>Ok My treadmill and elliptical and recumbent bike all have
>somewhere to put your thumb or hands for heart rate. Why do
>we calculate heart rate I am 36 almost 37 why do we stay in
>our heart rate what happens if you are too above or below is
>is really important to monitor. If it is a necessity my
>grandma has asked what to get me for my birthday and I will
>ask for the heart rate monitor I think the majority go with
>Polar which one?
>
>Thank you and please forgive my ignorance in this subject.
>
>beth6395
>
>"Double Knot your laces and let's move on"
>-Cathe Friedrich
Beth,
Why do we calculate heart rate?
Different things happen when you exercise at different ranges of Heart Rate (HR).
A logical start, is to define Max HR. Max HR is supposed to be the maximum nomber of times your heart can beat in one minute. Depending on how accurate you want to get and which formula you want to believe, there are many ways to predict your MAX HR. Here is a link to these alternative methods:
http://www.brianmac.co.uk/maxhr.htm
Based on where your heart rate is in relation to the Max HR, exercise has varying effects on your body according to studies.
Zone 1 (50 - 60% of MHR) Easy Training Zone - Your workout in this zone is low in intensity and won't give the most cardiorespiratory training benefits. But studies have shown that it works to help decrease body fat, blood pressure and cholesterol.
In this zone, the body derives it energy by burning 10% carbohydrates, 5% protein and 85% fat. Prescribed for beginners or people who have not exercised for a long period of time. It can also be a good recovery zone for people who are over-training and need to take a break.
Zone 2 (60 - 70% of MHR) Fat Burning Zone - This is the zone where the heart begins to benefit. You will be breathing heavier but will still be able to speak in short sentences. Your body fuels itself with 85% fat, 5% protein, and 10% carbohydrate. You will burn more overall calories than in the previous zone by training in this zone and the bulk of them will still be from fat. Training in this zone will begin improve your hearts ability to pump blood and improve the muscle cells ability to utilize oxygen.
Zone 3 (70 - 80% of MHR) Aerobic Zone - This is the optimal zone to workout in to increase your cardio-respitory capacity or the bodies ability to transport oxygenated blood to the muscle cells and carbon dioxide away from the cells. Over time, you will be able to workout at higher intensity and still stay in this heart rate zone, so this zone improves fitness. You will be breathing very hard and but still be able to speak in short phrases. You burn 50% of your calories from fat, 50% from carbohydrate, and less than 1% from protein. This is a still a good zone for weight loss, because overall calories burned will be higher than in the previous zone, so fat calories burned will be 50% of a higher number of total clories.
Zone 4 (80 - 90% of MHR)Anearobic Zone - This is the point where the body cannot effectively remove lactic acid from the working muscles quickly enough. Lactic Acid is a by-product of glycogen consumption by the working muscles. This zone is primarily for people who want to increase their performance levels. The benefit of training in this zone is you can increase your bodies ability to tolerate and deal with lactic acid for a longer period of time. You will be unable to speak except a single, gasped word at a time. This intense exercise will improve the amount of oxygen you can consume - your VO2 maximum. Workouts in this heart rate zone are typically part of an interval training workout, fo short high intensity bursts followed by revovery in a lower taining zone. You burn more calories per minute than with the lower heart rate workouts. The body burns 85% carbohydrates, 15% fat and less than 1% protein in this zone.
Zone 5 (90 - 100% of MHR)(VO2 Max or Red Line Zone) - You will only be able to train in this zone for short periods of time. You should not train at this level unless you are very fit. In this zone lactic acid develops very quickly as you are operating with oxygen debt to the muscles. The value of training in this zone is you can increase your fast twitch muscle fibers which increase speed. It is used in intervals or sprinting work at the track. While you burn lots of calories per minute in this zone, 90% of them are carbohydrates, 10% fats, and less than 1% protein.
Working in lower zones is usually safer from injury risks because you can use low impact exercise modalities. Athletes and those who are/want to work at advanced fitness levels use the higher zones.
Is it a necessity?
Some reasons to get a heart rate monitor (HRM):
a. People who do not like to work out intensely (those who read while on the elliptical for instance, or those who like to chat as they walk), but still want a reminder so that they do not dip below 50% of MHR use a HRM. It beeps if they slacken too much and HR dips below 50%, and prompts them to step it up a notch.
b. Those who are recovering from injury or have been advised to slow down by their doctors, or simply dont want to "overdo", use one so that they dont let their heart rate rise above a specific zone.
c. People who interval train (combine intervals in various heart rate zones in a single session) or do HIIT (high intensity interval training) use one to ensure that they really are in the prescribed zone during each interval.
d. People who are motivated by tracking total calories burned and information such as the average and highest heart rate they achieved during each workout, or those that like a scientic basis to compare one workout versus another use one.
I bet there could be more uses.
I personally cannot be bothered to use one. I use my perception of exertion and ability to talk as a guide when I train aerobically or in HIIT mode. My body is pretty good at signalling how hard it is working. If I am misreading the signals, I can live with that. My self preservation instincts (and those of most people) are good enough to warn me well in advance if I am approaching Max HR. I dont track calories consumed or burned. My ideas of fitness is to eat sensibly and exercise regularly. My sis on the other hand is motivated by tracking calories consumed and burned during workouts. A HRM is a great buy for her because she enjoys tracking numbers.
There are multiple types of HRMs. Certain models like the Nike/Reebok heart rate watch require you to press a button before the watch reads and displays your heart rate. They take a few seconds to assess heart rate before it is displayed. Others like Polar are continuous feedback mechanisms. They are real monitors because they are constantly measuring and displaying heart rate. Like Carol said, they are more accurate because having to hold down a button for heart rate usually means slowing down. Also, even if you dont keep looking at the watch to check HR, a Polar type of HRM can be set to beep to alert you if you are above or below zone.
The advantage of a Polar is that some gym equipment can read from the Polar transmitter that your wear around your chest, so the console will display your hart rate constantly. DH uses only the chest strap and not the watch to guide his cardio workouts because at his gym all equipment is Polar compatible.
~* Vrinda *~
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