I’ve been exercising consistently (I.e. almost every day) for a year now. Previously I did little to no exercise, so I built up my program slowly. I started out just walking and doing leg-lifts/ squats, then moved onto dancing and aerobic exercise videos and now I do heavy cardio and a little weight training. I am not a member of the gym, so I find my own ways to do these exercises, most often I do:

Sprinting/running (interval-training style) - this is usually done at 80% + of my maximum heart-rate. Usually between 80 and 91%, really. I sprint for 30 seconds and rest for 20 seconds. I continue this for about 15-20 minutes, then have a ten minute rest and repeat once or twice more. My heart-rate usually average out at about 82% and peaks at 90 or 91%.

Skipping - again, I do this interval-style. I usually skip for 3 minutes to warm up and then do 30 seconds all-out, 30 seconds rest.

Stairs - I go up and down the stairs or use one step continuously. I can do this for up to an hour, split into two or three sessions. Again, I usually go for the anaerobic zone for the entire hour (even if that hour is split up.) But I’m not sure whether this is benefiting me or not. My workouts are now so hard that I feel unmotivated to do them. Last week I did less than two hours of “hard” exercise and by some miracle lost 2lb anyway, but I’m pretty sure that was a fluke. I should be exercising very hard about 7 hours a week - with three hours of low to moderate (walking, trampolining etc.)

Anyway, I was wondering if I’m over-training with one hour in the anaerobic zone every day? The problem is I’ve read so much conflicting information that it’s impossible to know what to do. Some information says that you shouldn’t train in this zone for more than 20 minutes as part of interval training - yet I sometimes do triple that. However, there is also information out there which says training in the aerobic zone (70-80% of my MHR, which I find fairly easy) causes more muscle to be burnt and I do not want that to happen either.

I feel that if I did half an hour in the anaerobic zone and half an hour in the aerobic zone (70-80 % of MHR) then I could do an hour a day.

But:

Will this be beneficial for me?
Will I burn enough calories to reach my weekly weight loss goal (about 2lb a week.)
And ultimately, which is healthier?

Sometimes I do more than one hour. At one point I did a lot more.

I have had a read of the stickies and read that doing more than 1 hour of intense cardio training is ineffective and can result in muscle loss. I don’t want that to happen.

One slightly problem I have is with MHR. I’ve worked mine out to be 203, using the traditional 220 minus your age formula. However, I’ve just read online that it should be 226 minus your age if you are a woman. My HR monitor seems be using 203, though. Which should I use? And more importantly, what is the maximum I should go to during a workout? I think the maximum I have done is about 91 or 92% and I feel totally exhausted at that point. Some say you should go up to 95%.

I do feel that I am suffering from lack of motivation due to the length and intensity of my workouts, but at the same time I don’t want to stop working in the anaerobic zone if it’s going to slow down my rate of loss.

Any suggestions would be very helpful.

You can not physically go into the anaerobic zone for a continuous hour. By that very definition it is not anaerobic. Anaerobic can only be sustained for VERY short intervals.

Your true MHR can only be determined by some very puke inducing testing. Thats why I go by perceived exertion instead. Spend most of your time at a 6-8 with intervals in the 8-9 range. If you really want to use a HRM, used perceived exertion for a while to estimate your true MHR.

Use a variety of intensities, if you are working out SO hard that it is a struggle to get you to the gym, then some days back it off to a different level. What is healthiest for you in the long run is

a) what you can stick with
b) a variety of intensities and durations

#1) you are definitely overtraining. Overtraining is going to eventually (sooner rather than later?) lead to an inability to lose fat. Google it.

#2) The more you work out in the anerobic zone, the more efficient your body is going to become working out in that zone. In other words, more efficiency = less calories burned. Basically it will cause your metabolism to slow.

#3) you probably arent REALLY working the anerobic for such extened periods of time...... just like anything else in life, the "zone charts" are merely guidelines. Aenerobic is more a physical state, rather than a set in stone HR number. If you were truly working in the anaerobic for extended continuous amounts of time, lactic acid would accumulate in your muscles. There is a form of training called Lactic acid threshold training, which pushes you to work just up TO the threshold, so that you can eventually push your threshold further and further, before the LA starts accumulating. Marathon runners have extremely high lactic thresholds. Its also known as the anaerobic threshold . You just simply cant work at THAT level, for that long, continuously. Perhaps your anaerobic zone is higher than you think, or you are calculating it wrong.

In any case. Yes you are overtraining, and if you dont stop, your body will force you to, either by becomong injured, or by making you unable to lose fat.

jinx ennay

Thanks for the replies.

Thanks. I am going to try this in combination with my HRM. I have incorporated this method into some of my training sessions and often I feel I’m working at 8.5 out of 10 and often more! The average of the session tends to be about 8.5, which would be 85% of my maximum. Sometimes I feel like I can’t physically do very much more.


Thank you for the info. Taking all of this into account, do you think shooting for four days a week in the aerobic zone (for an hour) and 3 days in the anaerobic zone (in intervals for 15-20 minutes) would be the best idea?

I agree that I’m probably not working in the true anaerobic zone for such a time - I’m guessing that my anaerobic zone may be higher than average. That said, I can maintain an average HR of 175 for 30 minutes, which is about 84% of my maximum consistently. I have decided to change the way I calculate my maximum HR from the 220 minus age formula, to the 226 minus age formula, instead. This means that when I use my HR monitor I should train between 72 and 82.5 % to be in the aerobic zone and between 82.5 and 93% to be in the anaerobic zone. I don’t think I’ve ever gone quite that high, but I probably could if it were just during interval training and for only 15-20 minutes.

Does this all sound reasonable?

If you are going to work out 7 days a week (and I do because I do not function well on rest days) then you need even more variety than that.

1-2 days should be what you call "rest" or "active recovery" On these days the exertion should be low. Maybe a 6 maximum on the scale. Its a good day to work out with a friend who is less fit. Or try a piece of equipment that you are less coordinated or that you dont feel gives you as good a workout (chances are you'll be working some underutilized muscle). You should never work above your ability to EASILY converse regardless of what the HRM says.

I wouldnt do more than 2 days in the high intensity training and if you do mix it up. (note that I am not used to thinking in terms of HR more "intensity")

One day maybe do the high intensity-short intervals.

one day warm up well and try and spend 1/3rd- 1/2 of your workout in a CONTINUOUS state just a little harder than what you do for the continuous hour - maybe 5-10 bpm higher.

If you want a 3rd session look at something in between like long intervals. Something where maybe you go between a&b listed above but sustain the intervals for longer periods. Play around. Actually play would be the best. Nothing structured. Go with what feels good. Leave this session as an optional one. If you dont feel it that day, do less that day. I would leave your HRM OFF for this. Go by feel. Learn your body. HR can be notoriously problematic as a guide as a surprising number of factors can affect your HR and your ability to workout at an HR for a specific day.

Then 2-3 days a week go for what you can sustain for an hour.

Now I know you are probably thinking ok ONE day of active recovery and THREE of the higher intensity since I gave a range. I would say either Three intensity, TWO active recovery and TWO steady state OR TWO intensity, 1-2 active recovery and Three steady state. The harder you work, the harder you need to rest.

The one time I would use your HR MORE is in the morning. Try to get your resting HR on a regular basis. This more than any other factor is a medical sign of overtraining. If your resting heart rate starts to rise, that is a sign of overtraining or illness and rest is in order

Thanks again. I usually like to work out six or seven days a week, depending on how energized I'm feeling. I can maintain 7 or more on the perceived exertion scale for almost an hour. So can that count as my steady state workout, or is that still too much for a steady-state workout? I think both plans that you mentioned could work for me - and I can adapt them to my needs and use the second one for weeks in which I only want to workout for six days.

The main reason I use a heart monitor is because I used to (and still do, to some extent) suffer from tachycardia. I like to be able to check that my heart isn’t going ridiculously high. I would like to use perceived exertion (I have used it on occasions,) but my main worry with that would be that I may let my heart go too high without noticing. I’m not very comfortable with it going higher than 94% of my highest. But I would be happy to use both in combination. I could wear the heart-monitor, but try not to observe it. It has an alarm so that would go off if I began going too high.

I would like to do two very high intensity sessions a week. I imagine that these should be about 15-20 minutes. I do not want to do HIIT for the reason that I mentioned above ^ I’m not comfortable with my heart going up to its absolute maximum possible. I would do these sessions interval training style. I am more comfortable with intervals. On these “high intensity” days should this be the only exercise I do or can other steady state cardio also be included?

This is my basic plan:

Monday: 60 minutes of steady state cardio
Tuesday: 5 minutes of steady state cardio (to warm up) and then 15 minutes of interval training. 30 minutes of weight training (for arms, shoulders, stomach)
Wednesday: 60 minutes of moderate exercise (maximum of 6 on the scale, as you mentioned.)
Thursday: 60 minutes of steady state cardio
Friday: 60 minutes of steady state cardio
Saturday: 5 minutes of warm up and 15 minutes of interval training. 30 minutes of weight training to work on the lower body (legs, bum, back.)
Sunday: rest day/60 minutes of moderate activity

I’ve planned my high intensity exercise for the days that I consume the most calories. However, I’m not sure whether this is a good idea - purely because 15 minutes of interval training (even at the highest intensity) will not burn as many calories as the moderate-high 60 minute workout (7 on perceived exertion.)

always do weights before cardio.... if you can...

You know, I've tried both and I understand the theory behind it but at 5 in the morning I have to do cardio first or I am not awake enough to hit the weights hard. Later in the day it works though