Reach Your Weight Loss Goals Faster with Heart Rate Training
To get the most out of a fitness program and reach your goals sooner, you should know that keeping up with your heart rate is vital. Yet, you can take it to another level. Instead of just monitoring what your heart rate is during a workout, you can use these numbers continually throughout your workout and do heart rate training. Heart rate training is when you keep up with your heart rate so you can take your body into different heart rate zones during your workout. Heart rate training is becoming the preferred method of exercise for many people because exercise goals are met sooner and more efficiently.
To begin heart rate training you must determine your maximum heart rate. This number will be used to calculate your heart rate zones. However, before you test yourself to find out what your maximum heart rate is, be honest with yourself about your fitness level:
Poor Shape: You haven’t exercised in the past two months. Fair Shape: You do aerobic activity at least twenty minutes, or walk one mile or more, at least three times a week. Good Shape: You run at least five miles per week or you exercise almost every daily.
Once you have chosen your level of fitness, the following test can help you learn the vicinity of your maximum heart rate.
One Mile Walking Test: Use a treadmill or go to a track where you can accurately walk one mile. Walk at a steady and even pace. The last quarter of your mile you should take your heart rate. If you listed your fitness level as poor, add 40 to this number. If you listed your fitness level as fair, add 50 to this number. If you listed your fitness level as good, add 60 to this number.
Once you know what your maximum heart rate is, you can begin heart rate training. The easiest way to keep up with your heart rate during a workout is to use a machine that has a heart rate control monitor. Most quality treadmills and fitness machines come with heart rate control monitors. A monitor will tell you what your heart rate is during your workout so you know what heart rate zone you are in at any given time. A heart rate monitor becomes your personal trainer and takes the guesswork out of heart rate training. The readings let you know when you are over exerting yourself, or when you should give yourself a little extra push so you can stay in a target zone longer, or even push yourself up to the next heart rate zone.
Heart Rate Training Zones
A heart rate training routine should last between 20-30 minutes, and you should cycle in and out of the different heart rate zones throughout the workout.
Healthy Heart Zone: In this zone your heart rate is 50%-60% of your maximum heart rate and you can easily talk to someone.
Fitness Zone: You find it is getting a little harder to talk and you are breathing heavier. You heart rate is at 60%-70% of your maximum heart rate.
Aerobic Zone: Your breathing will be very hard and you won’t be able to talk with people in long sentences, but you can speak in short phrases. Your heart rate is 70%-80% of your maximum heart rate.
Anaerobic Zone: Your breathing will be labored and you will only be able to gasp out a word or two. Your heart rate is 80%-90% of your maximum heart rate.
Red Line Zone: You are in your maximum output zone and you will only be able to keep up the pace in this zone for a few minutes.
As you can see, heart rate training allows you to use every moment of your workout time more efficiently. Using a treadmill, or other machine, that is equipped with a heart rate monitor will help you know exactly what your heart is doing at all times. Using these machines will take the guesswork taken out of heart rate training so you can be certain that you are one workout closer to reaching your goals.