I have a question about how many calories I need per day. I track all my calories, and I work out about 4 to 5 times per week with a mix of cardio (spinning, running, or elliptical) and weights.

I’m 5’7.5″ and weigh 135. (My weight moves between 132 and 135.) I eat fairly clean — lots of vegetables, fruits, and lean proteins and nuts. No fried foods, not much sugar. I do like wine but I count the calories.

How much should I be consuming per day? I’ve read various estimates from 1800 to 2100 per day, but if I go to a spinning class and burn 600+ calories, plus do weight training before, how much should this increase my intake? Sometimes I’m sooo hungry, especially in a heavy-workout week, but I don’t want to gain.

Answer from Get Your Rear in Gear trainer, Dana Neve:

Your exercise and nutrition plan sounds great! Based on your measurements and level of exercise, if you’re trying to maintain your weight, then a 2,100 calorie diet is just about right. On the days that you are feeling more hungry because of an intense workout make sure that you are eating high protein, nutrient dense foods with good fats to keep you satisfied. Healthy foods that will help keep you full longer include avocados, raw nuts (almonds, walnuts), eggs, apples, almond butter, leafy vegetables, beans, lean meat and whole grains just to name a few. Drinking enough water is important too. Sometimes dehydration is mistaken for hunger.  Based on your weight you should drink about 10 glasses of water throughout the day.  Exercising, eating healthy and being aware of your calorie intake is a great formula for your fitness success!

Dana Neve

Dana Neve is a New Orleans native living in the Twin Cities for the past eighteen years with her husband and two teenage daughters.  She is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, runner, fitness coach, motivator, speaker, avid spectator of her kids’ sports, and has been a guest speaker on the radio.  Fitness has always been a part of her life, but it wasn’t until 2000 that she became passionate about it.  After being diagnosed with fibromyalgia and having a negative reaction to the medication prescribed, she decided to control the symptoms with exercise and proper nutrition.  The results were life changing and it has become her mission to help others lead longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives through fitness and nutrition.  She coaches people around the country developing nutrition plans and recommending workout programs for her clients, while motivating and supporting them along the way. She is dedicated to helping people achieve their goals and would love to help you too.

To learn more from Dana, connect with her on Twitter, her Facebook page, or email her.

Have you ever found yourself reading through running magazines, asking veteran runners, or combing the web for running advice to take you to the next level? If so, good for you! There is a strong body of research and commonly accepted running practices that are widely utilized among the running community. With that said, every runner has a unique set of needs, goals, and lifestyle, and you want to make sure the advice works for you. In six short paragraphs I am going to attempt to provide insight and best practices for beginning runners:

1. 

   Pace. Find a training program specific to your needs. If you are training for a race, choose a race specific plan. If you are looking to get in shape, there are basic plans out there for that as well. A simple search on the web would be a great starting point. Once you find a program, start slow and give yourself multiple months to build your mileage. Running is an endurance sport and the training is no different.

2. Terrain. Alter your running surface when possible. Softer surfaces (e.g. trails and grass) will be gentler on your body and allow you to rebound for the next run more quickly. However, balancing trail running with roads will train your body to tackle both surfaces successfully. If you are training for a road race, do not train solely on trails, and vice versa. Lastly, treadmills provide convenience to the average runner, allowing them to complete their workout without leaving home. The same warning applies to treadmills…try to supplement with softer surfaces. Also, always set the elevation grade on the treadmill to 1-2 degrees to simulate real running and to save your legs.
3. 

   Company. Running allows individuals to relieve stress, reflect on their day, and let their minds wander. Adding music to your workout can help elevate these sensations. Allowing your body to slip into a Zen-type state can be euphoric, but sometimes you need that extra motivation to take your mind off the workout or help you get in that last mile. This is where your friends or local running group come in handy. Many beginner runners are apprehensive to join a group run. My advice, “don’t be, you’ll thank me later.” Running groups are very welcoming and offer a wide variety of paces!

4. Listen. Your body is brilliant and an amazing creation, so listen to it. If you begin to develop sore muscles, add extra stretching or take a day off. If there is a pain that doesn’t seem to be going away, bring out the ice or frozen bag of corn after your workouts. Many times an extra day of rest will save you from battling an injury for weeks down the road.
5. 

   Gear. Make sure you get professionally fitted for a pair of running shoes at your local running store and use these shoes for running only (editor’s note: see Bryan’s advice about shoes here). As far as clothing is concerned, lightweight wicking apparel helps with sweat distribution. Cotton is not very breathable and therefore traps the water, leading to chaffing or chills. This is true with socks as well. Go ahead and invest in a few good pairs of thin, breathable socks. And speaking of chaffing, don’t be too ashamed to apply some petroleum jelly to your feet and toes to prevent blisters. Oh yeah, I almost forgot…bloody nipples. No one wants to talk publicly about them, but they are common and painful! Let me just say waterproof band-aids are lifesavers.

6. Fuel. Stay hydrated and be particularly mindful throughout the summer months and as you add distance. If you experience headaches, dizziness, or cottonmouth on a run you are most likely severely dehydrated. Prevent these symptoms by drinking plenty of water throughout the day and treating yourself to a little snack an hour before your run. This will help provide the extra fuel needed to complete the workout. Ideally, you should try to consume water or a sports drink every 20 minutes when working out. Fuel belts and handheld water bottles are great solutions to drinking on the run.

Best of luck with your journey and remember that you are not alone! Run well…

Bryan Brander is a school principal by day and runner/coach by morning, night, and weekend. He began his running career, entering his first race, at the age of twelve and was blessed to have the opportunity to run competitively in high school and college. Since then he has been coaching runners and sharing his knowledge, training, and success, while also competing in a variety of distances from 5Ks to 50 milers, and enjoying his love for the sport along the way. In 2010 he founded Bull City Coaching, a comprehensive running resource to deliver his coaching on a larger scale. Bryan ran his first Get Your Rear in Gear event in Raleigh, N.C. on March 5, 2011. You can follow Bryan on Twitter or email him for more information.

Image by Mark Laita

An article by Leslie Goldman in the July 2011 edition of Runner’s World magazine gives you the perfect excuse to enjoy summer produce: to stay hydrated during runs and summer work outs.

The article calls out some of summer’s best fruits and vegetables, including strawberries, avocados, cucumbers, and tomatoes, as ways of not only getting the hydration you need, but also getting post work-out recovery and other essential vitamins and minerals needed to get and stay healthy (and maybe even prevent cancer?).

Here’s some juicy news: Drinking water isn’t the only way to stay hydrated. According to the Institute of Medicine, 20 percent of your water intake comes from food. “Eating a three-ounce cucumber is like drinking three ounces of water, but better,” says Howard Murad, M.D., author of The Water Secret. Besides being water-rich, vegetables, fruits, and a few other key foods contain nutrients that can boost a runner’s performance and health.

You can read the entire article, ‘Eat Your Water,” here.

Then start running!

We received this question through our Facebook page and sent it to one of our fitness experts for her opinion.  Remember, before you try any new exercise regimen you should talk with your physician.

Use caution when beginning any new exercise following surgery. Be sure to check with your doctor.

Question:
Do you have any tips for getting your abdominal area back in shape after surgery? It’s been 6 months and I can’t seem to get the strength back. When I do crunches it feels like it pulls where my main incision was and it hurts in a stingy kind of pain and I can’t do many at all. Thanks!

Dana Neve, personal trainer:
First of all, make sure you have clearance from your doctor for exercise.  The advice I am giving is fitness advice, not medical.

I have had the same issues with stomach incisions and understand that “stingy” pain.  There are several reasons for that.  Sometimes scar tissue can restrict the movement of nerves that can cause inflammation which causes the pain. Also, the skin in that area becomes tight which can cause that pulling feeling with certain movements. Gently massaging the scar is usually recommended, but again, talk to your doctor first.

The key to firming and toning muscles is to make exercise a habit.  It must be a part of your daily life. And you cannot get the results you want without proper nutrition. The most important thing to remember is that 20% is exercise and 80% is nutrition. Abdominal exercises are great for toning up your muscles but don’t do much for the body fat that is covering them up. To get your abdominals back in shape you should have a fitness routine that includes cardio and resistance training.  You can get toned, even ripped, abs without doing a single crunch! Always keep your core tight no matter what exercise you are doing.  I am a big fan of plyometric training and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) to get your entire body into shape.

Dana Neve

Dana Neve is a New Orleans native living in the Twin Cities for the past eighteen years with her husband and two teenage daughters.  She is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, runner, fitness coach, motivator, speaker, avid spectator of her kids’ sports, and has been a guest speaker on the radio.  Fitness has always been a part of her life, but it wasn’t until 2000 that she became passionate about it.  After being diagnosed with fibromyalgia and having a negative reaction to the medication prescribed, she decided to control the symptoms with exercise and proper nutrition.  The results were life changing and it has become her mission to help others lead longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives through fitness and nutrition.  She coaches people around the country developing nutrition plans and recommending workout programs for her clients, while motivating and supporting them along the way. She is dedicated to helping people achieve their goals and would love to help you too.

To learn more from Dana, connect with her on Twitter, her Facebook page, or email her.

Running Blogger, and Get Your Rear in Gear Baton Rouge participant, Katie M. Key

I love Twitter, nevermind that as communications director for Get Your Rear in Gear it’s a part of my job, but it can lead you to people and places you may not come in contact with on a normal day.  Take for example @katieRUNSthis. Katie M. Key is a runner in Baton Rouge, we chatted over Twitter a bit in April around the Get Your Rear in Gear Baton Rouge event and I have been following her on Twitter ever since.  Today I found out she also has a blog, with some great information about running.

My IPod - Photo Links to Katie's Running Music list.

I’ve been looking for a good list of running songs.  Katie has a great list here arranged by BPM (beats per minute). I’ll subscribe to Katie’s disclaimer about the music, but maybe you’ll find something listed here that will help you Get Your Rear in Gear.

I’ve got a couple of these on my IPod already, but I think my ITunes account is about to become very busy in the next few days.

Re-energize your workouts

Not feeling motivated to get your rear in gear because you’re sick of the same old workouts? Or maybe your just looking for some different workouts that you may never thought of or just never got around to? Well here are a few ideas that should put a new and exciting twist on working out and that will for sure have you off your rear!

Cardio Kickboxing: Blend athletic drills and martial arts to create an intense cardiovascular workout. A cardio kickboxing workout includes basic kickboxing moves such as bobbing and weaving, ducking, as well as punches and kicks. You get a complete workout all while having fun kicking, punching and moving. A great stress-buster, too.

Zumba: It’s a fusion of Latin dance styles, including salsa, mambo and cha-cha with aerobic/fitness interval training that creates a dynamic, exciting and effective workout that tones and sculpts. It is fun and easy to do and a great way to get your rear in gear without even knowing it.

Water aerobics: A series of aerobic exercises along with the use of water weights that takes place in shallow water and is a perfect workout for anyone. Any age or fitness level can get started. This workout forces the body to continuously move to keep balance and engages more muscles because of the water’s resistance, which means it causes very little stress on the joints but shapes and tones your body.

Hip Hop Cardio Dance: If you hate exercise but love to dance, this is for you. It uses hip hop dance moves and techniques while moving to the pumping rhythm of hip hop songs. It’s a total body workout without the feel of one.

Bosu Ball

Bosu ball workout:  A newer twist on step aerobics and balance exercises. It uses an inflated rubber hemisphere that is attached to a rigid platform. When the dome side is up, the device can be used for athletic drills and aerobic activities. When the device is flipped over so that the platform faces up, it creates intensity to your workout by creating instability. It’s a good workout without any complicated choreography.

Spring has sprung! Get our and enjoy it.

Temperatures are rising, ice and snow are melting, greenery is sprouting, birds are chirping, air conditioners are running . . . however Spring harkens in your area the trend is clear, we ARE saying good-bye, farewell, so long, don’t let the door hit you in the rear,… adios to winter! Spring is here!  It is a time of rebirth and renewal.  What better time is there to make the commitment to GET FIT? Don’t put it off until tomorrow or next week. The time to get healthy is now.

So you might need a little motivation, right?  Well, I have found the perfect person to motivate you.  Stop what you are doing, get up, and go look in the mirror.  That’s your motivation.  Do it for YOU! As with anything that you are going to be truly successful with, you have to want it.  And to want it, you have to know why you want it. Fitness isn’t about having a ripped body or the body fat percentage of an elite athlete.  It is about total body health. The benefits go far beyond a fitness model physique.  Working out doesn’t make you a “fitness freak.”  Are you a teeth-brushing freak?  No. You brush your teeth because you want to keep them as long as you can and want to protect yourself from disease.  The same is true for your body.  Consider looking great an added bonus!

There are many benefits of exercising regularly. It is the best anti-aging “product” on the market!  You will have better overall health, it reduces risk of heart disease, stroke and many cancers, increases bone density, helps prevent type 2 diabetes, manages stress, improves mood and self-esteem, you’ll have more energy and look and feel better in your clothes. What more motivation do you need?

Now you are ready to make the commitment. Where do you start?

There are two parts to overall fitness: nutrition and exercise.  Nutrition is 80% and 20% is exercise.  Those numbers show how important nutrition is to your results.  You cannot out-exercise a bad diet! Start with eliminating these four things from your diet: (1) hydrogenated oils; (2) white sugar; (3) refined flour; and (4) chemically laden foods.  Basically whole foods in their most natural form are the best.

Make sure you eat small meals every two to three hours.  You will never be “starving” and you are constantly fueling your body, which speeds up your metabolism.  Have a craving?  Save it for the weekend as a treat.  That doesn’t mean go on an all out binge.  It’s a “treat” not an entire weekend “cheat”.  Also, drink lots of water.  The amount varies among individuals.  A good formula is to take your body weight and divide it by two – that number in ounces is how much water you should drink a day.  Drink it ice cold if you can.  The body has to expend the energy to warm it to match your regular body temperature, so you’re actually burning extra calories!

Now it’s time to get moving!  Make exercise a regular part of your life just like eating, brushing your teeth, or taking a shower – not something you try to fit into your day.  I schedule my workouts on my calendar as an appointment that can’t be missed.  Determine what time of day will work for you.  I am not a morning person, but sometimes I get up at 5:30 a.m. to workout because that is the time that works best for me that day. Think of it as if your life depends on it… because it does.  Exercise at least six days a week.  But don’t just lie around on your rest day.  Find some activity that gets you moving.  Go for a swim, walk the dog, or take a family bike ride.  Make it something enjoyable.

Your exercise routine should include both cardio and strength training. There are two types of cardio: slow and steady or High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).  Slow and steady cardio is typically long duration (45 min to an hour), low intensity, burning fat not carbs, and preserves joints.  These exercises include walking, running, and swimming, to name a few.

I am a big fan of HIIT, which is shorter in duration (20-30 minutes), burns carbs first then fat, ramps up your metabolism throughout the day, involves explosive movements, and sprinting.  It is the best way to burn body fat, maintain lean muscle and boost metabolism for days instead of minutes. It is also the best use of your time if you want to get super lean in a short period of time. HIIT can be applied to different exercises like running and cycling. Use a 2:1 ratio of rest and high intensity.  For example, if you are running then you would sprint as hard as you can for one minute and recover (slow pace run) for two minutes – then repeat the cycle.  Most importantly, figure out what you really like to do because if you’re not enjoying it you will not stick to it!

As for strength training, there are many exercises that use your own body weight to build muscle. Push-ups, crunches, reverse crunches, tricep dips, and squats are just a few.  Adding strength training to your workout is essential to your overall health and should not be skipped.

Take advantage of the beautiful weather and bring your workouts outside! Run around the lakes, bike on different trails, rollerblade or play tennis.  These are all great ways to enjoy the outdoors and all that summer has to offer while getting your “exercise on.”  Now you’re ready to put on that swimsuit and dive into summer with a fit and healthy body and a lot more energy!

Dana Neve is a New Orleans native living in the Twin Cities for the past eighteen years with her husband and two teenage daughters.  She is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, runner, fitness coach, motivator, speaker, avid spectator of her kids’ sports, and has been a guest speaker on the radio.  Fitness has always been a part of her life, but it wasn’t until 2000 that she became passionate about it.  After being diagnosed with fibromyalgia and having a negative reaction to the medication prescribed, she decided to control the symptoms with exercise and proper nutrition.  The results were life changing and it has become her mission to help others lead longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives through fitness and nutrition.  She coaches people around the country developing nutrition plans and recommending workout programs for her clients, while motivating and supporting them along the way. She is dedicated to helping people achieve their goals and would love to help you too.

To learn more from Dana, connect with her on Twitter, her Facebook page, or email her.

Photo by J.C. Rojas on flicker

According to the American Cancer Society, regular physical activity can significantly lower your lifetime risk for cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Research done by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis and the American Cancer Society have found that individuals get the most benefits from exercise if they do so consistently and over as long a period of time during adulthood as possible, but it’s never too late to start. They argue that even a 30-minute walk each day is enough to reduce your risk of a number of diseases, and that exercise, once a cancer diagnosis has been made, can decrease the risk of it recurring or becoming worse.

So what can you do in 30 minutes?

Watch your favorite tv show (including commercials), cook dinner, or read a few chapters of the book you’ve been meaning to get through.

There are plenty of things you could do, but what if you decided to do a quick workout with your 30 minutes?

Workouts don’t have to be on the treadmill or in the gym to count. These workouts can be done in your home.

Yoga Video: Your flexibilty, strength, posture and health will all benefit from yoga. The Mayo Clinic notes yoga’s series of postures and controlled breathing exercises are a popular means of stress management and relaxation.

Pilates: Many Pilates videos are available that breakdown the most basic moves step-by-step, so you can learn proper technique. A 30-minute Pilates workout will focus on your core muscles — your abs, obliques, and back — to bring strength to your entire body and improve your posture, according to KidsHealth.org.

Kettlebells: Livestrong recommends exercising with kettlebells. Kettlebells are circular, cast iron training tools that have handles mounted to the top. The two-arm swing is a fast-paced exercise that can quickly elevate your heart rate, while working your core and lower body simultaneously. Perform it from a standing position with your feet in a slightly wider than shoulder-width stance. Slowly bend down and grasp the handle with both hands. Steadily lift it off the floor and swing it between your legs. Quickly swing it forward and up to about chest height and repeat. After swinging for 30 seconds, place the kettlebell on the ground and rest for 30 seconds. Repeat this sequence for 30 minutes.

Fitness expert Matt Haugen

Walking, running and hiking are excellent forms of exercise.  As weight bearing activities, these workouts help to improve joint health, burn calories, and as part of an overall exercise program, help to improve health and wellness.  Moderate exercise has also been shown to help prevent many forms of disease, including colon cancer.  But sore calves can keep a walker, runner or hiker off their feet.  Sore calves often occur after an increase in exercise intensity, due to a change in elevation on the exercise course or a change in pace.  This Ask the Trainer question comes from a hiker who is training to reach her climbing goals.  Fitness expert Matt Haugen responds with helpful advice for all exercisers.

Submit a fitness question to the trainers!

Get Your Rear in Gear reader: I am training to climb some big mountains early next year.  In my last two training session I have hiked with a weighted pack and climbed stairs for extended periods of time.  Each time my calf muscles ached for 3 days afterwards.  I’ve been to a couple expeditions carrying a similar heavy load for 5-8hrs a day and was fine. I don’t understand why my calves hurt now, when I’ve never had problems before.  Can you give me some advice?

Matt Haugen: I have used stairs extensively in the past to train athletes for the Pikes Peak Marathon. In some instances, I have had athletes carry medicine balls weighing as much as 12 pounds. It is very common to create a training overload with stair workouts, thus soreness and stiffness are common for 2-5 days after the initial workouts. Stair workouts do cause stress going up and coming down, especially when an athlete is carrying additional weight.

The key to successful training is to gradually and systematically extend workout frequency, duration, intensity and, in this case, overload due to added weight. I would recommend spacing stair workouts 2-3 days apart, during which time you can complete non-impact workouts to help speed the recovery of your legs. When scheduling stair workouts, do your best to alternate short, medium, & long workouts, as well as vary the weight carried, so that your muscles and mind experience varied levels of training overload.

Additional ways to reduce the impact stress with stair workouts include walking (rather than running) the stairs, selecting staircases whose steps are shorter (less impact from an 8 inch vs 12 inch tall step), and to complete some stair workouts without carrying any additional weight.

You can also try using the treadmill (at grades up to 15%), and long hills, for walking, hiking, and running workouts.  In all cases, do your best to simulate the vertical gain, percent grade, and environment that you will encounter during your climbing of BIG mountains.

Matt Haugen is a full-time coach who has trained thousands of athletes since 1980. On the community, high school, collegiate, national, and Olympic levels, he has guided athletes to podium finishes and personal best accomplishments.  Matt holds a B.A. in Psychology, and M.S. Exercise Science/Sport Psychology from Penn State, and Ph.D. studies (A.B.D.) in Kinesiology/Sport Psychology from the U of Minnesota. He currently trains athletes of all levels through Performance Power (P2) based in St. Paul Minnesota.

Read more:

• Is weight training important for a runner?
• Fitness walking do’s and don’ts
• Become a runner with walk/run intervals
• A stair climbing workout
  

Fitness expert Chris Freytag

Heart rate training can make any workout more effective. Whether you are training to run a Get Your Rear in Gear 5K, preparing for a marathon to raise funds for the cause, or simply trying to lose weight for improved health, maintaining the proper heart rate is a great workout technique to reach those goals most effectively. This Ask the Trainer question comes from a reader who has a low heart rate and wonders if it could affect her efforts at weight loss.

Submit a fitness question to the trainers!

Get Your Rear in Gear reader: I have a pretty low resting heart rate, in the 40s.  Although I make an effort to be active almost everyday,  I’ve had problems dropping ten pounds.  Could it be related to my heart rate?  If so, is there something I can do about it?

Chris Freytag: Well, actually, the more fit you are, the lower your resting heart rate will be. A normal rate is about 60 to 80 beats per minute, and can vary based on many factors. It can be affected by age, fitness level, gender, certain medications, genetics, and anxiety. If a low RHR is an indication of overall health, you are doing well.   However when it comes to weight loss, it would be important to pay attention to your training heart rate zones and invest in a heart rate monitor.

It is human nature to be motivated by feedback and that’s exactly what a heart rate monitor provides – constant, encouraging feedback throughout the workout. The most advanced, sophisticated monitors also include daily, weekly and monthly tracking features.

The basic HRM is a simple device: a wireless strap goes around your chest and transmits your heart rate to a wristwatch that tells you how hard your body is working when you do any physical activity. Maybe the issue with the last 10 pounds is your diet or maybe it has to do with how intense you are training.  I can’t exercise without one because I’m an information freak! Knowing what zone I’m working in and relating it to how I train each week gives me the incentive I need to stay in the game day after day. The HRM is a tool that delivers.

Know the zones

To get the most from HRT, you need to start with your Maximum Heart Rate, or “Max HR.” This is the highest possible number of beats per minute. It will vary by individual. Physicians and trained fitness professionals can administer a test to determine the most accurate max HR. But most healthy, moderately active exercisers—those individuals with no adverse cardiovascular conditions—can calculate max HR with a very generalized math equation by subtracting their age from 220. For example, if you’re 37, your max HR is 220 – 37 = 183.

Once you know your max HR, you can calculate how the five HRT zones apply to you. Although some fitness facilities use their own zone terminology, the five zones described below are widely used in our industry:

• Zone 1: warm up zone (50 – 60% of max HR). Even though this is an easy, comfortable zone, exercisers don’t like to spend too much time here because they aren’t burning lots of calories. However working out in this zone will help to get your body ready for the workout to come and ignite those fat burning furnaces- the mitochondria.  This zone gets the blood pumping, warms up the muscles and joints and starts the oxygen flowing. This can also be used as the cool-down, or recovery, zone.
• Zone 2: moderate aerobic zone (60 – 70% of max HR). At this rate, you’re burning fat by training your fat cells to release fat and training your muscles to use fat as fuel. In this zone, approximately 85% of the calories burned are fat. Exercising in zones 2 and 3 benefits the cardiovascular system, enhancing the body’s ability to provide oxygen to working muscles.
• Zone 3: intense aerobic zone (70 – 80% of max HR).This is the zone for endurance training. Your respiratory system, heart and blood vessels are growing stronger. You’re taking in more oxygen. In this zone, you’re burning about 50% carbohydrates and 50% fat but you’re burning more calories overall because you’re working harder.
• Zone 4: anaerobic zone (80 – 90% of max HR).This high-intensity zone burns more carbohydrates and less fat. Benefits of anaerobic training include improved oxygen consumption and higher lactic acid tolerance for enhanced endurance. In this zone, you reach your Anaerobic Threshold (AT), the point at which your muscles are producing lactic acid faster than your system can flush it out.
• Zone 5: red line zone (90 – 100% of max HR).Training in this zone burns the most calories but the lowest percentage of fat. Only the most physically fit exercisers should spend any time training in this zone. Exercisers who utilize this zone usually do so for brief periods, as part of an interval training regimen.

For most exercisers, spending too much time in zones 4 and 5 can lead to burnout. Spending too much time in the low-intensity zones, on the other hand, can lead to a discouraging lack of results.   Planning your week to include zone training with a majority of it in zone 2 and 3 may help the scale start to move.

So the secret to losing the last 10 pounds may have more to do with your training heart rate zones than anything else!

Chris Freytag is a nationally known fitness expert on NBC-TV, the fitness expert for Prevention magazine, and author of 3 books. Chris holds a BA in Journalism and is a certified Group Fitness Instructor, Personal Trainer and Lifestyle and Weight Management consultant.  Visit her website for more information about her products or exercise DVDs.
Read more:

• How to break through a weight loss plateau
• Workout tips for women
• More workout tips for women
• Keep fitness goals on track with 3 high intensity workouts