How Hard Should I Train In Order To Lose Weight

[[old] sbasol]

Hi,<br /><br />I am a 24 years old university rower in Turkey and I want to lose weight or to get fitter. I wonder how hard should I train in order to reach my goal.<br />I usually erg 10K 2 times a week and row on the water the other three days. <br /><br />Training programs say that my heart rate should be between 140-150 bpm in order to lose fat. But during exercise my heart rate increases up to 170bpm. Should I decrase the intensity of my workouts or is it better to train harder since I am burning more calories. Am I not burning any fat at high intensity since my workouts last between 43-44 minutes?<br />Thanks for your help.

[[old] Andrew Burrows]

<!--QuoteBegin-sbasol+Jun 30 2005, 12:01 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(sbasol @ Jun 30 2005, 12:01 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Hi,<br /><br />I am a 24 years old  university rower in Turkey and I want to lose weight or to get fitter. I wonder how hard should I train in order to reach my goal.<br />I usually erg 10K 2 times a week and row on the water the other three days. <br /><br />Training programs say that my heart rate should be between 140-150 bpm in order to lose fat. But during exercise my heart rate increases up to 170bpm. Should I decrase the intensity of my workouts or is it better to train harder since I am burning more calories. Am I not burning any fat at high intensity since my workouts last between 43-44 minutes?<br />Thanks for your help. <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Dont fall for the myth of the fat burning zone. Yes if you train within the fat burning zone a higher % of calories are from fat but if you train harder as you are you are burning more calories with a lower % of them from fat but this is usually still more fat calories than if done in the lower HR zone. Let me show you a very rough example which is purely just to highlight the fact so ignore the actual figures I use:-<br /><br />45min erging within the fat burning zone <br />Calories burnt off - <b>500</b><br />% of fat calories burnt off - <b>40%</b><br />Equals - <b>200</b> fat burning calories<br /><br />Now<br /><br />45min erg rowed at a higher intensity and above your fat burning zone<br />Calories burnt off - <b>750</b><br />% of fat calories burnt off - <b>30%</b><br />Equals - <b>225</b> fat burning calories<br /><br />So basically the harder you work the more calories burnt off and the more fat you will burn.

[[old] Yoda1]

Don't forget that by pushing harder, raising the intensity, you have to allow recovery time. Most people can burn more calories over a sustained longer period of time by staying it that fat burning zone rather than pushing at a higher rate and not recover. If a person is trying to loose weight they are better off staying in the fat burning zone, if for no other reason than they are not in top condition. By pushing to a higher intensity constantly a person's perform could and more than likely will begin to drop. <br /><br />Just an opinion here.<br /><br />Yoda

[[old] Andrew Burrows]

Agreed but if your used to training 5 days a week as sbasol is then I dont think recovery from session to session is a major problem. Obviously listen to your body and do what feels right though.

[[old] sbasol]

I have another question for you. With the kind of exercise I do ,rowing 10K three times a week and 2 water exercises, I get fitter I guess but my weight dont decrease. <br />I want to get fitter but also lose weight.<br />At my height I should be a lightweigt rower but I am not now.Do you have any suggestions? Thanks a lot.

[[old] Xeno]

Hi<br />I know exactly what you are talking about. I was always a "heavy" heavy weight during my racing years.<br />While training full time I lost the most weight when I was using weighwatchers.com<br />I didn't notice how easy it was to pile in unnecessary calories until I learned the "point system" which weightwatchers uses.<br />I lost twenty five pounds in three months! Then I went off the diet and gained it back. When you are an athlete who needs to watch weight increase, you will never be done watching your calorie intake. <br />So my advice: www.weightwatchers.com<br />XENO

[[old] RowedandRode]

To lose weight, you need to eat less as well as exercise more. Just piling on the exercise is going to make you very strong, but unless you watch your intake, your muscles and all that hard work will be hidden under a layer of "padding".<br /><br />Another problem is that if you simply exercise more, you risk overtraining, injury and burn-out. I had this issue; I would just work out harder and more often, doing longer and longer aerobic sessions, and my subconscious mind would say "oh goodie, all those calories burned off, you get to eat more"!! And then I would start to overeat at dinnertime, eat desserts, nibble at bread and cheese late in the evenings, etc. You get the picture. The result was a static weight - I didn't gain anything, but I didn't lose anything either. <br /><br />The next problem is that when nothing seems to be shifting, it becomes very easy to say, "oh h***, forget it, I just can't lose weight" and lose motivation. <br /><br />So my advice is to watch your intake as closely as you watch your output!<br /><br />R&R

[[old] R S T]

<!--QuoteBegin-Xeno+Jul 7 2005, 03:59 AM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Xeno @ Jul 7 2005, 03:59 AM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Hi<br />I know exactly what you are talking about.  I was always a "heavy" heavy weight during my racing years.<br />While training full time I lost the most weight when I was using weighwatchers.com<br />I didn't notice how easy it was to pile in unnecessary calories until I learned the "point system" which weightwatchers uses.<br />I lost twenty five pounds in three months!  Then I went off the diet and gained it back.  When you are an athlete who needs to watch weight increase, you will never be done watching your calorie intake.  <br />So my advice: www.weightwatchers.com<br />XENO <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br /><br />Xeno<br /><br />I have to say that my experience with WW is that it works IF you stick to the diet. It is useful for learning more about portion control and different food types. <br /><br />I think the real trick is NOT to start any 'diet' but think of a new eating/living lifestlye that incoporates plenty of exercise. When at full tilt with erg training I could not possibly survive on WW portions. The eating plans (for me at any rate) did not really cover how much additional eating one is allowed if exercising is incorporated into the equation. <br /><br />Surely, as a world class oarsman you could not survive on WW portions!!!???<br /><br />I have not been for a number of years, so they might have got their act togther in this regard since then. I did lose weight with WW, but put it back on again. I lost weight permanently by eating MORE than WW portions but exercising more as well. <br /><br />3 most important words in weightloss: exercise, exercise exercise.<br /><br />Cheers<br />RichardT

[[old] Cran]

<!--QuoteBegin--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->To lose weight, you need to eat less as well as exercise more </td></tr></table>It's not as simple as that.<br /><br />What you eat makes a difference, and also you can eat more and train more and lose weight.<br /><br />You can get down to about 15% body fat quite easily by eating less and training more, but I found to get down below that the best way was to eat more and train more.

[[old] RowedandRode]

<br />

You can get down to about 15% body fat quite easily by eating less and training more, but I found to get down below that the best way was to eat more and train more. <br />

<br /><br />I agree Cran, but once you're under 15% body fat, maintaining that kind of physique becomes a full-time job. That's fine if that's your aim, but most people would be happy just to knock off 10-20 lbs of extra lard. If you've managed to get below 15% BF, you must look glorious!! <br /><br />However, if your intent is to become "ripped", and slap on a lot of very lean muscle mass, then you are probably into doing serious weights and cardio for 4-5 hours per day, along with a diet that consists primarily of grilled chicken breast, egg whites, plain oatmeal and steamed vegetables. People who live that lifestyle watch <i>every single thing </i>they consume, and nary an unnecessary calorie ever passes their lips. They don't eat sugar, they aren't drinking alcohol, and they stay the heck out of restaurants! If not, they must have a genetic secret....

[[old] tditmar]

<!--QuoteBegin-Xeno+Jul 6 2005, 10:59 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Xeno @ Jul 6 2005, 10:59 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Hi<br />I know exactly what you are talking about.  I was always a "heavy" heavy weight during my racing years.<br />While training full time I lost the most weight when I was using weighwatchers.com<br />I didn't notice how easy it was to pile in unnecessary calories until I learned the "point system" which weightwatchers uses.<br />I lost twenty five pounds in three months!  Then I went off the diet and gained it back.  When you are an athlete who needs to watch weight increase, you will never be done watching your calorie intake.  <br />So my advice: www.weightwatchers.com<br />XENO <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br /><br />I wonder if Weighwatchers already know they have an Olympic Gold Medalist touting their product/service? It is not the client I would have in my head when I think of their company. I bet they would be thrilled.<br /><br />I hope you get paid for your endorsements, otherwise, I think you should.