Heart Rate

 #46 11/14/2025


Cardio, nah bro, I prefer to call it heart gains.  Dom Mazzetti


Fit Tip: Heart Rate Zones

How important are heart rate zones as it pertains to your training? Not as important as the people selling you your smart watch will have you believe. Usually heart rate zones are broken into five zones ranging from rest/recovery to maximal/intense. Even the names different companies or apps use to distinguish between these five zones can be misleading. For example, many will label zone two as the fat burning zone leading many to believe that is where they must stay in order to get leaner when training. All training, in any heart rate zone doing any activity burns calories. There are of course varying rates at which this occurs, but don't be fooled into thinking that since you accidentally popped into zone 3 during your light jog that you missed out on some magical, fat-targeted cardio.

Let us quickly go back to weight loss 101: in order to lose excess fat, one must be in an overall calorie deficit over a period of time. In other words, eating less energy than you are expending. 'Oh, so I should watch the calorie burn on my watch instead of heart rate?' No! ugh. That's inaccurate and not worth paying attention to. You should watch the pizza you keep shoving in your face! 

Pay no attention to the heart rate zone if you are lifting, just make sure you are rested enough between sets that your heart isn't pounding and your muscles are ready to go.

Monitoring heart rate during cardio might make more sense in specific contexts, such as training for distance running. A runner is aware that hitting a high heart rate early in a race is likely to cause them to tank long before the finish line. They know if they stay at a certain rate they can continue at the same pace for quite a while. In this case, glancing at your heart rate zone can be helpful to plan the right speed. A more experienced runner might also enjoy the benefits of training in different zones to get the most bang for the buck. For example, when they have time they may target zone two for a long endurance session. When they are shorter on time, but still want a good training effect, they may target a more maximal heart rate followed by resting periods for some interval training. 


A Note on Exercise

There are a  lot of annoying cliches about exercise that try to motivate you to do it, but for good reason. The excuses you have, spoken or unspoken, are usually exactly why you should be exercising. No time: check your screen time, you have time. You don't have enough time to NOT exercise. You are arguably adding years to your life and life to your years when you exercise. Have kids? Ok, then show them you care enough to take care of yourself. Do something active with them. Get yourself strong and healthy enough to keep up with them. Don't have the energy? You guessed it, you can gain some energy from working out. Doesn't a permanent dose of extra energy sound nice? Are you the parent on the bench or are you right there on the playground with them? You don't have the discipline? YET, you don't have it yet. You have to build the discipline by actually doing the thing. 

When you look at your work-out as nothing more than a tool for weight-loss, it is pretty easy to skip or become disinterested. Remember that it is so much more. Exercise is the proven best medicine for mental health and mood; it is so good for your brain, it can literally make you smarter. Strength training builds not only muscle, but also bone, tendon-strength, metabolism, and even some grit. 

November Challenge: Stop Snacking

This past week we simply did not buy snack foods. The easiest way to create a barrier between yourself and snacking is to not stock the house with snack foods. For the next seven days we will commit to the habit of stopping eating after dinner. No TV snacks, that is mindless eating that starts with a triggered craving. Let your body digest. You will get better sleep and dodge some empty calories. Have a glass of water then brush your teeth after dinner; that will help avoid the temptation to pop something else in your mouth.


Win the weekend!


Brad


Durable Dad Training

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cereal is Dessert, Change My Mind

 #24 "What a blessing it is to be tired in the pursuit of a challenge of your own choosing" Fit Tip: There is No Specific Exercise You NEED Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned lifter, there is no one exercise that you MUST include. There are certainly exercises that are fantastic and may provide a lot more benefit than other moves. If these are intimidating and keeping you from lifting weights at all, then relax and forget about them. I also bring this up as a popular social media tactic is to post a short video with this kind of message: "The ONE exercise you need to be doing!" These kind of taglines can make you feel like you are far from optimal and maybe even wasting your time training. Remember, they are just fishing for clicks . If you simply have goals of getting stronger and healthier (aesthetics naturally follow) then no one specific exercise is going to keep you from that. Do what you are comfortable with for a while and progress to other moves as you...
Read more

Help Your Children Breathe Better

  Breathing Training for Children Prevent Your Child from Extra Illness and Future Dental and Airway Issues   Proper breathing and oral posture: All breathing, day and night, child or adult, should be done through the nose. Obviously we use our mouths to breathe often while speaking or singing, but even most mild to moderate exercise can performed while breathing through the nose. While the mouth is closed, the teeth should be in light contact and the tongue resting on the roof of the mouth. Normal breathing should not be seen or heard, and should involve a closed mouth. And the  Lord  God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his  nostrils  the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7   Corrective Exercises Meaningful Chewing: Reserve a few minutes at least one meal a day to focus on chewing. Chew a minimum of 15-20 chews or until food liquefies. Chew with lips together and close the jaw and pause 2 secon...
Read more

If You Build It...

  2/7/2025 Issue #6 If You Build It…             Fit Tip: How to Build a Great Home Gym .       If you are considering building or expanding your home gym, I am here to offer some advice. The first thing you are probably considering is what space in your home you will use; then how much money to spend and what equipment is worth it.  I will start by pointing out that your “home gym” might begin as nothing more than a few open square feet dedicated to establishing a workout routine. Establishing the routine is the most important part , because $1,000 worth of equipment does not guarantee you will actually use it. If you have a chunk of money that you are ready to blow on an epic gym, that’s awesome, but I am going to split this up as if you are beginning your workout journey and slowly building your gym.  Get a mat or some dense foam puzzle pieces to establish a workout area and give some ...
Read more