Cardio Failure/Success

Fitness trackers are notoriously bad at determining your calorie burn, but they've been proven to be pretty accurate for step count and heart rate tracking. So, determined to increase my cardio output last year, I got myself one and have worn it every day since. But, like the best-laid plans of mice and men, my cardio efforts actually took a step or two backward.

During the same period, I increased my strength training from 3 days per week to 4 (averaged 3.4 workouts, up from 2.6 the previous year). The idea was to use the other 3 days for some cardio and at a minimum do a 3-mile brisk walk that has been my staple for 7yrs. Instead, I ended up with 1.3 walks per week, 3 HIIT sessions in total and I haven't kicked a ball in a 5-a-side in > 18 months. Not good, not good at all...

But, looking at the resting heart rate data for the year and it's telling me 50bpm. According to the chart here, that puts me in the "Athlete" category, not just for my age group, but all age groups!?

It does kinda make sense though. Strength training can almost be considered a HIIT session - some high-effort work in short bursts, followed by longer rest periods, wash, rinse, and repeat. The heart rate capture image below shows one of my strength training workouts, with a saw-tooth graph of heart rate similar to a HIIT session. 50% (30mins) of the workout is spent in the Aerobic-plus heart rate zones, When I walk, I rarely get into the Anaerobic zones (maybe 4%) and never into the Maximum zone despite walking as fast as I can, so strength training is giving the heart a fair workout too.

So, I think I'd now place these in this order of importance as minimum goals that could work for anyone looking to improve their health/fitness:

• Resistance Training: 2+ times per week
• 80/20 Nutrition: Single ingredient foods/souls food split with protein at 1+g per kg of body weight and 20-30 grams of fibre per day
• Brisk Walks: 1+ times per week

A year ago, I maybe would have had those in reverse order, so interesting to change that view based on accumulating this data. That said, must do better on cardio this year - actually considering some running/sprints, so I hope I don't have the same sob story this time next year!