Train Smarter: How Heart Rate Zones Transform Your Fitness Journey

You’re the type of person who sets the time to go to the gym and work your ass off, you have your routine, you’re consistent and work hard. But you feel like your training hasn’t changed much in recent months.

 

However, you enjoy your sessions and don’t want to change your routine – because hey, we’re creatures of habit, right?

 

So this is where you would find learning about Heart Rate Zones valuable

 

Heart Rate Zones can be the much needed change you’re looking for

 

Adding variable Heart Rate Zone work will:

 

• Spice up your intensity

• Relieve boredom

• Get you sweating more than usual

• Create new challenges

• Give you a much needed boost in motivation

 

It is important before you use Heart Rate Zones to understand how to calculate your maximum Heart Rate in order to begin to calculate your percentages, to do that you can use the simple formula;

 

220 – Your Age = Max Heart Rate

Very simple but it with give you a rough estimate to work from

 

 

What do I mean by ‘Heart Rates Zones’?

As your training gets more intense, your heart rate increases, so a good way to control exercise intensity is to observe your heart rate at different training intensity. Simply put; Heart rate zones are ranges of heart rates that relate to the intensity levels you choose to train at.

 

 

As you can see from the table above your heart rate zones can determine the goal at which you are training for and can be manipulated throughout your workout or training plan.

 

Take interval training as an example of a way to utilize varying heart rate zones to spice up your current workout regime without sitting down and stressing over which new exercises or cardio modality to use;

 

Interval training involves training for a set period of time – lets say 10 minutes – and changing the intensity of the workout at regular intervals – lets say every 2 minutes. This would lead to a change in heart rate zone every 2 minutes and lead to a new stimulus for the heart and body to adapt to.

 

Take this running Interval training Example;

 

 

This type of training can be manipulated according to your fitness level and can be made easier or more difficult over time, above is just an example of how Heart Rate Zones can be utilized during Interval training.

 

How can you measure what Heart Rate Zone you are in?

The obvious answer to this is to use some kind of technology, such as a Heart Rate Monitor on the wrist, finger or chest strap.

However, I know not everyone has these available or the money to buy such a device, so use this table as a rough guide;

 

 

 

 

You now know exactly what Heart Rate Zones are and how to use and test yourself without worrying about changing up your workout regime

 

Work smarter!