PERIODIZATION AND POLAR: HOW TO GAIN TRACTION
Even a Purposeful Primitive needs this hi-tech gadget
I hear stifled snickers and muffled laughs every time I tell a hardcore iron pumper that not only do I perform cardio but they should also. Aerobics are for girls! is the predictable retort from my no-necked brethren. Visions of leotard-clad squads of women performing step aerobics in weird synchronization to Britney or Christinas latest bubblegum pop come to mind when a tough guy thinks of aerobics. What real man would be caught dead participating in a pump-and-sculpt class reeking of estrogen? Unfortunately being an iron pumper does not make you bulletproof and a disproportionate number of national and international level musclemen have either died or had heart operations at way to young an age as a direct result of indiscriminate calorie consumption and zero cardiovascular exercise. Muscle heads nationwide challenge me, How do you square being a Purposeful Primitive with recommending sissy aerobics and compound this heresy by suggesting the use of a freaking heart rate monitors!"
The counter argument is that the human circulatory system need be exercised regularly and needs a special brand of exercise. In addition there is one aspect of cardio that can only be gauged by wearing a hi-tech device. Why cardio? Done properly, cardio exercise elevates the heart rate in a systematic fashion and keeps it elevated for a protracted period of time. Done on a regular basis, cardio exercise bestows a cornucopia of benefits: circulatory functionality improves dramatically, capillaries and blood vessels are cleansed by torrents of blood, heart and lung function improves, physical endurance increases and body fat is decreased if cardio exercise is done in coordinated conjunction with disciplined eating.
Combine a tight diet with vigorous cardio and stored body fat is mobilized to fuel activity. Cardio exercise contributes mightily to what best could be called vitality. All in all, aerobic training bestows an impressive list of benefits. When progressive resistance exercise is combined with aerobics and underpinned with precision eating, a physical synergy occurs and results exceed all reasonable expectations. Without exception this balanced combination and evenhanded application of all three elements (weight training/aerobics/nutrition) amplifies results every single time. Cardio can take a variety of forms and these modes need not be uber-feminine. Mark The Hammer Coleman is without question one of the premier mixed martial arts fighters in the world. No one will accuse him of being sissified. He has won the Ultimate Fighting Championship on three separate occasions and captured the prestigious Pride Tournament in 2002. I have interviewed Mark on numerous occasions on his overall training philosophy and his approach to the cardio segment exemplifies the Purposefully Primitive approach. Coleman makes the point that in addition to endurance he seeks sustained strength, a type of strength/endurance that is unobtainable through weight training alone or steady state style cardio alone. Sustained strength is obtained by practicing a hybrid form of exercise that straddles the two exercise forms. Cardio could be classified as either steady-state or burst. Steady state cardio is acquired by performing aerobics in a smooth fashion utilizing an even pace. Steady state cardio is exemplified by the type of endurance a jogger, swimmer or aerobic machine user obtains from their smooth sustained training.
Burst cardio capacity is acquired by subjecting oneself to an intense activity that taxes cardio capacity to the maximum while requiring an intense, sustained muscular effort. Pushing or tugging on an opponent for an extended period of time, running up a steep hill, sprinting all out repeatedly, throwing or pulling on a heavy weight for a protracted time, are all examples of exercise modes that tax endurance while simultaneously requiring intense muscular effort. Burst cardio is endurance and strength and Coleman uses aerobic modes that require both types of cardio functionality. He practices both steady state cardio and burst cardio and makes a distinction between the two. He recognizes each requires a different training approach and so should you. Mix up the pace and intensity; dont make the mistake most aerobic practitioner make and practice steady state exclusively. The use of a heart rate monitor allows us to quantify cardio intensity and compare one type of aerobic activity to another. The heart rate monitor provides the user with a numerical value for aerobic intensity. There are four identifiable elements associated with aerobic activity:
Duration: how long is the session?
Distance: how far do you travel during the session?
Frequency: how often are the weekly sessions performed?
Intensity: how hard does the heart work during the session?
Three aerobic aspects are easy to identify and quantify. Intensity, however, is impossible to access without a heart rate monitor. Would you lift weights without knowing the poundage on the bar? Of course not so why perform cardiovascular exercise without knowing the intensity of the effort? Engaging in aerobic activity without monitoring the heart rate is the equivalent of performing progressive resistance training without knowing how much poundage you are using. The heart rate monitor is an indispensable tool for the average individual looking to improve their general level of fitness. This device is a critical piece of equipment and deserves to be in the gym bag of every serious fitness devotee. This invaluable fitness tool allows the user to understand and make effective use of critical cardio data. The best place to start is to establish a weekly cardio routine and use the heart rate monitor to designate intensity and calories oxidized. Once we devise the workout template we can tinker with the component parts. Let us assume the exercise mode is power walking and the hypothetical trainee is new to the fitness game and looking to ease into the mix gradually. We use the principle of creeping incrementalism to stair-step our way into shape. The periodization cycle lasts for six weeks. By the end of the designated timeframe the trainee is in measurably better physical condition and ready for more adventurous aerobic modes. We start off easy and train on a relatively infrequent basis. This allows the body to acclimatize and recover. As the weeks pass we systematically increase session frequency, duration and intensity. An ever-increasing number of calories are oxidized during each session and if a disciplined approach to eating is adapted, stored body fat will be mobilized to fuel a calculated caloric shortfall. Poor eating habits can undo the entire exercise effort.
SIX WEEK PERIODIZATION CYCLE USING THE POLAR M-52
# of sessions duration intensity goal calories burned per session
Week I 3 20 minutes 60%* 200**
Week II 3 20 65% 225
Week III 4 25 70% 250
Week IV 4 30 72.5% 300
Week V 5 35 75% 350
Week VI 5 40 75% 400
*Intensity is measured as a percentage of age-related heart rate maximum
**Calories are burned at a rate of 10 per minute; quite doable walking briskly
At the end of our hypothetical six-week cardio periodization cycle a multitude of goals are achieved on a multitude of levels. Inter-related and interconnected cardio benchmarks are established and performance and frequency goals within each benchmark are slightly increased on a weekly basis. The weekly tweaking can take many subtle forms. Our example illustrates how momentum is generated by manipulating the different elements ever so slightly. Establish key benchmarks and gradually increase performance over a protracted period of time. You can use our skeletal framework to devise a cardio periodization cycle that best suits the reality of your situation and circumstance.
Heart rate monitors may be purchased at any sporting goods store. I would recommend one that has a blended session average heart beat function. This allows you to push a button at the beginning of the exercise session and at the end of the session the monitor calculates how many times your heart beat during the session. The microprocessor then divides the total number of heart beats by the number of minutes in the session. If during a 30-minute session your heart beat 4,200 times, the HR monitor would determine a blended session heart rate average of 140-beats per minute. A 30-year old would have an age-related maximum heart rate of 190-beats per minute (220-30 = 190) and a 140-beat per minute average equates to 74% of age-related HR maximum. More advanced heart rate models allow guesstimates of calories burned during the exercise session. This approximation is based on inputted variables: height, weight, age, degree of fitness and gender. The calorie guesstimate, while never 100% accurate is accurate onto itself and valuable not as much as an absolute number but a relative number and is used to compare one effort to another.