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Hi Everyone! My favorite way to customize workouts for clients is to teach a lesson on heart rate training. Often times, I find out that my clients are either training to hard for their goals or not quite hard enough. Rarely does someone get it right. This is why I got motivated to write about heart rate training. First of all, this is not just for professional athletes or those (myself included) who wish they were. This is very useful information for anyone interested in working out efficiently and effectively. I am not a fan of wasting time when it comes to spending time exercising.
The first question you should ask yourself is, "what is my maximum heart rate (maxHR)?" This is what we will focus on today. Your maxHR is the reference point from which you set five different training zones. The training zones are labeled 1 -5 and are easy to difficult respectively. More to come on the actual training zones. The body is metabolizing fat and carbohydrates in different ways depending on the zone and then anaerobically in the two upper zones. The objective is to train in the zone appropriate for your fitness level and goals. There are a few different ways to figure out your maximum heart rate. The most accurate way is to take a VO2 max test. Typically done on a bike or treadmill, you are hooked up to a machine that measures your maximum heart rate by literally finding your threshold. I did this test last year and it took about 22 minutes and was utterly dreadful. Given a million bucks, I could not have gone one more second! I truly found my max! This test is usually not recommended for those getting back into shape but a great marker for more serious fitness goals. There are also numerous ways and formulas for testing without going all out. Because these are not as accurate they are called submax tests. And finally, there is the good old formula 220 - age = max. This is the formula typically seen on charts in the gym. What I do not like is that it is based on age, and maximum heart rate is a genetic number that may decrease a bit with decreased levels of fitness but not necessarily with age. Nevertheless, the chart is a safe starting point for measurements. Another formula out there and the option I like is called the Best Fit formula. It is: 210 minus (50% of your age) minus (5% of your weight) + 4 if your male, plus 0 if your female. Here is my own MaxHR: VO2 max test = 196 or 220-32 = 188 or 210-50%(32) -5%(125)= 187.75 About a 10 point difference in max heart rate depending on test/formula used. I found out by doing the VO2 max test that I have an usually high heart rate which forces me to have to work harder than the chart to meet zone objectives. I guess you could say this is a good thing and a bad thing. I am putting together the zone chart now so stay tuned for some great information on how to make the numbers work for you. Happy Jumping! Tressa
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