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Chris Zaremba describes how he used cardio-vascular training to help himtransform from being overweight and unfit to get into the best shape of his life at 56.

CardioChoices

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Istarted doing cardio-vascular (CV)workouts in 2005, a full three yearsbefore I first entered the weights areaat the gym. The reason? My priority atthat stage was weight loss – any kind

of weight, muscle and/or fat – and it was onlyonce a sizeable chunk of that weight hadgone that I moved into the resistance training

area. I now blend CV with resistance trainingwith the objective of adding moderateamounts of muscle while keeping my body fatunder control. In this article, I describe mycurrent cardio methodology, in the hope thatthis will be of value to other older exercisers(or indeed those just starting out on theirfitness journey).

I aim for six CV workouts a week. I’llundertake a resistance workout later eachday. So while my weight now stays much thesame, I find that my lean mass increases asmy fat mass decreases. I’ve found that it’s notpossible to put on large amounts of muscle

while taking off significant chunks of fatalthough I’ve discovered that modest changesto my lean weight do occur simultaneouslywith this mix of cardio and resistance training.

I’m convinced that the best time for cardiois first thing in the morning – pre-breakfast.Many people of my age group don’t haveproblems in waking early, so I’m keen torecommend such an early start for cardiopurposes! Doing CV after waking up andbefore breakfast promotes greater fatburning. I have a cup of black coffee as thecaffeine acts a stimulant and encourages thebody’s fat cells to open up and release their

content for use as fuel during the cardioexercise. I’ve recently experimented withreplacing this early coffee with a caffeine-based fat-burner supplement, with goodresults. The other liquid consumed is ofcourse water before, during and after theexercise. Don’t skimp on water as you needto be hydrated and you will have woken upde-hydrated after sleeping.

My CV sessions always last 40 minutesand by the time I’m changed and all gymtravel is done, I’m usually hitting breakfastaround 75 minutes after waking – which isperfect for me. I recommend keeping to

around the same timing, certainly under twohours between getting up and eating. Anylonger and the body could enter a ‘state ofalert’, believing food is going to be absent fora long period. If this happens your metabolicrate will slow and your body will hang onto itsfat reserves – not what we want!

For in-gym CV, my favourite machine is theelliptical trainer (cross-trainer). I’ve tried theothers but I find the Stairmaster and rowingmachines too energy-demanding to keep upwith for the full period of cardio that I do.Treadmill running is also too high-impact onmy joints, as I’ve slightly dodgy knees. Fastwalking on an inclined treadmill would be apossibility, but I find it uncomfortable tomaintain the angle between the upward feetand vertical legs and torso position for the fullperiod. Continuing around the gym, the

stationary bike is not for me either as I’m not afan of my bodyweight being supported (by thesaddle) and therefore not contributing to theload being shifted. So cross-trainer it is.

This machine provides the option of usingthe arms for assistance. On the cross-trainersat my gym, I find that at level 16 using thearms is helpful and at 17 or 18 mandatory!But for level 15 and below it’s normally legsonly. I prefer this especially if I have an upperbody workout planned later that day.

I judge my CV effort by heart rate – either asreported either by the machine’s hand-grips ora chest strap. I specifically use the Karvonenformula (see box) to calculate my target heart-rate zones, a method which takes into accountboth age and fitness level and is quantified byresting heart rate.

I have two specific routines for the cross-trainer – steady state and intervals and I do oneof these each cardio day, planning on three ofeach per week:

1Steady State cardio is targeted at65% of Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)calculated using Karvonen, which forme is 130 beats per minute (BPM). I

accept anywhere in the range of 127-133BPM, as I don’t want to make constantadjustments in speed or level to keep thenumber spot on. My initial cross-trainersetting is level 16 or 17 to get the rate up

then, once I’m in the high 120’s I drop to level15 and that normally keeps me in the 127-133 target zone. At this intensity, my trainingis fuelled preferentially by fat fuel and somemuscle glycogen (carbs). A lower heart ratewould use exclusively fat as fuel – whichsounds like a good idea – but actually isn’t asit only uses a smaller amount of it.

2Interval Training day has avariable target BPM. This variesbetween 50% and 80% of myKarvonen-calculated MHR, which

for me is 115bpm and 145bpm. In terms ofmachine settings for the Intervals I start atlevel 16 to get going then move to 17 or 18until 145bpm is indicated, I then take themachine down to level 1 and remain thereuntil I reach 115bpm. Then it’s back up

again and I continue to cycle ‘down-up-down’in this way for the full 40 minutes. In termsof fuel source, this means alternatingbetween a low rate of fat use to a high rate

of fat, plus glycogen and a much higher overall workout and post workout calorie burn(the more intense a workout is the greaterthe number of calories burnt afterwards).One measure of fitness is recovery rate –how long it takes for an elevated heart rateto return to resting rate once exertion hasstopped. When I do this interval session Idon’t come down to resting rate, but in the40 minutes I now do 9 high-low-high cycles,as opposed to the 6 I could do a couple ofyears ago – which I take to be a sign ofimproved fitness.

The cross-trainer give a figure for calories

burned over the exercise period. This iscalculated using body weight and work beingdone as inputs. It’s not particularly accurate,but it’s a guide and works better for comparingone day’s performance with another, on thesame machine, rather than as an accurateinput into any nutrition calculations. My cardioconsumes around 500-540 calories per visit.Assuming that 300 of those calories are fromfat – a big assumption that would need a labto test with any degree of accuracy – thismeans about 1lbs /0.45kg of fat lost everycouple of weeks or so (which doesn’t soundgreat) or maybe 20-26lbs/9kg - 11.7kg a year

(which does!)I can’t guarantee that following my cardiopractices will help others in my peer groupditch that level of fat in a year, but it’s a goodfirst step toward achieving consistent fat loss(and heart health) – and once mixed withsensible nutrition, resistance training andappropriate rest periods, then there’s a goodchance of success. If you try it, let me knowhow you get on. UF

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Chris welcomes comments onChris@FitnessOverFifty.co.uk . Readmore of Chris’s thoughts and suggestions for

increasing fitness levels for the over 50’severy month here in ultra-FIT. And look at hiswebsite: www.FitnessOverFifty.co.uk , foradditional ideas and inspiration.

The Karvonen CalculationNamed after the Finnish doctor who created the formula, the Karvonen calculation of targetheart rates uses resting heart rate as a factor as well as age. Resting heart rate is takentypically a few minutes after waking.

Maximum Heart Rate is calculated by taking age away from 220 in the usual heart ratecalculative way. Then Resting Heart Rate is subtracted, leaving the Heart Rate Range. Next,

the selected factor (50%, 65% or 80% in my case) is applied to the Heart Rate Range andfinally the Resting Heart Rate is added back.

For example, for me at age 56 with a Resting Heart Rate of 65, the 80% of maximum heartrate figure is calculated as:

 220-56 (age) = 164 BPM 

164 – 65 (RHR) = 99 BPM 

80% (selected factor) x 99 = 80 BPM 

80 + 65 (RHR) = 145 BPM = Target