If you’re not watching your heart rate while doing cardio, you may just be burning a few calories and not strengthening your heart.
Polar Heart Rate Monitor
Use a heart rate monitor with a chest strap to get the most accurate information while you workout. Many machines have a receiver that will display information from your chest strap while you use them so you can track your heart rate and adjust your workout level accordingly.
You can find many formulas online to calculate your personal target heart rate (what you should be working with while exercising) online, but most of them don’t take into account your resting heart rate. You could be a 35 year old male, and your friend can as well, and you should probably be aiming for two different heart rates while you workout. For example, a friend of mine has a resting heart rate of 40 bpm, and mine is 70 bpm. We should not be aiming for the same rate while we’re running. One difference is he has been running 10 miles/day for 20 years. I have not. His heart is in much better condition than mine is, and doesn’t have to beat as often to circulate his blood. Even though we’re the same age, we need to have different goals.
Here is the formula you should use:
The formula differs for men and women, but only with the starting number; 220 for men and 226 for women. The following examples use a 35 year old with a resting heart rate of 70 beats per minute.
Men:
220 – Age = Maximum Heart Rate
Example: 220 – 35 = 185
Maximum Heart Rate – Resting Heart Rate = Maximum Heart Rate Reserve
Example: 185 – 70 = 115
Bottom of training heart rate range = Maximum Heart Rate Reserve * 50% + Resting Heart Rate
Example: 115 * .50 = 57.5 + 70 = 127.5
Top of training heart rate range = Maximum Heart Rate Reserve * 65% + Resting Heart Rate
Example: 115 * .65 = 74.75 + 70 = 144.75
Women:
226 – Age = Maximum Heart Rate
Example: 226 – 35 = 191
Maximum Heart Rate – Resting Heart Rate = Maximum Heart Rate Reserve
Example: 191 – 70 = 121
Bottom of training heart rate range = Maximum Heart Rate Reserve * 50% + Resting Heart Rate
Example: 121 * .50 = 60.5 + 70 = 130.5
Top of training heart rate range = Maximum Heart Rate Reserve * 65% + Resting Heart Rate
Example: 121 * .65 = 78.65 + 70 = 148.65
The Application:
Fat Burning – Beginner 50-65% Intermediate 55-70% Advanced 60-75%
Cardio Respiratory Conditioning – Beginner 50-65% Intermediate 65-80% Advanced 80-95%
- To get your resting heart rate, take your pulse for a full 60 seconds when you are the most relaxed (i.e. just woke up in the morning on your own, no alarm clock, etc.)
- When training in training heart rate range, go from bottom to top, hold for 10-20 seconds, and then go back down.
- Use a talk test to see if the percentages used in the formula are getting you where you need to be.
- Fat burn should be able to carry on a conversation with a little difficulty
- Cardio Respiratory Conditioning should be able to barely carry on a conversation with difficulty. If necessary, adjust percentages accordingly.
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