Heart Rate Training
Monitoring your heart rate during exercise tells you exactly how hard you're working. This is an important factor in determining how you will improve your fitness levels over time and it takes the guesswork out of how hard you should be working to achieve your goals.
What is my Target Heart Rate Zone?
The Target heart rate zone is used to monitor your training intensity. By exercising within a target heart rate zone you are more likely to achieve your goals.
For an average healthy adult, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends an intensity of exercise between 55% to 90% of your maximum heart rate (HRmax), or 50 to 85% of your heart rate reserve (a more complicated but more accurate measure of heart rate zone). Individuals with a very low initial level of fitness may benefit from trainingintensities as low as 40% to 50%.
To find the right zone, use one of the following formulas:
- Maximum Heart Rate Zone (Simplest Method.)
target heart rate = 220 - your age x desired training intensity - Heart Rate Reserve Zone (A more complicated but more accurate method.)
target heart rate = (220 - your age) - (your resting heart rate) x(intensity between 50% to 85%) + (your resting heart rate).
What is my Resting Heart Rate?
Take your wrist pulse first thing in the morning when you wake up, without an alarm clock and before you get out of bed. With a very light touch of the fingers (not the thumb) count the number of beats for 30 seconds and multiply by 2. This number is the beats per minute (BPM) of your resting heart rate.
Here's an example to help you understand:
50 year old man with a resting heart rate of 70 bpm seeking an intensity of 50% of max heart rate:
220-50 = 170 (estimated HRmax)
70 = (resting heart rate)
170-70 = 100 (heart rate reserve)
100 x .50 = 50 (heart rate reserve x intensity)
50 + 70 = 120 (intensity + resting heart rate = target heart rate)
