Slow Aging | Healthy living, healthy aging

Training zones – getting the BEST ROI on your exercise

Squats home exercise program

Squats home exercise program

If you are anything like me, you hate wasting time and are looking for the best return on investment (ROI) on your exercise efforts. As a result, to drive my training efforts I train to my heart rate and target ideal training zones.

Calculating your training zones

Here’s how you calculate your training zones to get optimal fat burning and cardiovascular benefits. 

Ideally you should train between 50 and 75% of your heart rate (HR)reserve.

I use the Karvonen method in my calculations and this is known as the Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) method. It is considered the gold standard when it comes to identifying training zones, whether that be for weight loss or improvement in fitness.

As we get fitter our heart becomes more efficient and our resting heart rate becomes slower, and the Karvonen calculation takes this into consideration.  HRreserve is the difference between your maximal and resting heart rate. Your HRreserve is calculated by subtracting your resting heart rate from your maximal heart rate (HRmax).

Here is the Karvonen calculation:

HRtarget = HRreserve x intensity% + HRresting

Here are the steps to calculate your training zones:

1. Calculate your HRmax:

206.9 – (0.67 x age)

I’ll use my data for the calculations (I’m 58 this year): 206.9 – (0.67 x 58) = 168 (HRmax)

2. Take HRresting

Take your resting heart rate. The best time is just before you get up in the morning. For the most accurate reading take the average of two or three mornings’ readings.

My HRresting is 58.

3. Calculate HRreserve

HRreserve is HRmax minus HRresting, so mine is 168 – 58 which is 110.

4. Aerobic and anaerobic zones

The Karvonen method defines the following 5 zones. Zones 1 to 3 are aerobic and Zones 4 and 5 are anaerobic. Typically you’ll focus on aerobic zones for fat burning, however you’ll still burn fat with anaerobic zones after you’ve finished.  The lower zones are more comfortable when exercising, so are ideally suited for longer workouts.

My training zone calculations:

Here are my zones:

What are the best training zones for you?

Your level of fitness will dictate your starting training zones and I suggest you use this as a guide:

Where’s the best ROI?

The best ROI comes from working in your anaerobic zones which are zone 4 and 5. In a high intensity workout, your body first uses glycogen to access energy and will deplete its glycogen and then turn to fat for energy. There’s an additional benefit though as you’ll get the benefit of fat ‘afterburn’ which is a temporary increase in metabolism post-workout. Known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), your body will continue to burn more calories after you exercise, compared to when you do low intensity exercise. The downside though, is that unless you are fit enough to cope, you may not be comfortably able to do this.

Bottom line is that high-intensity exercise is a more efficient way to burn calories and lose fat. You’ll get a greater ROI by spending 20 minutes vs 60 minutes in zones 1 – 3 (which is what you’ll need to spend for serious fat burning).

8-week program using these zones

This program is based on dedicating 3 – 5 training hours per week.

DAY 1DAY 2DAY 1DAY 4DAY 5
WEEK 130 min – Z130 min – Z130 min – Z1
WEEK 230 min – Z130 min – Z130 min – Z130 min – Z2
WEEK 330 min – Z130 min – Z140 min – Z140 min – Z2
WEEK 440 min – Z140 min – Z140 min – Z240 min – Z220 min – Z3
WEEK 540 min – Z140 min – Z240 min – Z240 min – Z220 min – Z3
WEEK 650 min – Z140 min – Z230 min – Z330 min – Z320 min – Z4
WEEK 750 min – Z150 min – Z240 min – Z320 min – Z420 min – Z4
WEEK 860 min – Z220 min – Z420 min – Z420 min – Z420 min – Z5

Examples of Zone 1 – Zone 5 exercises

Zone 1: walking, walk/jog.

Zone 2: walk/jog, jog/run.

Zone 3: run, run + body weight exercises.

Zone 4: 50m sprints, 50m sprints + body weight exercises, circuit-based resistance training.

Zone 5: 75 – 100m sprints, 75 – 100m sprint + body weight exercises, circuit-based resistance training.

Example of a body weight circuit

Complete 45 seconds for each exercise, followed by a 15 second recovery (use the recovery period to get ready for the next exercise).

Choose 10 exercises from below. Complete 10 exercises and repeat. Total exercise time will be 20 minutes.

  1. Skipping
  2. Jogging on spot
  3. Star Jumps – see video
  4. Body Weight Squats – see video
  5. Push-ups – see video
  6. Sit-ups – pick any style you like but change regularly. Here’s one to start with.
  7. Burpees – see video
  8. Shuffle splits – see video
  9. Mountain climbers – see video
  10. Frog jumps – see video
  11. Tricep dips – see video
  12. Lateral Line hops – see video
  13. Prone Walkouts – see video
  14. Plank – see video
  15. Lunge – see video

Special thanks to expert contributor: Dr Jarrod Meerkin from MeasureUp

Last updated: 16-Jun-2020

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Whilst wielding a couple of dumbbells in a gym class in 2003, Kate experienced an epiphany around the lack of accepted best practice guidelines when it came to staying well and avoiding disease. Kate realized that she had no chance of slowing her own aging process unless she became better educated about her options.
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