Target Heart Rate can take the guesswork out of cardiovascular activity; determine the appropriate intensity based on your own body to maximize your time in the gym.
Instructions:
1. Place current age in the appropriate field.
2. To measure the pulse at the wrist, place the index and middle finger over the underside of the opposite wrist, below the base of the thumb. Press firmly with flat fingers until you feel the pulse.Once you find the pulse, count the beats for 1 full minute, or for 30 seconds and multiply by 2. This will give the beats per minute.
Background & Recommendations
Why Use Target Heart Rate?
Using Target Heart Rate can be one of the most effective tool for optimizing cardiovascular performance, whether it be a long distance event in running, cycling, swimming, and rowing or a shorter event such as wrestling, football, basketball, and sprinting. Using your heart rate to train is a scientifically proven method that is founded on the principles of Periodization, which simply put is the manipulation of different exercise variables.
Cardiovascular activity is a pretty simple concept, the harder you work the more energy you burn, but the problem is that when we go too hard we just burn that energy right up and we can't go anymore, and by the time this happens, most of us are saying "this sucks" or "I hate cardio" or something along those lines. The beauty of using Target Heart Rate is you can find the appropriate intensity for you, which will ultimately result in long-term, sustainable improvements in cardiovascular health and performance. An example of intensity is if you're working as hard as you can you're probably around 95-100% of your Target Heart Rate and on the flip side, when you're just walking around the neighborhood you're probably working around 40-50% of your Target Heart Rate. Creating a healthy balance between these two intensities is the key to maximizing your performance.
Recommendations:
Once you have used the calculator provided for you on this page, the first thing you must do is look into purchasing a heart rate monitor, there are many out there that can be appropriate for you depending on your needs, I personally like the Polar FT7, which can give you what you need. Once you have your heart rate monitor, you're ready to begin your periodized program and optimize your cardiovascular performance.
Examples of Target Heart Rate Programs:
I have created a couple of programs that you can put your personal information into and follow accordingly. You will find additional instructions once you download the program. If you need additional guidance in using the programs I have provided, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at alex@azhealthwellness.com