Workout Smarter, Not Harder Using Heart Rate Zones
Workout smarter, not harder.
The harder you workout the more calories you burn and the leaner you get, right? Well, not exactly.
Does keeping your heart rate in 80 and 90 percent range for most of your workout produce the best results? No again.
To look and feel your best everyday you want to keep you heart rate in to 60 and 70 percent range (blue and green zones if using MyZone). This is the range that allows your body to burn the most stored fat. When you reach the 80 and 90 percent range (yellow and red zones if using MyZone) you begin to burn sugars stored in the muscles, called muscle glycogen. When the body burns off its stored glycogen during a workout it causes you to go home and pig out because your body is depleted of energy. Additionally, working out in this high heart rate range tends to make you excessively tired and results in you being less active throughout the day. So while you may see calories burning like crazy on the screen and feeling like you are killing your workout, you end up burning less through out the day due to reduced overall activity along with being extremely hungry with a strong craving for carbs and sugar. So you end up eating more and this can turn you into a fit fat person overtime.
Also, working out in the higher ranges leads to chronic tiredness, aches and pains, injury, and burnout. None of which you set out to achieve when you began your fitness journey.
As you increase your fitness level you will find yourself having a harder and harder time leaving the 70 percent range. This is good. It is the result of an increased work capacity, meaning you are able to work at a high level for a long period of time without tiring easily.
The people who workout in the 60 and 70 percent range find that they feel great after their workout, leave the gym energized, and experience less injuries. They also tend to be leaner and look more fit than those who are always trying to stay in the highest heart rate zones.
So the next time you hit the gym for your workout remember, the yellow and red zones equal tired, injured, and excessively hungry. While the blue and green zones equal healthy, lean, and energetic people who are ready for whatever the day throws at them.
It is important to workout hard, but only hard enough.
“Pittsburgh North Fitness offered me a program of functional resistance training, sensible nutrition and the support and motivation that helped shed my excess weight fast. I have lost 42 pounds and am 5 pants sizes smaller than I was 5 months ago. The great thing is their program is also helping me to keep it off for good. Give PNF 30 days and see how they can change your life. They certainly have changed mine.”
I walked into Pittsburgh North Fitness in the Spring of 2012 knowing that I needed a change. Unhappy and unhealthy, I unsuccessfully tried several times to change my habits. 18 months, 50 pounds, and 4 dress sizes later I can say that I have been successful because of Pittsburgh North Fitness. I love starting my day lifting weights and challenging myself with the ever-changing workouts. I not only look forward to the workout, but also to seeing the other people I am training with. I feel like I am part of a community, not an anonymous gym-goer. 
“When I joined PNF two years ago, I primarily joined to lose weight. What I didn’t expect was the increased confidence, improved health better eating habits and a different perspective on exercise for myself and my family. I have made many ‘gym’ friends, who along with the attentiveness of the PNF staff, help to encourage and challenge me each workout. And make it fun!”
“Since joining PNF in 2012 I have lost three jean sizes and over twenty pounds an have kept it off. At 52 I’m in better shape than I was in my forties thanks to the dynamic and knowledgeable team of trainers at PNF…I have also made many good friends that I look forward to working out with and make each workout fun.”