Best Fitness Blog

... By Karli Taylor

You’re on the treadmill walking at a nice easy warm-up pace. With nothing else interesting to look at, you start to read the heart rate chart that is printed next to the digital display. You find your age and follow the row over to find your current heart rate and… you are working too hard?

This is a classic example of why you should not believe everything you read. Yes, I know that this chart is printed on the cardio machines in every gym you have ever stepped foot in, and I’m sure it hangs on the wall in many group exercise studios across the globe as well. The simply truth is this: it is wrong. The numbers on this chart are based on a formula used to ESTIMATE maximum heart rate. This basic formula, 220-age= max heart rate, is inherently flawed. Don’t believe me? Keep reading.

Mrs. Smith is a 30 year old marathon runner. She runs approximately 40 miles a week, is an ideal weight and is in good health. Her friend, Mrs. Jones, is also 30 years old. The similarities end there. Mrs. Jones is a smoker. She has not exercised in over 10 years, and according to most guidelines for height and weight, she is morbidly obese. Based on the chart found on that treadmill, both Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Smith should be working in the same heart rate range to burn fat...

Sound right? At 75% of their estimated max heart rate (220-30= 190 * .7 ), or 133 beats per minute, one of these ladies is barely sweating while the other is gasping for breath. If these charts are all wrong, what do you do? There is a simple formula to find your target heart rate range (70-85% of your maximum heart rate), but to calculate it, you need to find your resting heart rate.

If you wake up without an alarm, take your pulse 3 mornings in a row before your feet hit the ground and take the average number to get your resting. If you do rely on an alarm, take your pulse if you get up on the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. If you do not wake up during the night, take your pulse right before you fall asleep. Try not to watch and scary or suspenseful television shows in bed though!

Once you get that number, plug it in to these formulas to get the high and low end of your target heart rate range:

220-age- resting * .70 + resting = 70% max heart rate.
220-age-resting *.85 + resting= 85% max heart rate.

... By Karli Taylor

Heart rate monitors are in widespread use among all levels of exercisers these days. If you don't have one you may feel that you are missing critical information to get the most from your workout. While using a monitor is not necessary for everyone, it can be a great tool for all exercisers. Even if used temporarily, it will help you learn how you feel at a given heart rate and you will become a better judge of your own limitations.

You can learn so much about your body in just a few weeks with a heart monitor that even when you're not wearing it, you'll know whether you're working too hard, not hard enough, or are exerting just the right amount of effort for a particular workout. You may be surprised that sometimes your hard workouts are too hard, and often when you think that you are barely working, you are in fact working just hard enough.

Though it's especially helpful if you're new to exercise, a heart rate monitor can be a great tool if you're just bored with your current routine and want to try something new. Playing games with your heart rate not only provides you with something to focus on during longer or harder workouts.

Next time you want to shake up your workout with a heart-rate game, try changing the speed or incline of your run or walk while using your breath to keep your heart rate within a certain range- it’s a lot harder than it sounds. You can also challenge yourself with recovery time. How long does it take you after a hard interval to get your heart rate down to where it was before you started it? Can you shorten that time by focusing on your breath?

If you are not sure where your heart rate should be during exercise, stay tuned…