Now on to the Fitness Level of Activity
Last time I discussed the health-related category of activity; now on to the fitness level of activity. Any activity during which you breathe faster and more fully is a fitness activity. The term "aerobic" literally means in the presence of oxygen. It was coined by Kenneth Cooper, MD, who founded the Cooper Institute. Generally speaking, during an aerobic activity you would be able to speak freely and breathe fully at the same time. Aerobic movement is a more demanding form of exercise, one we associate with a steady state of motion such as continuous running, cycling, swimming, or rowing.
According to fitness expert Sally Edwards, MA, MBA, who created the Heart Zones Training System, we can reference percentages of our maximum heart rate in order to work out in appropriate intensity zones. Maximum heart rate is "the highest number of beats per minute possible for your heart." We are never aiming for this number. Using simple sub-max field tests that take 10 minutes to estimate our maximum heart rate, you can quickly define your cardiac zones. The health activity level is 50 to 70% of maximum heart rate; the fitness level ranges from 60 to 80%.
- Zone 1, Healthy Heart: 50 to 60% of maximum heart rate
- Zone 2, Temperate: 60 to 70%
- Zone 3, Aerobic: 70 to 80%
- Zone 4, Threshold: 80 to 90%
- Zone 5, Red Line: 90 to 100%
More is not better here; relatively few people will ever train in the Red Zone. It is for competitive athletes who want to improve their time. I suggest a person exercising for health reasons stay between 50 and 70% (Zones 1 and 2). Those who want to be fit or improve aerobic fitness will work out in Zones 2 and 3, and possibly a bit of Zone 4.
During the period when I was first discovering the joys of aerobic exercise, I went to a lecture by Covert Bailey, author of Fit or Fat. We were literally weighed underwater to determine the percentage of fat and lean mass in our body. He recommended aerobic exercise as a way of reducing body fat; at the time, coupling exercise with leanness was a new concept, popular, and as it turns out, not quite accurate.
Weight loss and fat loss are among the primary benefits of aerobic exercise, but what are the others? The number of mitochondria in our cells is increased. Mitochondria are the cell's power producers, converting energy into forms usable by the cell. Our fat utilization improves, as does the total number of calories burned. And beyond the physical, what about reduced stress hormones, reduced stress reactivity, improved emotional well-being, and displacement of unhealthy behaviors?
I invite you to discover what your body and mind are craving: balance, energy, vitality. You are the author of your lifestyle, writing the script every day. By designing your own lifestyle menu to include fitness activity on a regular basis, you can have an immediate psychological lift, a sense of the present, and a deeper sense of the meaning in your life.
Whispers of the Breath Diva:
In this moment I am fully present, awake and ALIVE!