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ARTICLES > 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 |
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Metabolic Testing
YMCA program pinpoints your daily caloric needs
Linda Stahl
The Courier-Journal, Thursday, October, 18, 2007
If your goal is better performance as a cyclist, runner or triathlete, or if you want to know your body’s response to exercise to develop a weight-loss or weight-gain program, the Northeast Family YMCA says it has some answers for you.
Everyone has a unique metabolism, said Jessica Sharpenstein, the YMCA group fitness coordinator, who has a degree in exercise physiology from the University of Louisville.
“Many people are interested in weight loss and desperate to know why they haven’t lost weight in the past,” she said. Logic says that perhaps they’re not working out enough and are eating too much.
But with a piece of equipment for metabolic testing, Sharpenstein is able to pinpoint exactly how many calories a particular person needs each day and how many calories he burns during daily activities and exercise.
At the urging of the YMCA’s executive director, Doug Britt, who used the New Leaf VO2 Metabolic System at a YMCA in the Chicago area, the local fitness staff did some research and decided to bring it to the Northeast Family YMCA.
The system measures both resting and active metabolic rates. Clients wear a heart-rate monitor and a neoprene mask connected to a hose so that the oxygen they take in and process during exercise can be measured. Their carbon dioxide production is also measured.
The metabolic rate during exercise is recorded as the participant uses a treadmill, stationary bike or other cardiovascular exercise equipment. Sharpenstein watches readings on a computer screen as the test is being done and tells the client when to increase the intensity.
Last week, 35-year-old Audra Lyons, an administrative assistant at the YMCA, walked on a treadmill as she was tested. Sharpenstein kept directing her to increase her speed and the incline of the treadmill as the test went on. It was completed in about 15 minutes.
The resting metabolism assessment was measured during another session on a different day. This test shows how many calories a person burns while inactive.
To do this test, participants also wear the neoprene mask with hose. They must not eat for 12 hours or drink coffee before the test. They sit in a quiet room doing nothing for about 20 to 30 minutes, the time it takes Sharpenstein to get an accurate reading of their metabolic rate.
Making Adjustments
When Sharpenstein’s own resting metabolic rate was measured, she found out that she burns 1,816 calories a day at rest. She exercises quite a bit each week, teaching cycling classes among other things. So she learned from the testing that she needed to be eating more calories to optimize her athletic performance.
Lyons learned that she needed to shift her exercise program toward more cardiovascular exercise. She had tended to spend more time lifting free weights or using weight-training machines.
Since Lyons’ husband also was tested, she learned how many more calories he burns at rest than she does. “It affects what you serve at the dinner table, it affects portions,” said Lyons, a busy working mother. The couple have two daughters, ages 1 and 10.
The information provided by the tests “is really awesome,” she said. “I’ve learned what I need to do to exercise more effectively.”
For amateur athletes, there is help too. With the metabolic rates, a fitness trainer can customize a person’s exercise program to enable him to exercise at the intensity levels at which he is most efficient in burning stored fat and improving cardiovascular fitness.
Charts posted in the gyms all over the country only estimate target heart-rate zones based on age. The New Leaf testing can precisely predict an individual’s target heart rate for improving his cardiovascular fitness.
Two tests
The YMCA does the testing once and then again 12 weeks later. Metabolic assessment can be done by itself or linked to another program, such as starting to work with a personal trainer or joining a sports-specific training program, such as training for a marathon, or a group exercise program, such as an exercise booth camp.
Precision comes with a price. YMCA members pay $225 for the initial and repeat metabolic testing. Non-members pay $350.
Sharpenstein said about 35 people, about as many females as males, have signed up for the service so far. The youngest was a 19-year-old, and the oldest was in his early 70s.
“This is for someone who has specific goals they want to reach,” Sharpenstein said, “whether it’s weight loss or running a faster marathon.” |
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