HeartFit Challenge
I’m a retired “cardio-queen”….
You see, being a fitness enthusiast in the early-90’s meant aerobics classes, cardio-kickboxing and stepping at a super fast BPM in a pool of sweat.
And I loved it.
So much so that I wanted to teach it.
That was the beginning of my crazy cardio years and the love affair with a high calorie-burn and the echoing “woohoos” in a group class.
If you know… you know!
Until one day…
While teaching my BodyAttack class (if you don’t know what that is just think of one hour of jumping, running, burpees, tuckjumps, plyometric lunges, sprinkled in with 5 minutes of push-ups) I had this thought … “I don’t need to be doing this to my body… this can’t be good for it… this is too much.. why am I doing this in my 40’s ??”
And so, I stopped teaching that class, even though my participants were saddened by the news. I stuck to my feels… I needed to pull back if I wanted to continue to lead and pursue my own fitness while ageing.
At that point, I sat firmly on the “anti-cardio” side of the fence, mostly because I would see so many of my participants (females of course) participate in double cardio classes and then hop on a treadmill afterwards. Of course, they thought that the more calories they “torched” meant better fitness and along side that, weight loss (the ultimate pursuit for many then… probably now too)
They didn’t quite get the “law of diminishing returns”. Basically the more you do… the LESS the benefit. Especially with our bodies and our hormonal response to training (aka cortisol spike)
But I digress.
Fast forward to now.
Cardio is back in my life. My old-flame rekindled ;)
I am now pursuing a renewed appreciation for cardio and the incredible benefits especially on our aging bodies.
This time, however is different because of the dose and the research that has emerged especially when it comes to longevity.
Currently, I train HIIT ( treadmill sprints) about once a week and Zone 2 cardio about 2x/week.
Here’s what it is and why I do it… regularly.
HIIT (pure HIIT btw… like 15min not a one hour “tabata class” idea) is known to benefit our cardiovascular system with improved metabolic health, joint stability, hormonal regulation, blood sugar regulation, cognition and yes, even anxiety and depression.
A small dose goes a long way here and it’s definitely worth the “struggle”!
Zone 2 Cardio is now becoming increasingly popular as it is shown to be one of the best ways to improve our cardiovascular fitness and healthspan.
Lifespan is how long we live.
Healthspan is the quality of those years.
Big difference, right?
Basically, this type of cardio is “comfortable-ish cardio”. You should be able to say a few sentences while doing it but not exactly a whole convo. So, for example, it’s more than just a walk in the park. It might be a slow and steady jog (if your heart is conditioned) or a fast-paced walk uphill.
So a little breathless, yes, but something you can technically do for a long period of time.
No need to do more than say 30 minutes. But definitely something to be done regularly.
This zone falls about 60%-70% of your max heart rate.
Here’s the formula to calculate it
220- age = Max Heart Rate x .6 = Zone 2 HR
My calculation is this:
220-54=169
169 x.60= 101 BPM or potentially a little higher if I want 70%.
So, that’s fairly low. Not effortless but say, I can sing the lyrics of a song while I’m jogging. Not that I do lol.
FYI…
Your heart is a muscle.
A muscle that we all NEED to function like a smooth-running machine.
Yet, as we age our cardiovascular health weakens… less heart-protecting estrogen, more inflammation, more sedentary living, maybe more stress, etc, all contribute to our risk of many cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, high LDL and Type 2 diabetes.
The risks are real.
Our response is crucial.
Here’s the Challenge this month!
Our V02 Max is the capacity of our lungs to transport oxygen both efficiently and effectively to the working muscles in order to produce energy.
What a phenomenal ecosystem we have nestled in our chest cavity!
And so, I’m challenging each one of you with a HeartFit Challenge…
Here are the details…
Perform HIIT1x/week (15min)
Choose any exercise you want such as squat jumps, kettlebell swings, sprints on a treadmill or bike, skip rope, the devil press (lol)
Perform 30sec intervals with 1-2min rest
Do this for 5 rounds
Be sure to warm up before btw
Perform Zone 2 Cardio 2x/week
Choose an activity you can do (especially in winter)
Perform 30min
Track your heart rate to stay in the zone
Then…
POST once a week on our FB page (either a pic, post, or wtv relates to your cardio training)
Send in THIS CALENDAR at the end of the month (checking off the dates of your cardio training days)
A draw will be made to win a 50$ Amazon Gift Card (where you can buy anything from books, skincare to fitness gear!)
Because our muscles are important and so is our heart.
I hope my background story gave you a little insight as to why improving our heart health is worth pursuing especially as we age.
And I really hope you’ll hop onto this month’s challenge with me as we chase some goals together!
Are you in??
Let me know ;)
Coach Lisa 💪❤
