Aerobic exercise is a conduit for fat burning. Therefore, you need to know how to do cardio and what features of cardio arise in the body. The main criterion for aerobic exercise is heart rate. Experts have accepted the division of the entire heart rate range into four zones, in accordance with the intensity of the exercise. This is due to the fact that the body can draw energy from several sources. In addition to body fat, these are glycogen and ATP.
In each of the four zones, the body uses a certain source, and it does not have to be fat cells. From this we can conclude that in order to reduce fat reserves, it is necessary to work in the area where the body serves as a source of fat cells. Actually, the rules of aerobic training are connected with the zones of intensity.
1 zone - low intensity
In this zone, the body uses fat deposits and blood sugar as energy. The heart rate (HR) in the first zone is 50 to 60% of the maximum value.
This zone is used during warm-up and cool-down at the end of a session, to recover from strength training, or as a rest phase when using interval training.
Such loads are very light and you can even have a conversation with a girlfriend. A similar load is achieved when using a bicycle ergometer, stepper, elliptical trainer, while walking and swimming.
Thanks to the first zone, you can increase blood flow, warm up the muscles before a serious load, and also normalize the pulse, preparing the cardiovascular system for more difficult training.
Zone 2 - medium intensity
Here, the body uses fats and glycogen synthesized in the liver for energy, and the heart rate is from 70 to 80 percent of the maximum value. It will allow you to increase your body's endurance, and is also used for relaxation during heavy cardio activities.
Here you should no longer be distracted by conversations, as this can lead to shortness of breath. Most girls use this zone as the main one, but such a load is not very effective for burning fat. Trainings in this mode should be carried out no more than twice a week.
The second load zone is achieved thanks to dance aerobics, stepper, bicycle ergometer, treadmill, elliptical trainer and step aerobics. Thus, you can improve the functioning of the heart and vascular system and, using a dietary nutrition program, lose excess weight.
Zone 3 - increased intensity
The body uses glycogen as energy sources, and with training experience of more than one and a half years - fats. The heart rate is between 80 and 90 percent of the maximum value. The training in the third zone can be used with interval training, which, together with a dietary nutrition program, results in a tangible loss of body weight. But at the same time, it should be remembered that with a training experience of more than 2 or 3 years, the effectiveness of fat burning decreases. You should use increased cardio loads no more than twice a week.
At this rate of exercise, you will definitely not have time for conversations, a burning sensation will appear in the muscles, and breathing will become more frequent. You can finish off this intensity on a treadmill, stepper, bicycle ergometer, as well as during cycling and jogging in the fresh air. By increasing the intensity of the training, you will improve the functioning of the heart, increase the body's endurance and can burn a lot of calories.
Zone 4 - high intensity
In this zone, the body uses glycogen and amino acid compounds found in muscle tissues for energy. The heart rate is between 90 and 100 percent of the maximum value.
Used in interval training, energy consumption is very high and with the right nutrition program is most effective for losing weight. One to three high-intensity training sessions can be carried out during the week. You can achieve this load using a bicycle ergometer and sprint races.
There are times when the heart rate monitor has stayed at home. In this case, you will have to take advantage of subjective sensations using your own intensity scale. It is very convenient to use a ten-point scale. In this case, a load of 5 points will correspond to a heart rate of 50%.
It may seem to you that this method is not as effective as the usual heart rate monitor, but in practice the situation is completely different. Of course, you will need experience to create your own scale of sensations, but then it will turn out to be no worse than a heart rate monitor.
Now, of course, we should talk about the need to purchase a heart rate monitor. Today it is a very popular device that can no longer only display your heart rate. Modern devices have a number of fairly useful functions.
But with all this, the heart rate monitor remains a mini-computer, which uses the old formula, like the world, to calculate the maximum heart rate value: 220-age. As a result, your estimate of your maximum heart rate will be very rough. This is a very individual indicator and before starting classes you should be examined by specialists to determine the exact value of heart rate. After that, it should be entered into the memory of the heart rate monitor.
If, for some reason, you do not have the opportunity to undergo an examination at a medical institution, then after purchasing a heart rate monitor, you can set yourself the maximum load and the resulting heart rate value can be further used as the maximum. As mentioned above, acquiring a certain training experience, you can easily do without a newfangled gadget. But at the initial stage of classes, you still need it. All your feelings received from the training should be recorded in memory, in order to then draw up your own intensity scale.
You can visually familiarize yourself with the technique of performing exercises in aerobic training in this video:
