For as long as I can remember, I told my clients to set a daily step goal. I told them: I don’t care how you do it—walk, run, dance, clean, take the stairs, or even crawl if you have to. The goal is to do a certain amount of movement each day. However, there is another way to look at movement, like how hard we work when we move. Sometimes we move with more intensity than other times. For example, when I chose to get rid of my coffee machine at home and now walk to the local coffee shop in the morning to get my espresso instead. All I cared about was just adding comfortable, easy steps to my day.
Other times I want to move with more intensity, purpose, and direction. I want to get my heart rate up a bit more, sweat, and burn, which is why I suggest familiarizing yourself with Fitbit’s Active Zone Minutes, or AZM.* The new Fitbit Charge 4 is the first Fitbit device that can actually measure and keep track of your Active Zone Minutes.
Think about jogging versus walking, a resistance circuit with very short or no breaks in between each set, or throwing in a cardio burst between every other set—or even each set. Moving with Active Zone Minutes gives you a whole new set of benefits, including an increase in workout performance, which in turn improves heart health and decreases stress.
This new metric is based on time spent in your fat burn, cardio, and peak heart rate zones that are calculated based on your age and resting heart rate, providing you with a more personalized measurement of how hard you worked during any intense physical activity. More than just counting your steps, counting the intensity of your activity, from steps and beyond.
In order to get into our AZM zone, we’re going to have to do some more anaerobic movements. The below workout starts off with five cardio warm-up moves to get us into our AZM zone, then includes some nonstop resistance moves with high reps that utilize large muscle groups. Using large muscle groups is another great way to increase the intensity of the exercise, elevate your heart rate, and earn more Active Zone Minutes.
We will time each movement rather than counting repetitions. Try this circuit at home!
Workout title:
Time: about 30 minutes
Equipment: dumbbells, timer
Warm-up
- March – one minute
- Jog in place – one minute
- Jumping jacks – one minute
- Jump phantom rope – one minute
- Shadowbox – one minute
Workout (repeat this circuit four times)
- Walk lunge – two minutes
- Dumbbell curl press – two minutes
- Dumbbell deadlift with row – two minutes
Cooldown
- Shadowbox – one minute
- Jump phantom rope – one minute
- Jumping jacks – one minute
- Jog in place – one minute
- March – one minute
*Currently available on Fitbit Charge 4 only; coming soon to all smartwatches.
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or condition. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, altering your sleep habits, taking supplements, or starting a new fitness routine.
Harley Pasternak
Celebrity trainer and nutritionist Harley Pasternak holds a master of science degree in Exercise Physiology and Nutritional Sciences from the University of Toronto, and an honors degree in Kinesiology from University of Western Ontario. As a fitness and nutrition specialist, Harley has trained many celebrities, including Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani, Jessica Simpson, Ariana Grande, John Mayer, Charlie Puth, Jordana Brewster, Rob Pattinson, Tobey Maguire, Lady Gaga, Megan Fox, and Jennifer Hudson. He has appeared on MTV, VH1, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Oz, THE VIEW, The Tyra Banks Show, Access Hollywood, Extra, Rachael Ray, America’s Next Top Model, Good Morning America, The Today Show, and most recently, Revenge Body with Khloe Kardashian on E! Harley has also lectured around the globe and does speaking engagements regularly.
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