Well it is recommended among experts in the fitness industry that you keep your heart rate range at 55-85% of your maximum heart rate for 20-30 min during exercise to see results.
You get your MAX heart rate range by subtracting 220 minus your age.
You can use this online calculator: http://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/heartrate
My heart rate range should be 95 - 147 beats per minute. (I'm 45 years old). I'm not one for much cardio AT ALL, but I've been wearing a heart rate monitor over my last few workouts out of curiosity to see how high my heart rates gets up there. Some pretty interesting results.
I was practicing deadlifts the other day. At one point I did ONE rep at 185 lbs which is about 93% of my one rep max, and my heart rate got up to 123 bpm from ONE single rep.
This morning I did some Turkish get ups - I did 35 lbs with 10 windmills at the top, and my heart rate only got up to 93 bpm. I then did one with 44 lbs with only 3 windmills at the top, and my heart rate went up to 109. Heavier weight, but less reps, and my heart rate went up higher.
I also did some Kettlebell swings - 40 in a row with the 44lb bell. My heart rate was 112. Not as high as the one rep of the deadlift, and not much higher than the TGU. SOOOO interesting!
I'm dying to see how high it gets tomorrow when I practice pull-ups.
Though the most surprising thing to me was when I was practicing yoga - my heart rate got up to 121 bpm. You practice deep breathing with yoga to bring your heart rate back down, but doing things like handstands and flipping your dog into a backbend and back over again got my heart pumping.
Another thing that surprised me was that my heart rate never really sky rockets - up towards my higher range of 147. I can't imagine how hard I would have to work to get it there, and I am not sure I would want to! I sometimes think that maybe I should, but I remember the days when I would push myself to the max all the time, and I could not control my appetite. I have a hard enough time as it is now with the workouts I do, if I did more I feel like my appetite would negate my efforts. OR I would have to do shorter workouts like Zuzka and work harder in less time.
I'm all for that in some ways, but in other ways I'm not. I like hour long workouts. I like a good warm up, to get in enough reps, to rest between exercises, to stretch and perhaps some some yoga at the end of my workouts,
Speaking of Zuzka. she is driving me a little nuts lately. I typically find her SO motivating - the pistols, the one arm push-ups, the backbends, the handstands, etc. But lately I am finding her annoying. I know, it's mean. I apologize in advance.
The pics of her shoving her butt in our faces day in and day out lately is making me roll my eyes. Enough already. Perhaps she is trying to broaden her male audience? Maybe if I had a butt like that I would do the same? I don't know. It seems too much. Someone asked her why she didn't have any cellulite and she said she got rid of all sugar. Well good for her. She's one in a million if you ask me - the other 999,999 of us can't seem to avoid sugar nor do we want to and will take a little cellulite on our asses for a hot fudge sundae once in a while.
But that's why she's the creator of ZGym and we aren't!
She also posted her food journal and she made a grilled cheese sandwich with homemade bread. Kudos to her for making her own freaking bread. Part of my seriously wants to scream. The rest of normal people who don't have a gazillion dollars and lots of time to cook will just grab two pieces of store bought bread. With WHEAT. So it can make me cringe with her perfect ass shoved in my face and her uppity attitude as I just cannot live like she does. I'd like her to try with 2 kids, a quarter of the budget she is living on, AND no help from staff, and working 3 jobs.
I've got to get 2 kids out the door in the morning plus myself and I work 50+ hours a week, and schlep my kiddos to 5 different activities a week and blah, blah. I'm not making bread! You gotta pick your battles, ya know?
I know, I just totally went off on Z, and she might not deserve it at all. Lately she seems out of touch with reality. Or perhaps it is just my perception. I'm OK with that. If I end up owing her an apology. I'll do so!
What a bad post... now that you have only Z to critizize, it's not fair...You should have not write All this about her. Maybe it's time for you to stop your Zgym membership
ReplyDeleteNah, I ALSO said I find Z motivating, I am just finding her annoying these days too. I thought I might hear from you. You were always quick to defend Z against BR. You have a preference - and there's nothing wrong with that! Enjoy Z! I just don't as much these days, but I always learn from her.
DeleteI understand your point and I agree with you. I used to be obsessed with her 5-6 years ago, but then it kinda faded (which I think is normal, as we grow older and even our fitness life evolves...), I never payed for ZGym though and I never agreed with her diet advice (great it works for HER, but bad thing that people try to replicate her diet without actually realizing everyone of us is metabolically different). She is still a great personality to me and I will always quietly support her, but I also fully realize that she is basically living in her own ZWorld. In the past she was very relatable, like a regular girl, like "one of us," but I don't care anymore... I am sure it is not anything about HER we "dislike" recently, it is maybe us growing, evolving and maturing, who knows :D
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with your post. I think Zuzka lives in her own little world that has little to do with my own reality. I don't begrudge her her success, but find it increasingly difficult to identify with her approach. Her workouts still inspire me (such as recently the resistance bands and sliders), but I no longer like her personality...which is ok to me, that's not why I pay for Zgym. I pay for workouts. I just stopped watching her Zblogs and personal posts because they irriate me (and because she skewered me several times for a differing opinions...not professional, but again, technically not relevant). I think you are right when you say that some of us may have "outgrown" her, like an old sweater...the one you used to love and can't throw away because you associate it with good memories and still kinda like the color and cut, but probably won't wear again :-)
DeleteI can no longer stand to watch Z's videos. Her workouts are annoying. Who workouts in a bikini?? She's a little too self absorbed for me. Dropped my membership awhile back and sooo glad I did!!!
ReplyDeleteAgreed - she just shows way too much off. She is not inspirational at all when she works out in a bikini i think - it is almost as "soft core porn-like" as she was with BodyRock... and with a primarily women-based audience, i think she would be better off in workout clothes - i dont follow her to see boobs and butts, i follow her to get a sweat and maybe draw some motivation from like abs and shoulders...
DeleteI dont really use the ZGym at all anymore - loved it during e.g. the Summer Shred, but right now i pretty much only have it because im too lazy to stop it and enjoy the occational upper body workout.
ReplyDeleteI have turned to Melissa Ioja and have almost completed her first of two 30 day challenges (I have lost 5 lbs doing only that and keeping me diet roughly the same) - she is so cool, strong motivating and changes things up! Plus i can really feel my muscles work! She uses a lot of weights, which really give that deep soreness i only get from strength training! My shoulders are more defined, my core is leaning out, my butt has lifted - results i have never achieved with Z, even when i did 3 months of her schedule only as an experiment.
It works for her, but certainly not everybody.
And YES! I am seeing her butt more than any one elses atm! I think she is becomming more and more like she was with BodyRock (image wise) and turning down the humbleness. Right now to me she doesnt seem like a person, who would be cool to hang around at all. She also seems kinda dry, whereas Melissa (and even Lisa and Edith) have a lot of humor.
I like Melissa and Edith because they are relatable, fun, inspirering and come out with some stuff, that actually works for me!
Karoline, What 30 day challenge are you doing? i may cancel Zuzka also and try this. I have been getting into the Infernos in hope of getting to a pull up and handstand push up soon. Any advice
DeleteMelissa ioja = HIIT Mafia youtube+facebook. On vk.com's commutities like Hiit Dirty and No Excuses you will find thousends of excellent videos.😎
DeleteShe has the HIIT Mafia Initiation Challenge (the pne im doing now) and BossMode Challenge (i am doing after this one) :) on youtube
DeleteI too have been getting tired of Z showing so much skin. It's not motivating and is so 'in your face'. I agree with the last post. Love Melissa Ioja, both her 30 day challenges are great!
ReplyDeleteCJ
Hi Gina, I think you are slightly unfair - Zuzka made her own "bread" (after having lived in France, it's hard for me to call it a real bread, nothing tastes as good as the real "baguette" :P) but in the microwave - you mix the ingredients in the mold and put it to the microwave for 2 min - I tried something like this once and it literally takes 5 minutes. Making a smoothie takes me longer cause the blender is harder to wash ;)
ReplyDeleteI am surprised that she does her workouts in the bikini (does she feel comfortable??) but well, it still doesn't feel like BR times when the camera was really focused on her butt or cleavage.
I love your new website, I love the articles you find and I even convinced a friend to join the 100 push-ups challenge. But I really feel that your criticism goes sometimes too far. I am waiting for more of your discoveries!
Cheers,
Ania
Hi Gina,
ReplyDeleteThanks as always for the suggestions and finding fun new workouts to try. Totally valid that you're not on board with Zuzka's bikini workouts and jealous of her time for/cash for hobbies and health/diet stuff. You sound a bit like me when I suffer from mild depression. The things that bothered me before now seem super annoying, ect. Anyway, if so, I find prioritising sleep really helps! I get insomnia when I'm depressed and not sleeping is the worst. Plus feeling overwhelmed and unable to make time for sleep, but when I really stay consistent I find it helps. If that's not the case at all, you're totally allowed to dislike Zuzka's new approach and I hope I didn't offend. Take care!
SLEEP. I need it. I'm a horrible sleeper. I fall asleep before I hit the pillow, but I can't stay asleep. It sucks.
DeleteEveryone on here has a right to their opinion as do I. No offense taken at all. I appreciate the comment!
The fitness personalities - it's their job/livelihood to look, act, be a certain way. This is why they have time to do all these crazy things that us "normal" folks with other careers, families, responsibilities just can't do. I used to find it all very motivating, but now I'm just tired of it. All this social media saturation of people half naked, trying to show us how *easy* it is to get to x% body fat, get lean, etc. Or to remind me of the top 10 things I'm doing wrong for getting a flat belly!
ReplyDeleteYes, Zuzka lives in her own reality and that's evidenced by her responses to people sometimes. We've all got lives and we all have priorities.
I guess that's why they are not 'normal'. LOL. At least not in my eyes!
DeleteWow the prude police in action ah ah ah :) Is there that much of a difference between a bikini and what Z usually wears? Personally, I don't mind. She's showing off her body like she always has and it's ok! All the judgmental comments are very hurtful. What if someone was talking about you that way without even knowing you? I know what you're going to say: "it's part of the job!" ....Actually NO, It's NOT!! All of you MADE it part of the job!! About Zuzka's diet, more and more people are going sugar-free these days after some research has showed how bad it was for your body. I really don't see how making your own bread in a microwave is such a bad thing. Buying regular bread IS the expensive and unhealthy option. And you have a choice: you can buy your bread OR you can make it...isn't life amazing? :) If you need to apologize in advance for a post, it's probably a post you shoudn't publish! Gina, I think you're getting very close to a burn-out. Take a step back & re-organise whatever you can in your life. You need some "me-time" ("you-time"?).THIS should be your priority! We're here to support you. Lots of love!
ReplyDeleteMe time with kids? Sigh.....
DeleteI used to do Zuzka's workout and used to find them very hard and they have helped me alot but overtime I've progressed beyond her short workout to more challenging and hardcore ones. I find them too short and would use them mostly as warm up to my main ones. Anyways what she wears is her business
ReplyDeleteWell, at that point we're all aware that Zuzka is not a regular girl next door. Maybe it was the case 6 years ago, when she was in Toronto, developing Bodyrock and working part time at the flower shop of her father in law. Now she's running her business, she has one assistant who's writing her blog articles, a boyfriend filming her workouts. She used to offer free workouts and now you have to pay to follow her programs. It's a business, a successful one obviously. She's friend with Jillian Michael. She goes to the Emmy to get free items. Good for her. I like her though I would never pay to get her workouts. There are so many more qualitied professional fitness coaches. Being fit doesn't equal being qualified to train other people. But what the use of insulting the girl ? She's the one she's always been. Her success is more apparent now. Nothing is candid. She's not any worse - or better - than any other professional blogger. It's just like your criticism about the vlog when she's talking about her mother beating her. Of course it is staged. Of course it is a strategy to, somehow, "sell" more. As you said yourself, America is a free and liberal country. Of course your life is different than hers. Sure, she doesn't have kids to take care of. But it's a choice. Why should she feel bad because you decide to have kids and therefore have less time to take care of yourself ? Plus I guess your daughters bring you more profound joys than a perfect body and homemade bread. Sorry to here you work 50 hours a week. Sound hard to take care of everything and yourself but there are some people who even work less than her and spend their time doing nothing - trophy wives, for example. Why being so harsh towards Zuzka ? She's working hard to put on new programs and come up with new things all the time. What are you doing on this blog except talking about what other people are doing ? Plus, I suspect you badmouth Zuzka on purpose just to get more comments. And it works !
ReplyDeleteI never said Z had to feel bad, no I didn't do it on purpose, but sadly you are 100% correct - it did work. I got a lot more hits on my blog with this post.
DeleteSome would say that's a good thing. But it kinda makes me sad - about humanity in general. And that I need to not do that again. But it is how I see things - and I have a right to my opinion - especially on my own blog!
And good point about her vlog being staged. You're right on point there too.
I understand the venting, totally, but I actually found her bikini bottom workouts really motivating. I didn't listen to the dialogue, just wanted to see what it was like visually, and yeah, it was a little much, but it's effective! It's like, yeah, I look great in clothes, and naked, but sometimes it gets hot and if I "need" to be in less clothing, hey -- hello, motivation, lol.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I get a bit irked that I'm not able to have the time to make things (like bread -- my boyfriend is Danish and there is this rye bread that takes a couple of days to make, that I will make one of these days), but there is pride in packing in quality into morsel-sized bits of time. I still bring a fresh breakfast and lunch to work each day, healthy snacks, I still need to make an effort to drink more water (than coffee, oi). I guess what I'm trying to say is that these fitness personalities have made it their business to be able to do these workouts and that's only one part of their business - there's a lot of other hustle involved. It's being a freelancer -- yeah, there's flexibility and possibly copious amounts of time off, but it can also be unstable when one is their own boss.
I could say something about you having a "perfect" body and a stable family life, and man, what a luxury to do yoga a few times a week, what a luxury to have bounced back so quickly from having children, and to look better than me who is 15 years younger with no kids --- but I don't really think that way about you. I don't know your whole story. I do know that we all work our asses off, though, and that nothing is handed to us.
I'm all for critique but the wrong things seemed to be critiqued. That's my opinion... and I am definitely not one to tell someone what they should be feeling; we are all allowed that sometimes.
Liz- you are always a breath of fresh air. Your comments ROCK. Your view points - whether the same or different - always have perspective and are not just to vent or off the cuff. I like how you find her bikini workouts motivating. I find her ass in face annoying. LOL. To each their own. I do find her other more clothed workouts motivating though.
DeleteI feel like her social media is really just advertisements for zgym. I get that she will (and should!) advertise her product, but it leaves little for content. Just feels like commercials when I look on it.
ReplyDeleteI liked the way you wrote the article. It was very straightforward and your knowledge on the subject is fantastic.
ReplyDeletemount pleasant yoga