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The fitness industry is vastly growing each year, but somehow the importance of fitness and exercise is still extremely underrated. Did you know only about 53% of adults workout regularly each week? Of that 53% roughly 35% of adults actually partake in high calorie burning activities! Obesity is still the leading PREVENTABLE cause of death worldwide.
Fitness has proven to be one of the best return on investments that you can make in your life. Think about it, if you’re not healthy then what really can you do? Your health should be a major priority in your life. Fitness can reduce premature death by 30%, lower the risk of depression and dementia by 25%, improve mental clarity and brain function, and enhance your quality of sleep each night.
Based on a recent study published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, they have found that physical inactivity has been associated with higher risk of severe covid-19 outcomes. This study was conducted with nearly 50,000 adults. The science showed that individuals who did not meet the regular physical activity guideline (150 minutes or more a week) had a greater risk of being hospitalized and admit into ICU and death than those who do workout regularly.
Fitness has to become a priority in your life for numerous reasons, being unhealthy for your family and friends is truly a selfish act. Lacking with your health is one of the biggest mistakes anyone can make.
Understanding and optimizing your fitness
Starting out on your fitness journey can be confusing these days, but understanding exactly how to train for your goal will make it much easier. There are 3 major components in the fitness industry that you need to understand to save you time and effort: Energy Balance, Heart Rate Zones, and Training Programs.
Energy Balance
Nowadays there are hundreds of different supplements across the market that supposedly “aid” with your weight loss. What if you were told none of that is actually needed for you to properly lose weight?
Weight loss is simple. In order for you to lose weight, you must simply burn more calories than you consume each day. This is called Energy Balance.
Let’s put this in a relatable perspective. Imagine a funnel being filled with water. Even though its draining slowly at the bottom, it can only hold a certain amount of water before it is overflowing at the top. This is a direct correlation with our bodies and how energy balance works. Our body is designed to hold a certain amount of calories each day until it begins to overflow.
Now there are ways to combat this through exercise and knowing how much food/drink we are actually putting into our bodies.
Reverting back to the funnel, if we were to make a bigger drain, the funnel would not overflow as quick, or if at all.
Once again, that is how energy balance works.
Energy balance simply compares the amount of calories burned from exercise and NEAT (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis) each day to the amount of food/drink you put into your body. So, let’s say you are burning 2500 calories a day, then you are able to consume that exact same amount of calories if you want to maintain the weight you are at. If you prefer to lose weight, it is recommended to consume around 500 calories less of what you burned. In this example that would be 2000 calories. This same concept goes for you if you are trying to gain weight as well, in that case you would need to consume 3000 calories everyday.
Knowing exactly how to balance your energy will take you a long way with having a sustainable fitness journey.
Heart Rate Zones
Understanding heart rate zones simplifies fitness tremendously.
What exactly are heart rate zones and how do you find yours?
Heart rate zones are divided into 5 different sections, but first you must know your maximum heart rate. Deposit The Work (DTW) uses a more in depth accurate formula, but there is a simple formula to find your max heart rate, which is 220 – your age.
Now the zones…
Zone 1
is the maintenance zone for our bodies. This zone will promote blood flow to our muscles and is best utilized for warming up for an exercise or recovering from a workout. This zone typical ranges around 50-64% of our maximum heart rate.
Zone 2
is the optimal zone for burning fat and becoming more lean. This is the general endurance zone that will utilize fat cells as the primary source of energy. This zone is excellent if you’re looking to develop the bodybuilding shredded type figure, but is not the preferred zone when it comes to losing weight. To target this zone you must keep your heart rate between 65-74% of our maximum heart rate.
Zone 3
is the best zone when it comes to sustainability. In Zone 3, you will get the best bang for you buck. Research has shown this zone is ideal for burning more calories over a longer period of time. Ranging between 75-84% of your maximum heart rate, you are able to perform a challenging workout for an adequate amount of time.
Zone 4
is known as the Afterburner Zone, This zone has amazing benefits, but is usually very uncomfortable to sustain for long periods of time. Being in this zone for a substantial amount of time will produce more adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which essentially means more energy requirement for our metabolism. This is how excess post oxygen consumption (EPOC) is developed. EPOC is the result of an elevation in oxygen consumption and metabolism. Studies have shown that EPOC can continue to burn calories after a workout for up to 24 hours. So if you performed an intense workout and the following day you decide to rest and lay on the couch, you’re body will continue that calorie burn from the previous day. This is why EPOC is such a beautiful thing. The only side effect in developing EPOC is it is required that you perform vigorous exercise to increase your heart rate to 85-94% of your maximum heart rate.
Zone 5
is the toughest zone, but will surely maximum you results. This is the “Max out” zone where you must reach 95-100% of your maximum heart rate. The only downfall of this zone is it is completely uncomfortable and hard to sustain. It is recommended that only a few minutes in this zone is needed, otherwise you can risk overtraining and injury.
Understanding these zones are vital when you are seeking your fitness goals. Simply put, if you are looking to get a great workout in, but not necessarily to lose weight it is ideal for you to stay around zone 2. Now if you are looking to burn more calories and lose weight, Zone 3 & 4 will be your best friend.
Measuring this while performing your training will save you a great amount of time in the gym. Hit your Hot Spots!
Training Programs
Knowing what muscles to train, when to train them, how many reps to perform is a very tedious task.
Going to a busy gym and having no clue on what you are doing could be very frightening and is a huge reason why people decide to skip out on the gym. Having a complete workout program that is periodized can completely change that mindset. Imagine going into the gym knowing exactly what you are doing by following a professional design program that’s targeted towards helping you reach the goal of your choice. That’s the beauty of having a strategic training program in the palm of your hands. No more confusion, no more spending 2+ hours in the gym guessing on what to do next.
We all have important places to be at different times throughout the week and the last thing we want to do is spend unnecessary time in the gym procrastinating because we simply have no structure.
Currently there are an abundance amount of information that we see all over social media. Our favorite celebrities and trainers are always posting very cool looking workouts, but there is one major problem with this. We often think that we can perform the exact same workout and receive the exact same result. This concept is completely inaccurate. On the back side of this, these people aren’t posting their complete program and process it takes to be able to actually achieve those results.
This is called periodization.
Performing random new workouts every training session will not get you the results that you are looking for. Periodization programs are beneficial for numerous reasons such as reduces the risk of overtraining, allows you to add variations to exercise properly, and it is a great way to keep track of your progress over time.
Building a great foundation at the beginning of any training program is vital. Think about building a house. You can not build the roof without laying the foundation first. Same goes with training, in order to perform the viral workouts, you have to develop a great base first!
Understanding and utilizing all three of these mechanisms is vital for your weight loss or muscle building goals! Download the Deposit The Work app today where all three of these features will soon be added so you can simplify your fitness!
