GVT - day 9 - Heart Rate Zones Applied - Cube Dweller Fitness

GVT – day 9 – Heart Rate Zones Applied

Today I worked through day 9 of the German Volume Training and wanted to spend time applying Heart Rate Training Zones. You will see why I love using kettlebells so much, since they let me combine strength training and cardio training.



GVT Heart Rate Zones

This is day 9, so this nearly the end of this portion of Mike Mahler’s program. The German Volume Training (GVT) portion continues to be a challenge and today was no different. (See day 2, day 4, day 7, day 8)

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Take some time to watch the image above. It has animations that highlight four phases of the workout: warmup, squats, swings, and windmills. Pay attention to the zone during the different phases. Recall how our ideal training happens in zones 2, 3, and 4. Zone 2 is where our body is burning fat. Zone 3 is where we push our bodies and it burns both fats and carbs. Zone 4 pushes our body further, past the point where oxygen can be delivered, and we start anaerobic training. After a ten minute warmup, the workout keeps me in zones 2,3, and 4 for the entire workout – 50 minutes.

Warmup

Jumping rope. Going old-school today. I pulled out the jump rope for my warm up. I kept the pace slow and watched my heart rate; aiming to keep myself in zone 1. My lack of skill in jumping rope helped since I was constantly stopping to untangle myself and start again. Each time I reset gave me a chance to check my pulse on my heart rate monitor and rest if I was starting to get into Zone 2.

Double Kettlebell Squats

I increased my weight using the 20kg and 24kg kettlebells (I only have singles in these weights, so I have to switch sides each set). Just like day 7 I remembered that rest matters. I timed my rest periods to 60 seconds. Now looking at my heart rate for the first 5 sets I was able to recover into zone 2, even zone 1 in the first two rest periods. After each following set my heart recovered, but not as deep. By the last sets I was barely recovering out of the anaerobic zone 4. The HRM matched how I felt; I was working hard.

Double Kettlebell Swings

I took a break watching my heart rate get down into zone 1 between exercise. With the swings the shape of the heart rate profile is pronounced; dramatic increases and dramatic decreases. I still kept my rest periods to 60 seconds and found that my heart rate recovery shrunk as I progressed through the sets.

I was also interrupted and paused my HRM part way through. The result was that I lost count (go figure) and as a result I now see that I didn’t just complete ten sets; I completed twelve sets. No wonder I was toast at the end.

High/Low Kettlebell Windmills

I kept the same bells as I used in the swings. These seemed heavy for windmills, but I was able to keep going. I found that after 60 seconds I felt dead, so I started to give myself a little more time; trying to let my heart rate settle down into the middle of zone 2.

If you counted the peaks you’ll notice I must have been interrupted during this exercise, because I did two extra sets. You are right. Strange, but at least interruptions didn’t make me skip sets. At least the result was pushing myself further.

Overall the workout was great. As you start to explore your own Heart Rate Training Zones you can focus your workout to keep you heart in the most efficient zones for training. A bonus perk is being able to see how many sets you actually completed – at least its a bonus for people like me that count on computers to keep track of things for us.

About 

Troy is the founder of Cube.Dweller.Fitness. He's an innovation catalyst in several areas of life including business, marketing, and process improvement. Outside of work he's actively involved in fitness, health, and living vibrantly in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

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