personal training 4 all

maximizing fat utilization

A common scenario I find is someone trying to lose fat (they call it weight) under their own direction without getting great results and beginning to get frustrated with their lack of progress.

Usually they work on the principle that the harder they work, the better the results will be. They work under the pretense that the harder you work, the more energy you use (and therefore surely the more fat you’ll lose).

The important factor here is not merely the amount of energy you use (or ”burn”) but also where this energy is derived from.

The important factor to consider in maximizing your exercise session to metabolize as much fat as possible is to maximize the product of the amount of energy used and the amount of that energy derived from fat sources.

Lets look at two examples,

1. Individual uses 500 kilocalories of energy of which 30% is derived from fat sources. That’s 30% of 500 kilocalories or 150 kcal of fat used. (Approximately 16.5 grams of fat)

2. Same individual uses 400 kcal of energy of which 60% is derived from fat sources. That’s 60% of 400 kcal or 240 kcal of fat. (Approximately 26.4 grams of fat)

Who used more energy? The individual in example one, 500 kcal to 400 kcal. (25% more energy)

Who utilized more fat? The individual in example two, 240 kcal (or 26.4 grams) of fat used compared to 150 kcal, (16.5 grams), That’s 60% more fat used!

Why is this so?

Your body uses more oxygen to metabolize fat than is does carbohydrates.  But metabolizing a gram of fat liberates much more energy than a gram of carbohydrate (around 9.1 kcal compared to 4.3 kcal).

It’s usual that you utilize a mixture of both fat and carbohydrate sources to supply your energy needs. The ratio of this mixture depends on many factors. Two of the more important are the amount of energy required and the amount of oxygen available.

Under conditions of relatively moderate amounts of energy required combined with a liberal supply of oxygen, you will metabolize a greater percentage of fat than carbohydrate.

As the energy requirement increases, (by working at higher intensity) it becomes increasingly harder to supply this energy from fat sources (remember fats require much more oxygen than carbohydrates), so your body shifts towards greater percentages of the more efficient carbohydrate, thereby using less fat in the mixture.

So whilst you’ll use more energy by working harder, (energy use is directly proportional to energy intensity) you might use more fat by working at a less intense level.

***For more posts relating to fat loss see fat loss articles)***

***To see an index of all other articles click here)***

If you'd like to ask a question please e-mail me at questions@personaltraining4all.com

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    Regards Kym

maximizing fat use with a heart rate monitor

As explained in the post maximizing fat utilization the product of the amount of energy utilized and the percentage of that energy derived from fat sources needs to be maximized.

In a laboratory we can utilize expired air analysis to accurately determine how much oxygen a person is using and the amount of carbon dioxide they are expiring in order to determine a “respiratory quotient” a measure of the sources of energy they are utilizing.

In the gym I use a polar heart rate monitor (model M61) to give an approximation of the respiratory quotient. Further I simultaneously use a Polar S610i to record and evaluate heart rate throughout the session.

The monitor calculates the amount of energy used based upon heart rate and factors such as your age, sex, weight, height activity level and current fitness level.

Based on the amount of time spent in each heart rate zone, it calculates a both the amount of energy expended (in kilocalories) and the percentage of that energy derived from fat sources.

These two factors can be multiplied, (their product) to produce the amount of energy derived from fat (in kcal). This product can then be divided by 9 (the amount of energy liberated from each gram of fat metabolized) to show the number of grams of fat used in the session.

Maximizing fat utilization requires four processes,

1. Assessing the original workout
2. Stage 1 : Increasing fat utilization
3. Stage 2 : Maximizing fat utilization
4. Stage 3 : Increasing time spent

The discussion outlined will represent a typical female, late 20's, 60 kg, 166-175cm, moderately active.

The original workout utilizes approximately 400 kilocalories of energy, 35% of which is derived from fat.

400 x 35% = 140 kcal fat. This represents approximately 16 grams of fat used (140/9=15.56)

Generally they work too intensely, represented by heart rate ranges in the 160-170 bpm range. Often the initial high intensity period is followed by a period of weight training of moderate to low intensity.

Although a lot of energy is utilized, little of it is derived from fat sources.

Stage 1 involves increasing the percentage of energy derived from fat. This generally involves reducing the intensity of the session.

As the intensity of the session is reduced, so too will the total amount of energy used.

Within the 60 minute session, 320 kcal are used, but a higher percentage of it comes from fat, say 50%.

This equates to 160 kcal of fat (320 x 50%), which equals approximately 18 grams of fat.

Stage 2 refines this process over the next 3-10 sessions.

The intensity of aerobic activities is further maximized and the session re-arranged to include two (or more) sets of weights between each aerobic  exercise.

This allows the total energy expended to increase back to the original rate 400kcal and improves the percentage fat use to 55% (or even 60%) .

This results in 400 X 55% = 220 kcal of fat which equates to approximately 24 grams of fat utilized.

By Stage 3, we've maximized the amount of fat utilized through a continuous process of refinement.

At this stage we try to slightly increase the time  of the session.

By increasing the session length by 25% we can expend more energy, getting us to our objective slightly faster.

So let's look at the changes effected. An initial workout of 60 minutes which used 16 grams of fat has been evolved into a 75 minute workout which uses 31 grams of fat.

As can be seen from the chart, that's an investment of a 25% increase in time resulting in a 96% increase in fat utilized. This effectively doubles the return for investing just 25% more time, essentially halving the time it takes to reach any objective.

***For more posts relating to fat loss see fat loss articles)***

***To see an index of all other articles click here)***

If you'd like to ask a question please e-mail me at questions@personaltraining4all.com

To receive all further posts automatically as I publish them, subscribe by e-mail

    Regards Kym

win an iPod nano! subscribe for free

In order to build the number of subscribers to my free e-mail subscription service I'm giving away a fabulous new iPod nano (valued at $199) to one of my e-mail subscribers.

These elegant devices allow you to listen to music, podcasts and now even have video capacity! They are great for using in the gym or just relaxing at home. Would even make a fantastic Christmas present!

I'll randomly select one subscriber on Sunday Dec 16, 2007.

Just follow three easy steps to maximize your chances of winning.

Completing a verified subscription is a two part process, you'll need to subscribe and activate. 

(If you already have a verified subscription, you have one entry in the draw. Just scroll down the page to the section titled "Improve your chances of winning by telling others..." )

Just go to www.personaltraining4all.com and click on the link on the right hand side of the site which says "subscribe for free to personaltraining4all.com for your chance to win an iPod nano"

This will take you to one of two screens (depending on which web browser you are using).

If you are using Internet Explorer you'll be taken to screen 1. Click on the link as illustrated in screen 1, "get personal training 4 all delivered by email".

Screen 1

 

 

 

 

 

This will take you to Screen 2, which is where you'll be in most other web browsers after clicking the link "subscribe for free to personaltraining4all.com for your chance to win an iPod nano"

Screen 2

Just follow the directions as outlined in screen 2.

1. Enter your e-mail address

2. Copy the code in the highlighted box (This  proves you're a human not a robot!)

3. Click the "Complete Subscription request" button

Screen 3

If all has gone well, you'll see screen 3, telling you that your request has been accepted.

You'll receive an e-mail within the next 5 minutes or so from "confirmations@emailenfuego"

The e-mail's subject will be something like "Activate your Email Subscription to: personal training 4 all"

Open the e-mail and click on the link to activate your subscription.

You've completed a verified subscription and will now receive any articles I publish on the site automatically by e-mail.

Improve your chances of winning by telling others...

By subscribing by e-mail you already have one entry into the draw for a fabulous new iPod nano.

If you tell your family and friends about the site and they subscribe they'll get some great information about health and fitness and get a chance to win the iPod also.

Best of all, by notifying us of their subscription you'll both get another entry for each person who subscribes through your recommendation.

And you'll both get an addition entry for each person who subscribes because of your friend (as will your friend) and so on.

The link to this article which you can cut and paste into an e-mail is http://www.personaltraining4all.com/pt4all/2007/11/win-an-ipod-nan.html or win an iPod nano .

All you need to do is have your friend complete a verified subscription (see above) by subscribing and activating.

Then have them send you an e-mail with the subject "subscribed". Leave the contents empty.

You just forward the "subscribed" e-mail (click forward on your e-mail client) to "subscriptions@personaltraining4all.com" or to whoever invited you to subscribe.

That way I'll have a record of their subscription and all the people who helped them subscribe, in order to  allocate extra entries into the competition.

Remember it's all free, and the draw will be on Sunday December 16.

The winner will be selected randomly and notified by e-mail.

too busy to exercise or too busy not to?

We often think that we are too busy. That there are commitments, be they work, family or otherwise that don't allow us time to exercise.

Indeed often there are times where urgency or emergency require us to prioritize other things over exercise.

But is this a real and valid excuse to put off this aspect of our lives for more than a day or so?

In his excellent book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", Stephen Covey helps expose our behaviour with a simple fable.

He shares a story about coming across someone in the woods feverishly trying to saw down a tree.

"What are you doing?" you ask.
"Can't you see I'm sawing down this tree" they reply.
"You look exhausted" you comment, "How long have you been at it?"
"Over five hours, and I'm beat. This is hard work"
"Well why don't you have a break for a few minutes and sharpen the saw?" you suggest, "I'm sure it'll cut a lot faster."

"I don't have time to sharpen the saw" the person replies, "I'm too busy."

Covey explains his time management matrix, where he categorizes daily activities into either urgent or not urgent and then as either important or unimportant.

This creates  four different categories, or quadrants

    I.   Urgent and Important
    II.  Not Urgent but Important
    III. Urgent but Not Important
    IV. Not Urgent and Not Important

Individuals who spend most of their time in Quadrant I tend to find themselves engaged in :

    Stress
    Burnout
    Crisis Management
    Putting out fires

Individuals predominantly engaging in Quadrant III type activities usually :

    Feel victimized and out of control
    See goals and plans as worthless
    Have short term focus
    Are involved in Crisis management activities

People who spend most of their time involved in Quadrants III and IV essentially lead irresponsible lives.

Quadrant II provides effective personal management and results in :

    Vision and perspective
    Balance
    Discipline
    Control
    Few crises

Isn't that the place we all want to be in?

Covey speaks about "P", Production, "PC" Production capacity, and the P/PC balance.

P represents Production, the ability to produce, to get things done.

PC represents Production Capacity, the ability to continue to be able to produce and the capacity to expand and meet the future demands of "P", Production.

The P/PC balance represents the basic definition of effectiveness, that is, a focus on both Production and Production Capacity...which he refers to as "Sharpening the Saw"

Personal PC is preserving and enhancing your greatest asset, YOU, physically, spiritually, mentally and socially.

It's about taking the time to address the things that will have real benefit. That is those priority activities that have real and meaningful effect and allow you to continue to produce.

These factors bring about two key points consider in relation to effective exercise:

1. Ignoring Quadrant II activities, (of which exercise is one), which are effectively PC activities, an individual will eventually have to address health crisis issues (obesity, diabetes, falls, osteoporosis, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc). This will curtail or interrupt Production (the work you perceive as so important) until you can bring these crises back under management.
2. The benefits of investing time into exercise will help you achieve more. Short term benefits such as enhanced concentration, stress release and control, clarity of thought, physical invigoration, and a general sense of feeling good, assist one to work more effectively and efficiently.

So shouldn't you spend a little time each week Sharpening the Saw?

***To see an index of all other articles click here)***

If you'd like to ask a question please e-mail me at questions@personaltraining4all.com

To receive all further posts automatically as I publish them, subscribe by e-mail

   

hurry to win an iPod nano

Time is fast running out before one of you wins a brand new iPod nano.

The Pod will go to a randomly selected e-mail subscriber on December 16, 2007.

Please note that you must be a verified e-mail subscriber to be eligible for the draw. It's a free service available to anyone who has subscribed by e-mail. Click on this link to see how to subscribe by e-mail.

Improve your chances of winning by telling others...

By subscribing by e-mail you already have one entry into the draw for a fabulous new iPod nano.

If you tell your family and friends about the site and they subscribe they'll get some great information about health and fitness and get a chance to win the iPod also.

Best of all, by notifying us of their subscription you'll both get another entry for each person who subscribes through your recommendation.

And you'll both get an addition entry for each person who subscribes because of your friend (as will your friend) and so on.

The link to the article which you can cut and paste into an e-mail is http://www.personaltraining4all.com/pt4all/2007/11/win-an-ipod-nan.html or win an iPod nano .

All you need to do is have your friend complete a verified subscription (how to subscribe by e-mail) by subscribing and activating. The subscription is a two part process, described in this link.

Then have them send you an e-mail with the subject "subscribed". Leave the contents empty.

You just forward the "subscribed" e-mail (click forward on your e-mail client) to "subscriptions@personaltraining4all.com" or to whoever invited you to subscribe.

That way I'll have a record of their subscription and all the people who helped them subscribe, in order to  allocate extra entries into the competition.

Remember it's all free, and the draw will be on Sunday December 16.

The winner will be selected randomly and notified by e-mail.