Tag: Resting Heart Rate

The Best Way to Calculate Your Exercise (Training) Heart Rate

Have you ever spent weeks or months exercising following all of the rules of exercise engagement and not made any progress in your training? There may be a reason for that, and it may have to do with how you’re monitoring and setting your exercise heart rate.

 

Last week we looked at the importance of knowing what your resting heart rate is and how it can be an indicator of your heart health. We also discussed what the standard maximum heart rate and exercise heart rate ranges are, the ones you find most often printed on the treadmill or stationary bike at your gym.

 

Then I ended the post by saying that the most common formula is often not the most accurate or best way to determine your exercise heart rate. Today I’m going to tell you why and show you how to get the measurement you need.

 

Exercise heart rate review—

Let’s begin with a short review about what happens to your heart rate during exercise.

Your heart rate usually rises during intense workouts, prolonged long-distance (aerobic) exercise workouts. Your heart’s maximum heart rate is the rate at which your heart is working at its hardest to supply oxygen to your body. In exercise, this is the rate that can only be sustained for several minutes.

Your maximum heart rate is a function of aerobic capacity—the amount of oxygen your body is able to consume, or the heart’s ability to pump oxygenated blood to your muscles. When an exercise physiologist measures it, she’ll write in terms of VO2 max and actually measure the volume of oxygen you move through your lungs during exercise. The more conditioned you are, the higher your VO2 max usually is.

 

As you exercise and your fitness level improves, the body ramps up in efficiency, at metabolism and everything else it does. Your gastric motility improves—the speed and efficiency at which your body digests and moves food through the digestive tract. Your muscles get stronger and more efficient. Your body actually makes more capillaries in which to circulate oxygenated blood to those muscles, and your lungs become better at moving those oxygenated blood cells through the transport system. (Do any of you remember the People Mover ride at Disneyland? It’s like that. The blood cells line up to load the oxygen and then get whisked away to the distribution sites. The movers are filled to capacity, rather than moving out partially loaded.)

 

Knowing what your maximum heart rate level should be during exercise is fundamental to setting effective exercise parameters and goals.

 

If your fitness level is improving, and you really want to keep improving it, how do you calculate your maximum exercise heart rate?

 

Last week we looked at this scenario:

You go to the gym, hop on a treadmill or stationary bike and see the maximum heart rate formula and exercise intensity graph to indicate where you should be exercising for your age.

The basic formula is: 220 minus your age multiplied by 50 to 70%

 

So let’s punch in some numbers.

If you’re 40 years old, your max exercise heart rate will be 180 bpm. What does that tell you? It tells you that 180 bpm is the highest heart rate number you should obtain while exercising at your maximum level. But you’ve already seen that the maximum level can only be, and should only be, sustained for no more than several minutes.

So, unless you’re planning to exercise for just two to three minutes, how do you decide what heart rate you should be exercising at?

The percentage number you use really does depend upon what you’re trying to achieve. Do you want to work on your power, the speed you can move a barbell from your chest to an overhead position? Maybe explode from a crouched over position in a 100 meter sprint? Or do you want to get long, lean muscles?

 

What if you just want to work on your general fitness level, or burn off some of that pesky fat that accumulated when you weren’t looking?

I promise we’ll get into more specifics about what percentage is likely to be best for you, but today we’ll stick to discussions about averages. For most people, they want to aim for 50 to 70% of the maximum heart rate of 180. So the formula for would look like:

 

Max HR formula: 220 minus your age multiplied by .50, .60, or .70

 

So, with 220 minus 40 we arrive at our 180 and then multiply that by 50%. That number would be 90 bpm. As I noted last week, that number doesn’t sound very high. But it can be very effective for someone trying to maintain their fitness level, is a beginner, or is planning to walk the treadmill for an hour or more at a moderate pace.

This is the average. And as handy as averages can be sometimes, they often don’t tell the story you want told. So we want to get more specific. We want to ask a different question.

 

Using gold standard formula for setting your exercise heart rate—

If your fitness level and heart function are improving, and you really want to keep improving, how do you calculate your maximum exercise heart rate?

 

You want to use the Karvonen Heart Rate formula, the gold standard in exercise heart rate calculations.

 

Let’s go back to the max heart rate calculation formula. Only now, we’re going to tweak it for exercise and use that important information you gathered about heart rate a couple of weeks ago. I’ll use the 40-year old example again.

Ms. 40-year old Lulu Lemon jumps on the treadmill at the gym. She’s in better-than-average physical condition, because just that week she measured her resting heart at 65 bpm, not the average 80, which is what is used for the average formula posted on the treadmill she’s on. But she doesn’t want average. She wants personal!

So, she takes that 65 bpm number and plugs it into a more accurate formula to determine her maximum exercise heart rate—

 

Formula steps—

  1. 220 minus her age of 40 = 180
  2. Now this is where the change starts. This calculation will tell her what her heart rate reserve or cushion is.

180 bpm minus her resting heart rate of 65.

180 – 65 (resting heart rate) = 115 (heart rate reserve)

  1. Ms. Lemon wants to focus on a fat-burning workout for this session, so she plans to walk at 50 to 70% of her heart rate reserve. So she calculates the range this way:

115 (heart rate reserve) multiplied by 50% = 57.5

115 (heart rate reserve multiplied by 70% = 80.5

This gives her a nice percentage range to work within, but now she needs to know exactly what her exercise heart rate should be within those ranges. So she returns to her resting heart rate for the final calculation.

  1. 65 (resting heart rate) + 57.5 (50% of her reserve) = 122.5 bpm

   65 (resting heart rate) + 80.5 (70% of her reserve) = 145.5 bpm

So Ms. Lemon knows that she can safely and effectively exercise in a heart rate range of 123 to 146 bpm.

Abbreviated, the formula looks like this:

220 – 40 = 180 (max heart rate)

180 – 65 (resting heart rate) = 115 (reserve heart rate)

115 x 50% = 57.5; and 115 x 70% = 80.5

65 + 57.5 = 123 exercise heart rate (rounded up); and 65 + 81 = 146

a 123 to 146 bpm target exercise heart rate range

 

What difference does it make?

Tons! A quick look at what Ms. Lemon’s target rate would be if her resting heart rate were 80 tells you that this target range would change from 123 to 146 bpm for the lower rate of 65, to the higher range of 130 to 155 for the higher rate of 80.

Do you see the difference? Ms. Lemon is in better condition, so she doesn’t have to maintain as high of a target heart rate range as her 80 bpm counterpart. In short, she doesn’t have to work as hard because her body is already more efficient! Cool, huh?

 

Let’s look at an older (just got my senior movie discount) lady like me—

I’m 60 (just), with a resting heart rate of 58. (An anesthesiologist once quipped he could make it lower during my surgery. Ha! Funny guy. No doubt he could take it to zero!)

Anyway, my calculations would look like this:

220 – 60 = 160 (Eek! I hate to look at that low number.)

160 – 58 (my resting heart rate) = 102 (reserve heart rate)

102 x .50 = 51; and 102 x .70 = 71.4

Add my resting HR of 58 to 51, and I get a minimum exercise heart rate of 109.

Add my resting HR of 58 to 71.4, and I get a maximum exercise heart rate of 129.

So, if I want to burn some fat, I should exercise within a heart rate range of 109 – 129 while I’m plugging away on the treadmill next to Ms. Lemon, who has to (and can) work harder than me.

 

Can you work in higher ranges? Sure. But as I’ve said before, it will all depend upon what your exercise goal is.

We’ll look at some of those goals and target differences next week!

Until next time,

Happy heart rate targeting!

(If you like this post and think it might be helpful to others, please pass it on. Or if you have a question, send me a comment in the comment box. I’d love to hear from you!)

Blessings,

Andrea

 

*You should always check with your doctor about what your target heart rate should be if you’re taking medication for a heart condition.

Photo courtesy of Google Images

Why Knowing Your Resting and Exercise Heart Rate is Critical to Good Health

What do you know about your resting and exercise heart rate? What should you know? Were you able to get an idea of what your normal resting heart rate is when you established some baselines for your vitals a couple of weeks ago? (See April 4th’s post: Welcome to Workout Wednesdays! http://andreaarthurowan.com/2018/04/04/welcome-to-workout-wednesdays/admin/ )

Before we get too far down the road with a discussion about heart rate, let’s start with the basics, so we can continue laying those important health and fitness tip brick foundations!

 

Heart Rate basics—

While you probably know what your resting heart rate measures—how many times your heart beats in a minute—do you know what that number actually tells you about your heart and your health?

Simply put, resting heart rate tells you just how hard your heart is working while at rest to supply your body’s oxygen needs. Just how many times does it have to contract in a minute to squirt blood through the pipes to get your body oxygenated for plain old activities of daily living, or sleeping, or sitting in a chair watching television?

 

Two more things your resting heart rate can tell you—

  • Reveal your risk for heart attack, and
  • Reveal your aerobic capacity—the amount of oxygen your body is able to consume, or the heart’s ability to pump oxygenated blood to your muscles.

 

As your oxygen supply needs change throughout the day, your heart will speed up or slow down to accommodate those needs. Or at least it should. What is “normal” for you, though, will depend upon your age, gender, and fitness level.

According to a Harvard Women’s Health Watch on-line article titled “What Your Heart Rate is Telling You,” says a 2010 Women’s Health Initiative study report indicated that a lower heart rate in post-menopausal women might protect against heart attacks. Those having a resting heart rate of 76 beats per minute (bpm) or greater were 26% more likely to have a heart attack or die than those having a resting heart rate of 62 bpm or lower.

They recommended having a chat with your doctor if your resting heart rate hovers consistently above 80 bpm. (For further reading, see the link at the bottom of this post.)

It’s also a good idea to take your resting heart occasionally (don’t just rely on a one-time measurement) so you can determine how, and if it’s changing. If you see a sudden change from what’s “normal” for you, it’s a good idea to discuss this with your physician. It may be a symptom or indicator of something going on with your heart or vascular health.

 

What you need to know about maximum heart rate in exercise—

Your heart rate usually rises during intense workouts, prolonged long-distance (aerobic) exercise workouts, stress and illness. Your heart’s maximum heart rate is the rate at which your heart is working at its hardest to supply oxygen to your body. In exercise, this is the rate that can only be sustained for several minutes.

Your maximum heart rate is a function of that aerobic capacity we already mentioned. When an exercise physiologist measures it, she’ll write in terms of VO2 max and actually measure the volume of oxygen you move through your lungs during exercise. To get an exact measurement, it’s a complicated, messy process of actually breathing into a tube during exercise, collecting your breath in a bag and then analyzing that volume through a special machine. The more conditioned you are, the higher your VO2 max usually is.

 

How do you calculate your maximum exercise heart rate?

Ever go to the gym, hop on a treadmill or stationary bike and see the maximum heart rate formula and exercise intensity graph to indicate where you should be exercising for your age?

The basic formula is: 220 – your age x 50 – 70%

Start with the number 220 and then subtract your age from that. If you’re 40 years old, it will be 180 bpm. So what does that tell you? It tells you that 180 bpm is the highest heart rate number you should obtain while exercising at your maximum level. But you’ve already seen that the maximum level can only be, and should only be, sustained for no more than several minutes.

So, unless you’re planning to exercise for just two to three minutes, how do you decide what heart rate you should be exercising at?

Well, it really depends upon what you’re trying to achieve. We’ll delve into those specifics in a future post, but, in general, you could aim for 50- 70 or 80% of 180. So the formula would look like:

 

Max HR formula: 220 minus your age multiplied by .50, .60, .70, or .80

 

If you’re aiming for middle-of-the-road, new exerciser level, that number would come in around 90 bpm. Doesn’t sound very high, does it? But it can be a sound level to aim for if you’re an exercise newbie, or just getting back into the swing of things following an illness.

HOWEVER, that formula is NOT the most accurate or desirable formula if:

—You are in good physical condition.

—You have a low resting heart rate.

 

So what is the most desirable formula? We’ll explore that in next week’s post, when I’ll give you that critical formula to help you better judge and develop your personal exercise intensity. *

 

 

One more (GREAT) reason to strive for a lower heart rate—   

 

 

If lowering your risk of having or dying of a heart attack isn’t enough, maybe this other finding noted in Harvard’s article might give you a nudge to lower your heart rate.

 

“… a small controlled trial demonstrated that men and women with mild cognitive impairment who raised their aerobic capacity also improved their performance on tests of memory and reasoning.”

 

In later posts, you’ll learn more about how physical exercise doesn’t just help the body but improves brain function! And who doesn’t want to have a better, sharper brain?

 

 Trivia Question?

Which athletes are notorious for boasting the highest VO2 maximum measurements? (You’ll learn the answer next Wednesday!)

 

Until next time,

Blessings for prosperity in all things—emotional, physical and spiritual!

Andrea

 

*You should always check with your doctor about what your target heart rate should be if you’re taking medication for a heart condition.

Link: Harvard Health article “What Your Heart Rate is Telling You https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/what-your-heart-rate-is-telling-you

Photos courtesy of Google Images

Welcome to Workout Wednesdays!

When you hear the word “workout” what goes through your mind, and body? Excitement? Ambivalence? Dread? Do your hands sweat from excitement, or fear? Are you instantly transported via a PTSD flashback to your ninth grade physical education class where you loathed putting on those classy polyester gym shorts and block-shaped exercise top and got relegated to the worst team in the class because you were a bona fide “klutz” and couldn’t coordinate the timing of basketball dribbling or manage to get your foot to make contact with a slow-moving kickball to save your life?

I won’t tell you I can relate, because I can’t (except for the ugly gym shorts and top). Coordination (to precision) was my forte, and I oozed competitive spirit. I hated being shown up, and I seethed internally if I lost. (Although my hand-eye coordination with a tennis ball and racket was horrible, I was determined to overcome that failure and showed up on the tennis court every day one summer to learn how to play with the guys in doubles.)

And I was strong. Stronger than some of the guys in my class. Even guys who took me on in arm wrestling in college were stunned when I slammed their arms to the tabletop.

But as a coach and physical education teacher, I took a completely different approach.

My greatest desire was to instill in all of my students a love of the complexity of the human body and human movement. I wanted them to appreciate physical health for the sake of being physically healthy, not for the sole purpose of competing or beating someone else. I wanted them to develop a lifelong love of fitness. Not necessarily “exercise” in the traditional term, but general, overall fitness. So instead of grading them on what they could do, (because, frankly, some of them would have failed the class if I had stuck to a traditional can-do grading system), I graded them on how much they improved from the day they walked into my class to the day they exited it for the semester or year. And I also tacked on some brownie points for good behavior and honest participation.

And you know what happened? Some of those kids, who entered my class with their arms clamped across their chests and an I’m-not-going-to-do-anything-you-ask-me-to-do look on their face left the class feeling pretty proud of themselves and their accomplishments. They had fun. They ended up being able to pass a soccer ball to a teammate, which meant they were able to participate in the shear fun of doing that. They had strikes in bowling after weeks of rolling gutter balls. I actually cheered and cried with one of my students who never thought she could accomplish anything remotely related to physical education or movement.

And that’s what we’ll do with our Workout Wednesday time—help you change your outlook on fitness and develop a program that works for you. One you can adjust as you desire or need based on your current fitness level, future (improved) fitness level, age or physical capacity.

 

Not just for the body

Why is exercise important?

I’m sure you know the standard answers: Reduces your risk of heart disease and stroke, cancer, and other major debilitating and death-causing diseases. But do you know what scientists have discovered the most important side effect of exercise is?

            Your brain health and function. Neuroscientists say that when you exercise, so does your brain, and it probably benefits the most from it, by forming new neuron connections. In short, exercise helps keep you young and sharp!

But there are important tips to maximizing this effect. And we’ll cover those.

And we’ll explore connections like:

  • Exercise and sleep
  • Exercise and Mood and Mental Health
  • Exercise and Sex
  • The Importance of Flexibility, Balance and Mobility

 

We’ll also explore nutrition and the latest diet trends and fads. And we’ll learn how to identify food sensitivities and allergies that affect your overall health and mood.

 

Fair Warning!

Let me warn you ahead of time: I’m not a big fan of some of the extreme, “elite fitness” programs, which I won’t name here. I think a lot of you know what they are. And in succeeding posts, I’ll tell you why. I was a highly trained, competitive athlete for YEARS, and I’ve worked collegiate athletes and Olympians, so I know the mindset. I understand the obsession. But you could say I’m a recovered athlete. I’ll explain that in another post too.

But first, we need to get started and prepared for next Wednesday.

 

Getting started

Just as you do for the spiritual component of your life, you need to lay a good foundation for the physical. And that means getting some baseline measurements and assessments recorded. That way you know where you are, better decide where you want to go, and then track how you’re doing getting there. So, before next Wednesday, I invite you to do the following:

 

  • Buy yourself a fitness/workout journal. One of my favorites is BodyMinder: Workout & Fitness Journal. It’s got great grids in it to record cardio and strength workouts and dietary notes. I’ve provided the link for you at the end of this post.
  • Another great journal is the HealthMinder: Personal Wellness Journal. This helps you identify the health of nearly every part of your body. It’s one of the ways I was able to identify some of my food sensitivities. I can’t recommend it highly enough for tracking your overall health!
  • Finally, the DietMinder: Personal Food and Fitness Journal is also great to have handy.

 

Next, you’ll need to learn your:

 

  • Blood Pressure—Before you get out of bed in the morning, record your blood pressure. You can find a good cuff at your local drugstore or online. Wake up, take a few breathes, slap on the cuff and take your blood pressure while you’re still lying down.

 

  • Blood Pressure Again—Then sit up and take it again. Women will likely see a drop in their pressure. Wait another five minutes and take it again. It should have stabilized. Note both of these readings, both the big number (known as systole) and the smaller number (diastole). I’ll explain what each of these mean in the next post.

 

  • Resting Heart Rate—Now, if your blood pressure cuff doesn’t have the capability to measure your resting heart rate along with the BP, then you’ll need to do it manually. You can do that by placing your index and middle fingers on your neck to the side of your windpipe. You can also place these same fingers over the inside of your wrist. DO NOT use your thumb! It has its own pulse and will throw off your count. Now for the proper counting. While many medical office personal will take your pulse for just ten seconds and then multiply it by six for a minute count, I don’t recommend that method since it’s not as accurate as measuring it for a full minute with your fingers.

 

  • Weight—Then, hop out of bed, step on the scale and record your weight. This should be a first thing in the morning weigh-in, after you’ve emptied your bladder. Go ahead and disrobe for this. Record it in your journal with the date.

 

  • Body Measurements—Get out a measuring tape and measure the circumference of your chest, waist and hips. The waits measurement should be around the belly button area, or just slightly below it. Also record the circumference of your thighs and upper arms. You’ll probably need help for the arms.

 

  • Resting Breathing—Next, lie on the floor and breathe normally. Place your hand on your tummy to see if your abdomen moves up and down. Breathe deeply and check it again. Breathe in through your nose AND out through your nose. (I know, breathing out through your mouth was the standard for years.) Do the tummy check with your hand. Is your breathing smooth or jerky? Does your chest, and not your abdomen/tummy rise when you breathe in? We’ll be addressing proper breathing techniques too.

Looking ahead

That will be enough for us to get started next Wednesday. But do think about one more thing.

What kind of exercising do you like to do? What would you be most likely to stick with?

 

Reference/Journal Links:

Here’s the list of links for those journals, but any regular journal will do. These just make it easier to jot numbers down in the right columns and trigger your brain in all areas of fitness.

By the way, I don’t get anything from Amazon or the publishers for recommending these books. I just found them years ago in a Reno, Nevada medical facility I was visiting with my dad. Snatched them up. They’ve been around for 16 years and have great ratings.

BodyMinder workout journal

www.amazon.com/BODYMINDER-Workout-Exercise-Journal-Fitness/dp/0963796844/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522802240&sr=8-1&keywords=bodyminder+workout+and+exercise+journal

HealthMinder Journal

www.amazon.com/HEALTHMINDER-Personal-Wellness-MemoryMinder-Symptoms/dp/0963796879/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0963796879&pd_rd_r=J8BT3Q9KV0VSPJ53WXJH&pd_rd_w=WIgnS&pd_rd_wg=pOM4P&psc=1&refRID=J8BT3Q9KV0VSPJ53WXJH

DietMinder

www.amazon.com/DIETMINDER-Personal-Fitness-Journal-Exercise/dp/0963796836/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0963796836&pd_rd_r=J8BT3Q9KV0VSPJ53WXJH&pd_rd_w=WIgnS&pd_rd_wg=pOM4P&psc=1&refRID=J8BT3Q9KV0VSPJ53WXJH

 

I hope you’ll join me here again Friday for Free-for-All Fridays. We’ll cover a variety of topics, including recreational ideas, current news and recommended articles, stories and books to read having to do with balanced living!

Until then,

Blessings!

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

 Photo Courtesy of Andrea A Owan