How to use Heart Rate Training and Monitors to Improve your fitness
Heart rate training zones
Training according to your heart rate zones is a great way to improve your fitness, if however you are new to exercise or have never considered using heat rate zones you may be wondering what I am talking about.
When you exercise, your heart rate increases this allows your body to pump more oxygen to the working muscles, this means the harder you work, the more oxygen you need and the heart will pump faster.
Heart rate training is a measure of how hard you are working based on a percentage of the amount of heartbeats per minute or BPM; heart rate training zones are sets of BPM boundaries.
These have a set upper and lower limit that should be thought of as a target to stay within. Keeping inside the required heart rate zones for your goals will have a positive affect on your training.
Which heart rate zones are best for me?
Your ideal heart rate zone depends on your goals and you should set this before your sessions. Your goal and the intensity at which you need to work at are key to setting your sessions duration.
Here are the heart rate zones explained
Light or recovery zone = 60% - 70% of maximum.
This also referred to as the fat burn zone or the weight management zone.
This zone is used for those who are new to exercise. You will gain some results in terms of your fitness from working at this level however if you really want to improve your heart strength you will find that you need to move into the higher zones after a short time.
This zone is also be used for a recovery periods between intervals at a higher HR zone.
At this level your body will use a great deal of energy from fat.
Aerobic zone = 70% - 80% of maximum
When working in this zone you are able to work with oxygen (aerobically) to produce energy. You will be able to work for longer periods before your body tires and fatigue sets in. You can use this zone for continuous training at a steady state for anywhere between 30 – 120 minutes.
Anaerobic zone = 80% – 90% of maximum
The intensity of this zone is much higher than the previous two and you will tire more quickly. This zone is best used to give your fitness a boost by interval training. This is a burst of high intensity training followed by a rest period in a lower zone. This is called active recovery, you are still working but you are allowing your body to recover from the higher level of exertion before going again. The ratio for classic interval training is around 1:3-4, if you train in the anaerobic zone for 1 minute allow 3 – 4 minutes of active recovery.
Maximum Zone = 90% - 100% of maximum
In this zone you are working flat out! You will struggle to keep this level up for more than 30 seconds. This zone is useful for those who are advanced trainers or people who are involved in competitive sports. A useful way of using this zone is with intervals of a 1: 12 – 20 ratios following the same method as above, another way to train in this zone is with Tabata training (click to see the article on this site)
So how do you work out your maximum heart rate?
The classic way of working out your maximum heart rate is
220 – your age = MHR
Maximum heart rate has been shown to decrease by 1 peat per minute every year.
Research has been published to show that this calculation can overestimate the maximum heart rates for women.
Research conducted by Gulati et al. identified that the traditional male-based calculation (220-age) overestimates the maximum heart rate for age in women. They investigated the association between HR response to exercise testing and age with 5437 women. It was found that mean peak heart rate for women = 206 - (0.88 x age).
As an example
A 30 year old will have a maximum heart rate of 88% of 30 years = 26.4
206 – 26.4 = 179.6 or 180bpm
This is assuming that our hearts all age at the same rate, if you take regular exercise your heart will become fitter and stronger this will help slow the decline in your maximum heart rate.
A formula of 205 – 50% of your age is proposed for fitter individuals
It is best to remember that these are all estimations, if your are working at a level that is to low, increase your MHR by 6bpm to recalculate your zones
When you exercise, your heart rate increases this allows your body to pump more oxygen to the working muscles, this means the harder you work, the more oxygen you need and the heart will pump faster.
Heart rate training is a measure of how hard you are working based on a percentage of the amount of heartbeats per minute or BPM; heart rate training zones are sets of BPM boundaries.
These have a set upper and lower limit that should be thought of as a target to stay within. Keeping inside the required heart rate zones for your goals will have a positive affect on your training.
Which heart rate zones are best for me?
Your ideal heart rate zone depends on your goals and you should set this before your sessions. Your goal and the intensity at which you need to work at are key to setting your sessions duration.
Here are the heart rate zones explained
Light or recovery zone = 60% - 70% of maximum.
This also referred to as the fat burn zone or the weight management zone.
This zone is used for those who are new to exercise. You will gain some results in terms of your fitness from working at this level however if you really want to improve your heart strength you will find that you need to move into the higher zones after a short time.
This zone is also be used for a recovery periods between intervals at a higher HR zone.
At this level your body will use a great deal of energy from fat.
Aerobic zone = 70% - 80% of maximum
When working in this zone you are able to work with oxygen (aerobically) to produce energy. You will be able to work for longer periods before your body tires and fatigue sets in. You can use this zone for continuous training at a steady state for anywhere between 30 – 120 minutes.
Anaerobic zone = 80% – 90% of maximum
The intensity of this zone is much higher than the previous two and you will tire more quickly. This zone is best used to give your fitness a boost by interval training. This is a burst of high intensity training followed by a rest period in a lower zone. This is called active recovery, you are still working but you are allowing your body to recover from the higher level of exertion before going again. The ratio for classic interval training is around 1:3-4, if you train in the anaerobic zone for 1 minute allow 3 – 4 minutes of active recovery.
Maximum Zone = 90% - 100% of maximum
In this zone you are working flat out! You will struggle to keep this level up for more than 30 seconds. This zone is useful for those who are advanced trainers or people who are involved in competitive sports. A useful way of using this zone is with intervals of a 1: 12 – 20 ratios following the same method as above, another way to train in this zone is with Tabata training (click to see the article on this site)
So how do you work out your maximum heart rate?
The classic way of working out your maximum heart rate is
220 – your age = MHR
Maximum heart rate has been shown to decrease by 1 peat per minute every year.
Research has been published to show that this calculation can overestimate the maximum heart rates for women.
Research conducted by Gulati et al. identified that the traditional male-based calculation (220-age) overestimates the maximum heart rate for age in women. They investigated the association between HR response to exercise testing and age with 5437 women. It was found that mean peak heart rate for women = 206 - (0.88 x age).
As an example
A 30 year old will have a maximum heart rate of 88% of 30 years = 26.4
206 – 26.4 = 179.6 or 180bpm
This is assuming that our hearts all age at the same rate, if you take regular exercise your heart will become fitter and stronger this will help slow the decline in your maximum heart rate.
A formula of 205 – 50% of your age is proposed for fitter individuals
It is best to remember that these are all estimations, if your are working at a level that is to low, increase your MHR by 6bpm to recalculate your zones
How to measure your heart rate
heart rate monitor attached
Using a chest strap is normally better than relying on the ones built into the cardio machines in the gym, these can be unreliable and may require you to hold on to get a reading.
Heart rate monitors vary in price according to features so think about what you need from the equipment and do some research before you purchase a more expensive model.
Once you have your monitor you can set your heart rate zones according to your goals. Some even come with training plans built in to help you, you can check as you work out where you are in your zones and adjust the resistance and speed accordingly.
Using a heart rate monitor can also add variety to your workouts as a bonus, using gradients and terrains to keep you within the zones.
We use the polar FT60 if you want one recommended.
Give it a try, use the search box at the bottom to find your perfect heart rate monitor
Heart rate monitors vary in price according to features so think about what you need from the equipment and do some research before you purchase a more expensive model.
Once you have your monitor you can set your heart rate zones according to your goals. Some even come with training plans built in to help you, you can check as you work out where you are in your zones and adjust the resistance and speed accordingly.
Using a heart rate monitor can also add variety to your workouts as a bonus, using gradients and terrains to keep you within the zones.
We use the polar FT60 if you want one recommended.
Give it a try, use the search box at the bottom to find your perfect heart rate monitor
Reference: Gulati M, Shaw LJ, Thisted RA, Black HR, Merz CN, Arnsdorf MF., "Heart Rate Response to Exercise Stress Testing in Asymptomatic Women", June 2010
