Day 1

About the Jum-start Banta plan.

Let's start with your "weigh in" assignment.

This is a very important part of the program because it allows to better monitor your progress and plan every week depending on you individual results.

Your aerobic exercise plan will be based on your fitness level. We strongly advise that you start improving your cardio fitness. Please don't be discouraged if you find your program too easy. We emphasized safety and gradual enhancement of the aerobic part of your program. 

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Your "before" assessment
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Please download your calculators clicking here: calculators

Use these calculators to estimate you body fat percentage and assess fitness level. These two parameters will be your measure of success instead of the scales. Repeat these measurements every week. If even one of them shows a sign of improvement, your weekly results are considered "progress."

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Task 1
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None of exercise can be considered safe and efficient unless it is appropriate for your fitness level. It is important that you know how fit you are and what to do to improve your fitness level.

In my opinion, the best test to do without professional supervision and equipment is the Rockport Protocol Fitness Test. I highly regard this test because it is specific for your age and gender.

What's more, this test is safe because you are not forced to overdo. This is why it's called "non-stress exercise test." Specialists who are required to be ready to do a CPR if needed should conduct the stress exercise tests in a well-equipped lab. During the Rockport Protocol Fitness Test, you can walk at your own pace and nevertheless get a realistic estimation of your fitness level. Why?

Because your heart rate is a part of the equation. You can walk slower and have slower heart rate or you can walk faster and get faster heart rate. Where these two variable cross, there's your fitness point. The Rockport Protocol Walk Fitness Test allows calculation of the most important fitness parameter, the maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max.)

A "regular" VO2 is a volume of oxygen consumed by all tissues of the body at any state including at rest. It shows how many liters of oxygen a kilogram of body weight consumes in one minute.

The "maximal" VO2 (VO2 max) is how much oxygen the body can consume during a maximal physical effort.  It is a good measure of physical condition because it reflects how much muscle you have, how good your heart, lungs, and blood vessels work of pumping the blood saturated with oxygen throughout the body's tissues, and how well your capillary network is developed.  Fat tissues don't consume much oxygen, so with the same body weight, a fatter person consumes less oxygen. 

However, this test is not for everyone. The School of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services, University of Northern Iowa, validated the Rockport Fitness Walking Test in college students (Research Quarterly for Exercise & Sport. 65(2): 152-8, 1994). They measured VO2 max directly and compared it with that predicted by the Rockport Protocol Fitness Test.  The conclusion was that the Rockport Fitness Walking Test in college students over predicted VO2max by 16-18% in the males and by 22-23% in the females. If you are in the college age, you probably should not use this test. It was also concluded that the test couldn't be accurate enough for adults with mental retardation (Medicine & Science in Sports &Exercise. 31(12): 1849-54, 1999).

For the rest of us, it is easy to do. But before you start the test, make it sure it is safe for you. This is how.

• Step 1. This is how to check out your fitness level by simply doing squats. 

 
Read carefully to do it safely. Sit quietly for a few minutes, and then measure your resting heart rate (RHR.) For men it is safe to do this test if their HR is below 75, for women it can be up to 80. If your hear rate is higher than that, do the following measurement first.

• Step 2. If your RHR is above 75 (men) or 80 (women)

Squat all the way down, keeping your back straight and lifting your arms forward, parallel to the floor. Stand straight again. Repeat 10 times, at one-second intervals. Immediately after the tenths squat, measure your after-test heart rate (THR.) If your THR exceeds your RHR by 50 percent, you need to see your doctor for professional check-up. Perhaps, you need a cardio fitness rehabilitation program.

• Step 3. fyour RHR is below 75 (men) or 80 (women)

Those whose RHR is in safe limits and those whose THR after the above exercise was not 1.5 times higher than their RHR, may proceed to the main test which is similar to the above test, just twice as long.

Squat all the way down, keeping your back straight and lifting your arms forward, parallel to the floor. Stand straight again. Repeat 20 times, at one-second intervals. Immediately after the twentieth squat, measure your THR.

Take you THR and divide it by your RHR. Estimate your fitness using the table:

Table 1.

THR/RHR    Fitness Category

1.25 or less    Excellent
1,26 to 1.50    Good
1.51 to 1.75    Fair
Above 1.75    Bad (consult your physician)

Now you are ready for the Rockport Test

Measure a mile. Walk it non-stop, briskly but comfortably. Count your heart rate for 15 sec. immediately after. Multiply by 4 and write down the result. Write down how much time you spent walking this mile.

Enter these date into your excel worksheet and get your fitness test result. Write it down for future reference. You'll need it already tomorrow to plan your exercise.

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Task 2 Body Fat %.
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Use the calculators.xls excel worksheet to estimate your body fat percentage. Write it down to monitor your weight loss progress.

Using a tape, measure the following circumferences to the nearest 0.5 cm.
 
•    Waist, women: Horizontal, at the level of minimal abdominal width  
•    Waist, men: Horizontal at the level of the navel
•    Hips: Largest horizontal circumference around the hips
•    Neck: Inferior to the larynx with the tape sloping slightly downward to the front  
•    Height: is measured to the nearest 0.5 cm. without shoes
•    Enter these data into your calculators.xls excel worksheet and get your body fat percentage result. Write it down for future reference.

Until tomorrow,

= Banta Diet Team