Increase Your Calorie Burn with More Reps

I don’t know how you handle this, but it’s tempting to me to keep moving to the next heavier band. Yellow got easier on my walks, orange became comfortable and then seemed easier as well, so I moved up to the light red band (up to 50 pounds of force at www.jyzefit.com/about.html). And that kicked my you-know-what as I added it to my indoor and outdoor workouts.

And my heart rate was dropping as I walked. Now, I have to admit that I’m the Jyze guinea pig, the one who tries everything first so that you can benefit from my experiments. So, here’s what I learned: IT’S ABOUT THE REPS!

Repetition is the Spice of Life (when it comes to heart rate!)

You all know that when you move your legs faster (such as going from a walk to a jog), your heart rate climbs. A higher heart rate, particularly getting into the aerobic zone, will increase your heart health (see www.americanheart.org) and burn more calories.

Apply this same thinking to Jyzing. Using Jyze at a slow rate is closer to walking. A fast rate puts you closer to jogging. And I can’t get Jyze with the light red band going as fast as I can with the orange band. Here’s what I now know:

• Working out with Jyze and the heaviest band I can handle tones muscle but doesn’t get my heart rate up (hence, less calorie burn). So, I’ll use a heavier band in 1-2 of my workouts each week for toning and lighter cardio.
• I can bump my heart rate up by 10-20% by moving down a band (for me, that’s from light red to orange) and nearly doubling my repetitions (in 30 second or one minute intervals). So, I’ll use a lighter band during my walking workouts and at least one indoor workout each week.

The net result: great toning AND great cardio. Dial in your own combination. Remember, when you do the work, you’re sure to wind up fit!