March 6, 2000 Getting the lowdown with a fitness evaluation By Jennifer McNulty This is the second article in an occasional series following the progress of two members of the UCSC campus community as they pursue their physical fitness goals. Making progress is one of the most rewarding benefits of sticking to a new fitness program, and career adviser Katrina Cope can already feel the difference that working out has made in her life. Wellness Center manager Ryan Andrews explains to Katrina Cope how he will use the treadmill to assess her cardiovascular fitness. To send words of encouragement to Katrina Cope, e-mail her at kcope@cats.ucsc.edu. Photo: Jennifer McNulty "I'm getting into it," said Cope, who started her new regimen in January and now finds herself watching fitness shows on television. Twice a week, Cope attends a lunch-hour "Express Workout" at the new Wellness Center, and she is steadily adding weight to her routine. "I started out with only one weight on the upper-body machines, and now I'm up to two and three, depending on which muscles the machine exercises," said Cope. "I'm not trying to build muscle mass as much as to get toned." Motivation is less of a problem since she became the "office poster child," joked Cope, who had predicted that campus publicity would keep her on track. "I sent a copy of the article to my sister, who's a gymnastics coach," said Cope. "She thought it was great. It's nice because she's always been the 'fit' sister, and now she's encouraging me." Last week, Cope was ready to up the ante by undergoing a thorough fitness evaluation by Wellness Center manager Ryan Andrews. The session assessed Cope's cardiovascular fitness, strength, flexibility, and body composition--otherwise known as the dreaded body-fat analysis. The session, which took about an hour, is similar to those Andrews hopes to be offering for a moderate fee to all campus members by spring quarter. Cope's overall results were very good, said Andrews. Her resting heart rate is 70 beats per minute, her blood pressure was "textbook" at 116/76. At 30.8 percent, her fat level is just within the average range of 23 to 31 percent for her age and sex, but he said he'd like to see it drop to 25 percent or below. A quick calculation revealed that Cope's training heart rate is between 106 and 145 beats per minute. "Working out at 65 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate burns the most efficient blend of carbohydrates and fats," explained Andrews, who offered Cope tips on taking her pulse quickly but added that the "talk test" is a pretty reliable indicator, too. "You want to be able to talk while you're working out, but if you're able to sing, you're not working hard enough," he said with a smile. For Cope, losing weight is secondary to her goals of losing inches and toning up. For those who are interested in slimming down, Andrews said increasing muscle mass is the most effective way to change body composition. "Muscle uses more calories even when you're at rest, so that's the most efficient way to shed fat," said Andrews. Cope's cardiovascular fitness was also good, as indicated by the results of a treadmill test that assessed maximum oxygen consumption. "You probably won't see a lot of improvement in that area unless you increase the intensity of your aerobic activity," Andrews told Cope. The results of Cope's strength tests were "pretty good, too. Much better than I expected," said Andrews. "You're doing great," he told Cope. "You're going to have to work hard to see a big change in six months." Cope's weakest results were in flexibility, where she landed in the "fair to below average" range. The results enabled Andrews to give Cope some workout advice, suggesting that she add stretching and some aerobic exercise to her routine. He also urged her to push herself a little bit during the lunch-hour walks she takes on her "off days," suggesting that she trim a minute or two off the 45-minute walk while still covering the same distance. "This gives us good numbers to compare to in June," said Andrews. Fitness tips: To calculate your own training heart rate, subtract your age from 220; your target should be 60 to 85 percent of that number. For example, if you are 40 years old, your target would be 60 to 85 percent of 180, or 108 to 153 beats per minute. During a workout, Andrews suggests taking your pulse for six seconds and multiplying the result by ten. For information about Wellness Center classes and facilities, call (831) 459-2995 or visit the Wellness Center's Web site. Previous stories on the Wellness Center Getting--and staying--in shape (January 31, 2000) Ring in 2000 with a workout: New Fitness Center opens (January 3, 2000) Return to Front Page