Supercharge Your Workout Using A Heart Rate Monitor

Supercharge Your Workout Using A Heart Rate Monitor

It can sometimes be more beneficial to determine a specific training intensity for your aerobic exercise (instead of just winging it and running for a set time!). Subsequently, heart rate monitors worn on the chest and/or wrist have become hugely popular in today’s fitness culture.

I suspect, however, that a lot of you are wearing these for their ‘calorie counting’ features, rather than for their true purpose – to measure your heart rate!

It is in your best interests, then, to read on and get a little insight in to how you can utilise your nifty little gadget for achieving the best results in your quest to get fit.

Know your equations:

There are, unfortunately, a few equations you must know in order to begin using your heart rate monitor effectively. The first of which is your predicted maximal heart rate (MHR):

208 – (0.7 x age)

Easy! Now you must find your resting heart rate (RHR). For this you will need to time your pulse at either your wrist or neck for 15 seconds, and then multiply by 4 (or for 30s x 2) to get a reading for your hearts resting beats per minute (BPM).

The next equation is probably the most important in terms of training application: the Karvonen Formula for finding your heart rate reserve (HRR):

Heart Rate Reserve = Maximal Heart Rate – Resting Heart Rate

HRR = HRM – RHR

Finding your HRR allows you to apply training intensities at a given percentage within certain heart rate training zones.

Know your zones:

Knowing which zone you should train in is of utmost importance as it allows you to train in the zone most likely to produce the best results for you. Using ACSM's guidelines, let’s keep it relatively simple:

Light = 30% to 39% HRR
Moderate = 40 – 59% HRR

Vigorous = 60 - 89% HRR

Finding your target heart rate (THR) using a given percentage of your HRR allows you to train at an intensity closer to your maximal oxygen uptake reserve (VO2R), a more accurate marker of aerobic fitness. (The HRR percentage is exactly the same as VO2R, i.e. 50% VO2R = 50% HRR).

Now it’s time to find your target heart rate using everything I have just covered.

Let’s say you wish to train between 70 – 85% HRR (a 'vigorous' aerobic zone for the trained individual) you would use the formula:

(HRR x 0.70) + RHR = THR
(HRR x 0.85) + RHR = THR

Let’s say you are 23 years old, which means your MHR = 191.9 and you have a resting heart rate of 70 BPM, which will give you a HRR value of 191.9 – 70 = 121.9.

Add all of this to the THR equation above:

(121.9. x .70) + 70 = 155 BPM

(121.9. x. 85) + 70 = 174 BPM

Target HR = 155 to 174 BPM

Round Up:

Running for just 20 minutes, three times a week at an intensity of 70 – 85% HRR has been shown to produce excellent cardiovascular results over 6 weeks for the aerobically trained. But remember; all you need is between 20 – 60 minutes, 3 – 5 times per week for the best results. Reduce the target HR for your needs and progress gradually.

Now you should be able to use your favourite running gadget fairly accurately to achieve your goals quickly and safely.

There are a lot of numbers and equations to get your head around here, but be patient, figure it out, and the results will speak for themselves.

You can also copy/paste/print the section below which allows you to simply fill in the values for yourself, using nothing but a calculator and a pen! Keep it handy so that you can check that you’re training between the correct target heart rates in your runs/workouts! Or use the online calculator at runningforfitness.org to find out a little more about zones.

*As the data produced by the equations  are all predictions, please bear in mind that they will never be truly accurate, unless you are tested in a lab setting to find your true results.*

Keep up the hard work guys!

Dom

208 – (0.7 X ______ ) = _______  max heart rate
                        age

_______ - _______   =   _______  heart rate reserve (HRR)
max HR      resting HR

(_______ x 0.6/0.65/0.7) + _______  =  _______  target HR 1
    HRR                               resting HR

(_______ x 0.7/0.75/0.8/0.85) + _______  =  _______  target HR 2
    HRR                                       resting HR

My heart rate should be between _________ BPM and _________ BPM.

This can be repeated for higher intensities once plateauing is occurring.