Foundations: Fitness Concepts & Building an Aerobic Base

Congratulations on your decision to join the MYZONE Team!  As your fitness journey continues, we would like to offer some strategies for maximizing your training program.  MYZONE makes movement measurable, which will allow you to set specific goals and track your progress over time.  We will offer specific training tips and suggestions via e-mail.  The content will also be available on our website, and through Facebook and Twitter.

There are several fitness concepts vital to a sustainable fitness program:  the F.I.T.T. principle, progression, and periodization.  This month, we will cover the F.I.T.T. principle. 

The acronym F.I.T.T. stands for Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type.  This principle will assist you in designing an effective workout routine and establishing an aerobic base using the MYZONE system.

Frequency refers to amount of exercise, such as how many days per week you workout.  MYZONE tracks frequency by measuring the number of moves you make during the week.  Your moves are available to view on your user's page (www.myzone.org). 

Intensity refers to how hard you work during exercise.  MYZONE tracks intensity by measuring your heart rate and offering color-coded intensity zones.  MYZONE rewards your effort by providing MYZONE Effort Points (MEPs) based on the intensity and duration of your exercise.  Here is a breakdown of the intensity zones and corresponding MEPs. 

Gray zone

• 50-59 % of your maximum heart rate
• Low to moderate intensity zone 
• One MEP per minute in this zone 

Blue zone

• 60-69% of your maximum hear t rate 
• Moderate intensity zone
• Two MEPs per minute in this zone 

Green zone

• 70-79% of your maximum heart rate
• Moderate to high intensity zone
• Three MEPs per minute in this zone.

Yellow zone

• 80-89% of your maximum heart rate
• High intensity zone
• Four MEPs per minute in this zone 

Red zone

• 90-100% of your maximum heart rate
• Very high intensity zone
• Four MEPs points per minute in this zone

Time refers to the duration or length of exercise. MYZONE tracks the duration of your workout every time you wear your belt.  You can view your minute-by-minute activity report on your user's page.  Duration and intensity of exercise should have an inverse relationship, meaning, the harder you workout, the shorter the duration and vice versa.

Type refers to the mode of exercise, such as cardio or resistance training.  Your MYZONE user's page allows you to enter the type of exercise for each move you make.

As you are laying the foundation of your training program and building an aerobic base, it is important to think big and start small.  The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that healthy adults accumulate 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise (or a combination of the two) throughout each week.  In MEPs terms, you should accumulate 300 MEPs each week.  You can accumulate these MEPs in many different ways.  For example, you could perform 20-30 minutes of exercise in the blue and green zones five days per week or you could perform 20-30 minutes in the yellow and red zones two to three days per week.  This is where the think big, start small recommendation comes in to play.  If you are just starting a workout routine, it is better that you start in the blue and green zones and gradually progress your way up into the yellow and red zones.  We will discuss the concept of progression in the next post.

For now, happy beginnings!  Set some goals, earn some MEPs, and track your progress!