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Last Updated 12/31/2007 3:21:41 PM
Find the right exercise balance
By: Lisa Zeigel
 Staying physically fit is a pretty tough job. Considering that there are all kinds of other priorities demanding your attention, you can give yourself a pat on the back if you take the time to exercise. However, while it is commendable that you get yourself to the gym or on your stationary bike at home, or up early for that morning run every week, it is important to know how much is enough, and how much is too much. Why do I mention this? I am not talking about the average exerciser, and I know that many have trouble getting it in at all, but there are people who are (gasp) "addicted" to exercise. Maybe you've encountered someone like that: He or she is exercising, or talking about exercising every time you see him or her. Or if you go to a gym, you notice that person who has been on the stair climber for the entire hour you've been there, and is still climbing when you leave.
Professionally, I encounter every type of exerciser, and I see more than a few who spend an inordinate amount of time in the gym, doing the same activities day in and day out, such as running on a treadmill, cycling, or taking the same class every day. I can identify with this. I used to be one of them. Going to the gym on a weekend meant I could spend more time exercising, and often it would be an all-day effort. I would try to promise myself not to take so long, but inevitably, I would end up spending way more time than I planned; then feeling bad about it. I felt like I didn't have much of a life outside of work and working out. I would make myself go when I didn't feel like it. And I had to be drastically ill to miss a single day. An enjoyable activity, one that I originally felt good about doing, had become a tedious chore. And what brought me out of that cycle? An injury. Yes - too much of a good thing can take its toll. Your body never rests properly until you're forced to rest by over-worn tendons and tired joints.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association (AHA) recently released updated guidelines for the amount of exercise a healthy adult should get. It is suggested that most adults ages 18-65 years need either moderate and/or vigorous-intensity physical activity at least five days per week. More specifically, the guidelines recommend that one should perform a combination of both moderate and vigorous aerobic exercise. You could break it down to either:
→ 30 minutes of moderate activity, five days per week
→ 20 minutes of a more vigorous workout, three days per week
Moderate intensity is defined by the ACSM as between 55-69 percent of your heart-rate maximum (subtract your age from 220; multiply that by each percentage for your range). A vigorous level would be 70 percent or above. It is suggested that you vary the intensities, in other words "mix it up." You could combine easier-level workouts with harder bouts within the same week. While they suggest incorporating more vigorous activity to achieve greater health benefits, they also provide a limit to the volume that should be performed. There was a study conducted by the Cooper Institute of Aerobic Research in Texas, which suggests, "if you exercise above 60 percent of your max heart rate for four to five hours a week or more, you will incur a significant amount of harmful free radical damage in the body".1
Despite this information and the guidelines put forth by the ACSM and AHA, I constantly see people running too fast, for too long, and too frequently. Or participants in cycling classes, which can be intense in level of difficulty, taking classes almost every day, sometimes back to back - on the same day! Performing these high-level aerobic tasks repeatedly can over time produce results contrary to the goal of the exerciser! Sure, you will burn a lot of calories, but if your body is struggling to recover and you give it little or no recovery time, your body will conserve energy, using it to counteract the inflammatory response that results from all that hard pounding. You might notice this as a plateau in weight loss, (or even weight gain) or you may find yourself succumbing to colds, flu, etc. And worse, you may become injured. As I mentioned above, I am guilty of the excesses I am writing about, and have suffered the above consequences, as well!
I finally received the proper guidance I needed to improve my situation. Today I use my heart rate monitor to keep track of my intensity range. I had my aerobic threshold tested (the level of intensity I can tolerate before I start breathing out more C02 than breathing-in oxygen), and an aerobic program was developed for me based on improving that threshold (so my body would become more efficient at burning fat, rather than stored carbohydrates). The program felt much easier than the work I had been doing, but I was given variations too, on one day a low-level workout for a longer time; another day, a short-duration, high-intensity workout. And in between, some interval programs, where short bursts of high intensity were followed by longer bouts of low-intensity, with 3-5 "intervals" in one workout. After a couple of months of following that protocol, I re-tested my aerobic threshold and found I had become significantly more efficient at burning fat. I stayed in my "aerobic zone" for longer. I not only felt much better, but I got leaner, and I found the variety in my program exciting.
How can you tell if you are overtraining? Here are just a few possible symptoms:
→ You feel tired instead of energized after your workouts
→ You are constantly ill with minor colds, etc.
→ Your resting heart rate becomes elevated
→ You have trouble sleeping
→ You hit weight loss and fitness plateaus
→ You experience constant aches and pains or injuries
And there are mental aspects as well. You may feel tired, lethargic, uninspired to work out, depressed or withdrawn.
How can you beat this syndrome? You could take a V02 sub-max test, like I did. But I had to find a professional who could do it, using expensive equipment (and there is a cost to it). You don't have to do all that! If you are a healthy adult without blood pressure or heart issues, you can determine your own heart rate range. Try using the "Karvonen" formula. Once you find your range, try a workout that stays in the lower range (60-69 percent) for a 30-minute duration. On another day do a shorter duration of 20 minutes at the high end of the range. Then try an interval program. There are programs built in to many treadmills and stationary cycles, etc. Or, simply alternate a three-minute, low-range interval with 1-1/2 minutes in a high range, up to 6 repetitions (add warm-up time before, and cool-down after).
You could monitor your intensity with a heart-rate monitor (you would have to buy one from a sporting-goods store from about $50 and up), or some cardiovascular machines have heart rate sensors built in. You would have to grip them with your hands to get a reading on the display panel. There is the old-fashioned taking your own pulse. (Place your index and middle fingers on your wrist right below your thumb or on the side of your neck below your jaw line). You can take a 15-second count and multiply by 4, or 30 seconds and multiply by 2, etc. It just takes practice, but the easiest option would be to use a "rate of perceived exertion", such as thinking of a scale from 1-10, with 1 being easiest, and 10 being hardest. "Moderate" would be from 4-6; above that would be your more vigorous effort. And finally, there is the "talk" test. If you can talk while you are exercising, but you have to take a few breaths between words, that is moderate. If you are huffing and puffing and unable to talk - that is vigorous!
Once you find the right intensity range for yourself, alternate your workouts as suggested above, taking special care to give yourself recovery time between the harder bouts (2-3 days) and using "active recovery" - that is, easier workouts, in between. Experiment with interval training, and mix it up! Try different cardio machines, classes (cross train). And, don't forget to include a day of rest. You can use that rest day to have a recreational stroll outdoors, do some gardening, etc. Put the fun back in your exercise program, and you will see results!
1 http://www.lifespa.com/article.asp?art_id=64
Lisa Zeigel is a personal trainer and a group exercise instructor who has been involved in health and fitness for more than 19 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Cal State University, Dominguez Hills, and is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine as a health and fitness instructor and as a National Academy of Sports Medicine personal trainer. She has created unique wellness education programs and has taught healthy lifestyle classes for her local community. Currently, Lisa works with all types of clients and particularly likes to focus on new and returning exercisers, combining cutting-edge techniques with the tried-and-true. Most of all, she strives to make exercising fun and easy to integrate into each individual’s lifestyle. You can contact Lisa at fitgrrl@operamail.com.
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 Dr. Barry Sears is a leading authority on the dietary control of hormonal response. A former research scientist at the Boston University School of Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Sears has dedicated his research efforts over the past 30 years to the study of lipids. He holds 13 U.S. Patents in the areas of intravenous drug delivery systems and hormonal regulation for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.
A turning point in his research occurred in 1982. That year, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded for discoveries of the role that specialized hormones, known as eicosanoids, play in the development of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, auto-immune diseases, and cancer. Since eicosanoids are only generated from dietary fat, Dr. Sears reasoned that one could apply intravenous drug delivery principles to nutrition in order to control these exceptionally powerful hormonal responses with laser-like precision. In essence, his approach treats food as if it were a drug.
This area of his research led to various patents in the area of hormonal control by essentially using food as an oral drug delivery system to modulate eicosanoids especially for cardiovascular, diabetic, and neurological patients.
The impact of Dr. Sears’ revolutionary work in the dietary control of hormonal response began with the publication of his landmark book, The Zone. Since its publication in June 1995, The Zone has sold more than 2,000,000 hardcover copies, and became a #1 best seller on the New York Times book list. In addition, The Zone has been translated into 22 languages indicating a worldwide response to Dr. Sears’ research. His second book, Mastering the Zone, published in 1997, also became a New York Times bestseller with hardcover sales in excess of 500,000 copies to date. His third book, Zone Perfect Meals in Minutes, published in 1997, quickly became one of the best-selling cookbooks of 1997 and an another New York Times bestseller. The Anti-Aging Zone was published in 1999 and provides the molecular insights into how the Zone Diet can reverse the aging process. The Omega Rx Zone, published in 2002, explores the molecular foundation of chronic disease and how high-dose fish oil can dramatically reverse it. His latest book The Anti-Inflammation Zone discusses how to combat silent inflammation in order to reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and many other inflammatory conditions—and how to reverse these conditions if they are already present. To date more than 5 million hardcover copies of his Zone books have been sold in the United States.
His research has elevated food from more than simply a source of calories to being recognized as an exceptionally powerful drug. Because of his revolutionary research, Dr. Sears has been a frequent guest on many national programs such as 20/20, Today, Good Morning America, CBS Morning News, CNN, and MSNBC.
Dr. Sears continues his ongoing research as President of Zone Labs, a biotechnology company in Danvers, MA as well as the President of the non-profit Inflammation Research Foundation in Marblehead, MA. In addition to continuing research on the hormonal effects of food, Dr. Sears has expanded his research in developing innovative dietary approaches to treating cancer and neurological conditions, as well as his on-going work in treating cardiovascular diease and type 2 diabetes.
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I have been taking the Fish Oil for over 3 years now. I am 44 playing hockey and working out. The Fish oil helps with the pain that I get from playing hockey. It greatly enhances my performance on the ice and while working out. I have noticed a big difference in my energy, attentiveness and memory. If I miss a day for whatever reason, I notice a huge difference and it feels like something is missing. Anyway that is my short little story and it comes from the heart.
– Carter B.
I am a nutritionist and Ph.D. doctor of health and nutrition. For Dr. Sears to figure out balancing fat, carbs and protein, is really beyond brilliant. It is a milestone in diet history. I go over people's diet/emotional journals. Mostly all the time, we discover that the fatigue, irritability, unstable emotions were due to the imbalance in their diet. Using the Zone to balance them out, helps control weight, roller coaster emotions and gives them energy. Dr. Sears is so right when he says food is medicine. He has figured out the most powerful drug combination going, called The Zone.
Best and healthy wishes,
– Elaine W., Ph.D., N.C., M.A.
I have a very exhausting job as a flight attendant. I read the "Omega Rx Zone" about 4 years ago and started taking the fish oil. I am 47 and have been flying for 22 years. I am very active, I run and lift weights. But combining lack of regular sleep, a physically demanding job, and irregular eating patterns this job takes a toll on the body. Since taking the fish oil, I have noticed that I do not get exhausted. I get tired, but not exhausted. I stopped taking it for a couple of months and then started taking another company's fish oil. I started getting exhausted again. I came back to Zone Labs and will continue with the fish oil for the rest of my life. I believe in the product and it makes a huge difference in my life. It makes a difference with my running as well. I also bring the bars and shakes with me on the road. It is almost impossible to eat the way I should at work. I haven't found the right secret. At least I have my Zone fish oil, bars, and shakes.
– Kathryn S.
I have been in the Zone, for about 1 month now. I wanted to share with you how wonderful I think this program is. I have been a personal trainer for almost 10 years and actively compete in numerous athletic activities. The Zone program has helped me to achieve a better awareness of my nutritional needs and the results I have seen are amazing! I have lost nearly 13 lbs since I have been in the Zone. I feel more mentally alert, more focused at work, have greater intensity during my training, have made significant strength gains, and just feel better over all. With that said, I would like to thank you for helping me in my quest for "super-health"!
Thank you!
– Rob Y.
I read 'The Zone' and as exactly as I could followed the advice for diet. I noted weight loss progress. Over six months, I lost 33 pounds. One year has passed since then. I have maintained the new weight, guided always by Zone concepts. The Zone is powerful - I have found it fantastic and I am very grateful to Dr Sears.
– Lyn S.
Before I stumbled across the Zone I was weighing close to two hundred pounds and I was depressed. I used to be a gymnast as a young man. I would think, "look at me now," when I looked in a mirror. The day I found 'The Zone' book, I was intrigued and as I read it the science made sense and so, I began to follow the "treatment". I began to lose weight and I was feeling way more energetic. I am forty two years old, I am very active and my weight is down to 162 lbs, 38 pounds lost on the Zone. I cycle, walk, jog, swim and I can now perform some of the more simple gymnastic skills I did twenty years ago...I literally feel like I have turned back the clock.
Thank you!
– Jack J.
I have been on the Zone diet for 7 years. I did not go on the diet to lose weight necessarily; but fairly quickly I lost 25 pounds, going from 190 to 165; from a 36-inch waist to a 32-inch waist. I primarily did the Zone to live healthier. My health is excellent now. I just turned 62 years old. My Zone is my eating lifestyle now; I seldom stray; and I do not miss anything. It is The Good Life.
– Curtis Y.
My wife's doctor told her to read "Enter the Zone" and to do the diet, so I told her I would do it with her. After only one week on the plan we went on a strenuous hike (the first of the year), and when we stopped at our favorite coffee shop on the way home I was able to get out of the car and stand upright and walk into the place without pain or stiffness. The Zone had eliminated all the inflammation that had always forced me to stumble all humped over into the coffee shop any time we skied or hiked all day.
Thank you, Doctor Sears.
– Larry C.
I used to have a lot of knee pain when I walked or ran. I have been taking Omega Rx for almost a year now, and rarely have any pain. I believe it is the anti-inflammation action of the oil. I feel smarter as well. Thanks for developing such a superior oil!
– Joe W.
Prior to following the Zone Diet, my body fat was around 15% and my weight around 153 pounds. No matter what I did, my weight and body fat did not change much. I regularly cycled 20-30 hours per week logging well over 400 miles. That had little impact on body fat or weight. Diet also seemed to have little impact on body fat or weight. Within a couple of months of following the zone diet, my weight dropped rather quickly to 142 pounds and body fat to about 8%. I still regularly cycle up to 20 hours per week (during the summer). I have also started strength training. I eat about 16 blocks per day. I take 3.6 grams of fish oil per day, along with Vitamin E, Alpha Lipoic Acid, CoQ10, and B & C vitamins. I also take GLA, which in my opinion, has significantly reduced fatigue and improved recovery times after exercise.
– Jeremy S.
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All polyphenols have antioxidant properties than can be measured by their Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC), but not all polyphenols have anti-inflammatory properties. The polyphenols in Dr. Sears’ Zone Polyphenol Plus have been carefully chosen to have both.
Polyphenols are the phytochemicals that not only give fruits and vegetables their color, but also help regulate inflammation. In addition, polyphenols also activate the key enzyme (AMP kinase) that helps restore cellular ATP levels. Polyphenols also help regulate the activation of inducible inflammatory proteins (such as COX-2 and inflammatory cytokines).
There are more than 4,000 known polyphenols, and the richest sources are fruits and vegetables. In general, the more color a fruit or vegetable has, the richer the polyphenol content.
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Zone Labs’ Ultra Refined Omega-3 Concentrates are three times fresher and contain less than 1/10th the mercury than what is allowed by the Norwegian Medicinal Standard and European Pharmacopoeia Standard
Zone Labs adheres to the International Fish Oil Standard (IFOS), an independent third party validated laboratory quality standard that is more rigid than any other global standard for purity.
- No company in the worlds runs more tests with IFOS than Zone Labs
- Zone Labs receives a 5 out of 5 star IFOS rating for every batch it tests
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| Standard |
IFOS Standard for a 5-Star Ranking |
Council for Responsible Nutrition |
European Pharmacopeia |
Norwegian Medicinal Standards |
| Peroxide |
< 3.75 meg/kg |
5 meg/kg |
10 meg/kg |
10 meg/kg |
| Totox Levels |
< 20 meg/kg |
26 meg/kg |
NA |
NA |
| Lead |
< 10 ppb |
10 ppb |
100 ppb |
100 ppb |
| Mercury |
< 10 ppb |
10 ppb |
100 ppb |
100 ppb |
| Dioxans and Furans |
< 1 ppt |
2 ppt |
2 ppt |
2 ppt |
| PCBs |
< 45 ppb |
90 ppb |
NA |
NA |
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"IFOS – THE TOP GLOBAL PURITY STANDARD FOR OMEGA-3 FROM FISH"
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Zone Labs products show no detectable lead or mercury when tested down to 10ppb, which is 10 times below the Norwegian Medicinal Standard and European Pharmacopoeia Standard limits.
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Zone Labs products are three times fresher than the minimum allowed by the Norwegian Medicinal Standard and European Pharmacopoeia Standards (based on average peroxide values).
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Zone Labs starts with only wild, small fish from pristine Chilean waters and ends with proprietary validation and testing processes to achieve an IFOS certified 5 star rating.
8-Step Manufacturing Process - Quality Assured
Testing to specification all raw materials, bulk products, packaging material and finished products – always using stringent internal standards and in-process testing.
- Extraction of fish oil
- Winterization – remove limited amounts of saturated fats
- Absorption – remove heavy metals
- Preliminary Molecular Distillation – refining “touch up” to reduce contaminants
- Oil conversion to ethyl esters
- Ethyl ester thermal fractionation – remove additional saturated fats
- True Molecular Distillation – final refining to remove pcb’s and long-chain monoenes
- Rigid Processes – proprietary validation, inspection and encapsulation methods. Independent lab verification of IFOS requirements and certified 5 star rating
No farmed fish. No large fish. Pristine waters.
Zone Labs starts with wild sardines & anchovies fished from cold, pristine waters off of South America where there are less environmental impurities.
A recommended serving of Zone Labs Ultra-Refined Concentrates delivers 8 times more omega-3’s than a typical retail fish oil supplement.
Most fish oil supplements have 30% or less of the healthy omega-3s EPA and DHA, with the remaining 70% of the capsule containing unbeneficial, lesser refined fatty acids that contribute to their bad taste and gastric side effects.
Getting a clinically valid dose of omega-3’s is easy with Zone Labs’ Ultra-Refined Omega-3 Concentrates.
Typical Retail Dose = 300mg omega-3
Standard Zone Dose = 2400mg omega-3
A serving of canned tuna has 12 times less omega-3’s than
Zone Labs Ultra-Refined Omega-3 Concentrates
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Commonly consumed fish and shellfish in the United States
Mercury Source: Food and Drug Administration, FDA 1900-2004, “National Marine Fisheries Service Survey of Trace Elements in the Fishery Resource". Omega-3 Level Source: American Heart Association Website.
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Mercury level
in parts per million (ppm) |
Omega-3 fatty acids
(milligrams per 3-oz. serving) |
| Zone Omega-3 Products |
< 0.01 |
2400 (standard 4 capsule serving |
| Salmon (fresh, frozen) |
0.014 |
1200 |
| Flounder or sole |
0.050 |
480 |
| Pollock |
0.041 |
450 |
| Crab |
0.060 |
400 |
| Scallops |
0.050 |
290 |
| Shrimp |
ND* |
290 |
| Catfish |
0.050 |
270 |
| Clams |
ND* |
250 |
| Cod |
0.095 |
210 |
| Canned Tuna (light) |
0.120 |
200 |
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Zone Labs’ leading product. OmegaRx delivers all of the benefits of Zone Labs’ ultra-refined omega-3 concentrates.
Advantages
- Delivers clinically proven health benefits from the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA*
- Promotes a healthy heart, healthy brain, healthy immune system, healthy circulatory system, healthy joints, healthy moods, healthy triglyceride levels and a healthy pregnancy*
- Combats silent inflammation
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