In the Zone
In the Zone: The Secret to Burning Fat
Ever wonder how hard you need to workout in order to burn fat and see results? You 
must be in what's called your "target heart rate" zone. In order to calculate your target heartrate, subtract 220 from your age, then multiply that number by 60% and 80%. These two numbers represent the target heartrate zone you must be in when you're participating in any cardiovascular exercise.
For example, I am 39 years old. I subtract 39 from 220, which gives me 181. Then I multiply 181 by 60% and 80%, which gives me 108.6 and 144.8. These two numbers are my target heartrate zone, which means my heart must beat between 108.6 and 144.8 beats per minute in order for me to burn fat.
The simplest way to test your heartrate is, after you've been exercising for about 15 minutes, to place your pointer and middle fingers beside the side of your neck until you feel your carotid artery. Then count the number of times your heart beats for 20 seconds and multiply that number by 3. This number will equal how many beats per minute your heart is beating and whether or not you're in your target heartrate zone.
Another way you'll know you're in your target heartrate zone is how much you're sweating while doing your exercise. If you're sweating profusely from your forehead, chest area, back, etc., then you're definitely in the zone! So have fun and remember, if you need to burn fat and want the best results, be in your target heartrate zone!
- Michael Brummer, Certified Personal Trainer
In the Zone - February 12, 2010
"And again I paddled out and caught a wave. For a third time I hopped to my feet, swiveled my hips, and guided the
board, so I was not walking on water, but gliding on it, dancing on it, as the wave crashed into the white foam behind me, propelling me into the glassy water ahead. This was infinity of the brightest kind, and I slipped into that ecstasy that comes with losing yourself completely, with touching the wet fire churning at the center of the world, with getting all the way inside life, no longer a witness but right at the crux, at the point of maximum propulsion. Finally the wave dropped me off at the beach, where I rammed my lovely Indian into the sand like an amateur and stumbled back onto land, my whole body grinning in elation and exhaustion." - Frances Lefkowitz - from How to Have Not (MacAdam/Cage) -Book excerpt published in body + soul Magazine.
I read Lefkowitz's words last night before heading to bed and was reminded of how wonderful it feels to be "in the zone." Where none of the cares of the world are filling my mind...just the elation of being connected to a moment, an action...
We all crave at one point in time or another the days of youth where we were nearly always in the zone -- whether we were climbing trees, playing cops & robbers or watching a favorite cartoon. Our focus was single and because of this we were ALIVE.
Today, I'd like to encourage you to find a fun activity to engage in that will enliven your spirit and take you into "the zone"...there you will find freedom and revitalization abound!
- Jen of Project BeBold!
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