work on the skills of the sport, with working above your AT the skills portion. Jordan couldn't do the things he did if he didn't build a base. Working in zone three will not require that you pant for air...that's a zone four or five function. You should be able to breathe in through your nose and out your mouth on a regular pattern. Your goal here isn't so much to burn calories as it is to burn fat and train your body to do so. Obviously calories will be used if your are using fat. Sounds like from above you are doing that part right. It's also good to push up to zone five for 15-30 seconds during the last few minutes as it gives you a residual benefit for 10-20 minutes after you are done. As far as the circuit, I think two trips around are fine. 10-15 reps with the last 2-3 at the failure point is good. If you are doing enough movements that should tak eyou about 45 minutes. I personally feel cardio is better after you lift. I try do do 30 minutes on lift days and an hour or more on non-lift days. So lifting, cardio and stretching would take you about 1.5 hours or so with just a lift and stretch an hour. Key movements: flat bench incline bench chest flys pull over seated row bicep curl tricep push shoulder press lateral shoulder press leg curl leg extension leg press You can add more to those as time goes on (these are just a basic guide), or to get more specific results as you begin to develop. Then you can decide to move to free wieghts as you understand the proper techniques. One last thing: listen to your body. It will tell you a lot! Good luck!! __________________ If you're wringing your hands you can't roll up your shirt sleeves. Stangers have the best candy. Last edited by thingstodo; 01-21-2006 at 07:28 AM..