It's the time of year for Christmas lists. If I could choose one thing to put on top of your list, I would put a heart rate monitor. If you already have one, fantastic, you are ahead of the game and surely you never exercise without it! I know I don't.
My nephew just turned 16 and we gave him a heart rate monitor as well as a training manual written by Sean for his birthday. He wants to get bigger and stronger for football and baseball. He has the right tools and with some good guidance he should make great gains. When I was thinking of what to get him for his birthday I hesitated at a monitor but then I thought, why not? He can learn at a young age to monitor how hard he is working and what hard work feels and looks like. Not a bad thing to instill at a young age.
If I could have all my boot camp participants and personal training clients wear a monitor while working out with me, I would love it! So, what would I have you do with it? First, figure out your max heart heart...
Example: 32 year old woman
Estimated MHR = 220 - (age) 32
MHR = 188 BPM
Next, I would have you figure out your training zones...
Example: 32 year old woman
Zone 5: 50-70% of MHR
94-132 BPM
Zone 4: 70-80%
132-150 BPM
Zone 3: 80-85%
150-160 BPM
Zone 2: 85-95%
160-179 BPM
Zone 1: 95% and above
179 BPM and higher
Now what do these zones mean and how can I use them to my advantage while exercising?
Zone 5: This is a heart rate range where your goal is to exercise in a lower range so your body is able to recover from prior work done and not hinder future workouts.
Zone 4: The aerobic zone where long durations of work/exercise can be done. Typically, this is where endurance athletes hang out while training.
Zone 3: The range where you are on the edge of your anaerobic threshold. This is a range that is a bit harder to maintain but a very important one none the less. This is where you make gains to imporove your aerobic threshold. If you want to get faster of perform an activity (ex: running) for longer periods of time, then this is where you want to train occasionally.
Zone 2: Entering an anaerobic zone in this range. This is where you develop strength and power. This is the range you want to hit during conditioning and circuits.
Zone 1: The full anaerobic zone. At this point, you can not maintain the activity for longer that a minute. This is the zone you want to enter when doing intervals and going for fat loss. Challenging your body to endure the demands of this zone truly is awful , and that's putting it mildly, but the benefits are worth it when its over!
When someone first gets a monitor I always recommend that they first get used to wearing it. Work out as you usually do and notice the numbers and more importantly how you feel. The calculated ranges are only estimates so always take into account how you feel at different ranges. When you start to discover your zones then you can begin to challenge yourself to hold heart rates longer or hit a new high number when performing an anaerobic interval.
So there you have it! A very brief description on heart rate training and how it's used. I believe it is a tool that is invaluable and so important to improve aerobic performance as well as achieve goals for fat loss. Put it on your list and make 2011 a leaner and more fit year!
If you need any help picking one out send me an email!
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