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Leisure Fitness
Straight from the heart
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Looking to get the biggest bang for your exercise buck? Try monitoring your heart rate.To receive the maximum benefit from physical activity it is important not to tire too quickly. Pacing is important, especially if you are just starting out or returning after a lay-off.
Monitoring the intensity level of your cardiovascular exercise is important. Iyou work too hard, beyond what your current fitness level is able to handle, you'll tire quickly opening yourself up to injury or burn out. If you are not working hard enough, you may get frustrated when you don't see results over time.
How can you tell how hard to exercise? Listen to your heart - your target heart rate (THR) that is. Your THR is the number of beats per minute required before exercise benefits will take hold. Targeheart rates generally are calculated as 220 minus your age. For a 20 year-old, thawould be 200 beats per minute; for a 60 year-old the rate would drop to 160 beats per minute.
When starting a fitness program, health care professionals suggest you aim for the lowest part of the target zone, about 50 percent of the THR. Then, gradually build up to the higher part of the target zone, in the 75 percent range.
Heart rate monitoring can help you reach your fitness goals faster. For example to burn off calories, you need to exercise closer to the 75 percent of your THR. To work off fat, you should be in the lower end of your zone as this allows cells to take up the oxygen needed to burn fat.
There are several ways to determine if your heart rate is where it needs to be. The no-tech way is to take your pulse and do the arithmetic. Count the number of beats in 10 seconds. Then, multiply by six to get the number of beats per minute.
Heart rate monitors are another rate option. A heart monitor of t consists two components: a small wireless data transmitter that straps to your chest and an information readout that looks like a wrist watch. Some exercise equipment leyou plug in your hear rate monitor and view the read-out on a built-in LED screen.
There are a range of heart rate monitors available. Some perform just the most basic function. Others will tell you your average heart rate, percentage of maximum heart rate, time spent in your target zone, body/mass index, and how many calories you burned. Some may have a stop watch or timer as well as auditory and visual alarms. There are models that store data from workouts and analyze your strengths and weaknesses.
The selection of a heart monitor is purely personal. As with any piece of exercise equipment, you shouldn't buy more features that you actually will use. basic heart rate monitor will guide you like a personal trainer.More sophisticated models can serve as your personal fitness manager.
By listening to what your heart rate monitor tells you, you can evaluate the effectiveness of each work out and ensure that all your hard work pays off.
| AGE | TARGET HR ZONE 50-75% | AVERAGE MAXIMUM HEART RATE 100% |
| 20 years | 100-150 beats per minute | 200 beats per minute |
| 25 years | 98-146 beats per minute | 195 beats per minute |
| 30 years | 95-142 beats per minute | 190 beats per minute |
| 35 years | 93-138 beats per minute | 185 beats per minute |
| 40 years | 90-135 beats per minute | 180 beats per minute |
| 45 years | 88-131 beats per minute | 175 beats per minute |
| 50 years | 85-127 beats per minute | 170 beats per minute |
| 55 years | 83-123 beats per minute | 165 beats per minute |
| 60 years | 80-120 beats per minute | 160 beats per minute |
| 65 years | 78-116 beats per minute | 155 beats per minute |
| 70 years | 75-113 beats per minute | 150 beats per minute |
