Would you embark on a trip without a map?
Why train the same way?
Get your zones checked and have a clear map on what you need to do to meet your goals.
Getting Started - Assess your situation
A Zone Check(VO2 max ) & RMR Assessment is a simple, two-step process.
First, there's
the easiest test you'll ever take. It involves wearing a comfortable mask while
sitting in a chair and breathing. That's it. Next, there's a little exercising
to be done, but that doesn't take long. Then, the science goes to work for you.
For your very little effort, you get a lot of detailed, personalized feedback
about your caloric needs, your current level of fitness, and a sense of what
you need to do next in order to move toward your health, fitness, or
performance goal.
This information will help you and your fitness professional chart a speedy
path to redefining your fitness. The nutrition part of the assessment will help
you develop a dietary plan that you can follow for the rest of your life, and a
personal daily workout plan ends the guesswork about how often and how
intensely to workout. Just follow the plan, and you'll get results.
THIS IS NOT A TEST
Really, There is no pass or fail standard, no studying or preparation you
can do beforehand. The assessment gives you a snapshot of where you and your
body are today, in terms of how your body burns fuel when it is at rest and
when it is exercising.
A Zone Check (VO2 max ) & RMR measures several things:
- The amount of calories your
body needs to function, including everything from regulating your body's
hormones to thinking the thoughts that run through your mind
- The amount of calories you
need to consume each day to achieve your fitness goal, whether that's
weight loss goal or greater athletic performance
- The point, known as your
aerobic base heart rate, is the highest intensity at which your body still
uses fat as it's dominant fuel
- The highest sustainable
intensity of exercise, known as your threshold, that your body can sustain
and still burn fat efficiently
- The rate at which your body
absorbs oxygen, which your body requires to burn fat.
All that information comes from measuring your heart rate and from
evaluating the mix of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your breath. Those
measurements are taken at various levels of activity, from a point of complete
rest to a point just shy of your highest normal physical activity level.
THE SKINNY
Here's the skinny on what happens when you come in for your assessment:
When you schedule for a Zone check or RMR you'll receive a personal assessment pack that is yours to keep. It includes a
comfortable, somewhat stretchy, mask and the airflow sensors and accessories
that are used during the assessment. It also includes an explanation of how and
why a metabolic assessment makes such a difference in your fitness program.
Everything is packaged in a nylon drawstring bag, which makes it easy to store
your mask so you'll have it for follow-up assessments.
There are two parts to the assessment.
The Zone Check (VO2max) and RMR can be scheduled on the same day or separately
1. The first part measures your resting
metabolic rate RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate). Your fitness or health professional will help you
position the mask over your nose and mouth, and then you get to kick back in a
groovy, comfy chair for about 15 minutes. Hang out, breathe, try to stay awake.
That's all there is to it. (Your assessment will be most accurate if you've
fasted for a few hours and are well rested. Mornings are a great time for this
assessment.)
2. The second part of the assessment measures your metabolic rate during exercise (Zone Check for Cyclist or Runner / Walker / Hike, etc).
This portion requires a bit of get up and go. You'll put the mask back on, and
for 10 to 15 minutes, you'll walk or jog on a treadmill or your Bicycle at increasing levels of
intensity. The payoff is worth it: This is where you'll learn how many calories
your body burns while exercising; whether those calories come mainly from fat,
carbs, or a combination of both; and at what intensity level you burn calories
most efficiently.
And that's the science-based secret to creating a personalized, fitness plan.
WHY THIS WORKS
The information gained from a Zone Check (VO2 max) and RMR is powerful because it
comes from technologies that have been proven effective for decades. The type
of metabolic assessment offered is used by physicians, who rely on
it for the health of their patients, and by Olympians, who rely on it to
achieve world-class athletic performance.
What makes a Zone Check the gold standard?
It measures both
the oxygen levels and the carbon dioxide levels in your breath, where other
techniques measure oxygen only or just airflow. Other metabolic systems merely
estimate rather than precisely measure the carbon dioxide levels in the breath.
And with an estimate, you leave a large part of your training program to
chance. (In fact, it's a lot like relying on the preset programs on the treadmill
at the gym. You may see some progress for awhile, but in the long run, you'll
miss out on achieving a lot of your personal potential because you get stuck in
a rut or plateau in your performance.)
With an accurate measure of both oxygen and carbon dioxide, you get a clear
picture of your body's complete fuel composition. That is, you know exactly
when you're burning the energy-dense fat fuel as opposed to when you're burning
the less-efficient carbohydrate fuel. You know the precise heart rate you need
to work up to, and how long you should exercise at that intensity. You know
you're burning fat, not just time. No guesswork required.
WORKOUTS THAT WORK FOR YOU
That's the benefit to having a personalized metabolic assessment: You get a
training program that is based specifically on the data that is YOU. Your
resting metabolic rate. Your required calories. Your
calories burned. Your
base heart rate. Your threshold heart rate. Your
fat-burning efficiency. That's what makes the metabolic assessment
your sure path to success.
Your results determine how long you need to exercise, how intensely you
need to
exercise, how often and for how long. Your results reveal your fitness
level
right now, and they suggest what level of fitness you may achieve in the
future. With your personalized metabolic assessment results in hand,
Third Coast Training will map out an exercise plan that makes the most
of
your time and your effort.
MEANINGFUL RESULTS
Your metabolic assessment looks inside your body to find out what's
going on with your fitness efforts. In fact, it's similar to the inside look
you get from x-rays or blood work at the doctor's office although there are no
tiny gowns or needles involved here! A metabolic assessment delivers results
instantly. Granted, it'll take some sweat equity to see the results in your
body, but you'll get personal fitness insight right away with a little guidance
from your trainer.
Like a doctor interpreting lab results and writing a prescription, your coach
will help you understand the information revealed by your metabolic assessment.
Your fitness professional will talk with you about your resting metabolic rate and your
caloric needs. You'll learn about your base heart rate (known as your aerobic
base) and your threshold heart rate (known as your anaerobic threshold). And
based on that info, you'll discover how and when your body burns fat instead of
carbs. Then, your coach will write up a prescriptive
workout schedule to get you where you want to be.
**The option of a monthly custom training plan can be purchased at the time of your appointment.
The result is a more meaningful fitness plan.
