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by Jim Coughlin I guess not everyone got what I was trying to say in the first part of this newsletter because I received the following email the other day. My response follows it... Jim, Actually, I think you're being too hard on that trainer. A person can exercise at a lower percentage of their VO2 max threshold, for a longer period of time, and find that although their number of calories burned was the same, the percentage of calories burned from fat is much higher, and (perhaps most importantly) the athlete builds an 'aerobic base' through moderate intensity training, enabling them over time to train at higher intensities more comfortably (and probably, then, are more likely to continue in their regimen without feeling like its too hard). 170+ bpm sounds too high. This a very common misconception among aspiring triathletes; they become well-trained anaerobically, due to a strong will and lots of 'hard workouts', but neglect their aerobic base-building which is so critical (just ask any world-champion endurance athlete). Lesly M.
J.C.: Thanks for your email Lesly. However, to be fair, I think I was being too EASY on the trainer. Why? Well, first of all, when Kimberly was working out, she did not ask for his advice. She was simply trying to get a killer workout. Whether the trainer had good advice or not (he didn't), he really didn't have any business giving his two cents UNLESS Kim asked for it. Now, to answer your comments, although I did explain how there's no way Kimberly could lose muscle from doing cardio too intensely...I guess I didn't explain myself thoroughly enough about the fat burning part. My mistake. Yes, you do burn more fat calories if you're working out at a lower percentage of your VO2 max threshold during your workout, but overall, when Kimberly works out intensely, her body will burn even MORE fatty cells and calories at a much greater degree AFTER her cardio session as opposed to doing low-intensity training. Studies have shown that high-intensity training can elevate a person's fat-loss and metabolism as much as 24 to 36 hours after working out. I found this to be true when I train as well. Also, Kim has absolutely no interest in being an 'athlete', 'triathlete' or 'world champion.' She just wants to lose 10 pounds. That's it. And the only way Kim can achieve this is by shocking her body with intense workouts that make her body take notice. Yes, building an 'aerobic base' is important for maintaining one's ideal body weight, but this is EXACTLY the reason why soooo many people struggle to lose weight. They make this their goal from the very beginning of their program and soon after, get into a comfort zone. This leads their body to quickly adapt in the process - equating to NO results and them becoming frustrated. When I run with my clients, I ALWAYS make sure their heart-rate (could be 170 or higher) is as high they can handle or is within their target heart rate. If they become out of breath, we immediately stop, but I still try to push them as hard as possible every second of the way. This is the perfect formula for effective weight loss. They not only burn a ton of calories during the workout but for many hours afterward. Again, as I said in Part 1 of this newsletter, you're not ALWAYS going to train like this. The good news is...you'll never have to eat intensely...unless of course, it's your cheat meal. (hehe : ) Have a great day. Yours in Total Fitness & Maximum Success,
Jim Coughlin P.S. If you want to learn more about how to do cardio effectively, I have a whole section that covers this topic in The In-Home Personal Trainer program I teach - http://www.fitnessandresults.com/tihpt_platinum_gold.php
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