Monitoring your heart rates is a way for you to measure the intensity of your physical exercises. Many people believes that exercise must always be high-intensity to be effective, but high-intensity exercise isnt always the most productive form of exercise for every goal. Heart rate is a metric that tell you how hard your heart is working, and heart rate can help you determine if you are training at the correct intensity for your specific fitness goals.
You can use heart rate to categorize your effort into different training zone, and these training zones provide a way for you to avoid guesswork during your workouts. Different training zones serves different purposes because each training zone affects the body in a different way. If you want to burn fat, you may need to exercise at a lower heart rate, but if you want to increase your speed, you will need to exercise at a higher heart rate.
How to Train Using Your Heart Rate
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The lowest training zones allows the body to use fat for fuel and allow the body to focus on recovery. As your heart rate increase into the middle and upper training zones, your body shifts from using fat for fuel to using carbohydrates for fuel. Because your body uses carbohydrates at higher intensities, your body will require more oxygen, and because your body requires more oxygen, your breathing will become more laboriously.
You can calculate your target heart rate zone by first estimating your maximum heart rate. You can estimate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from a fixed number, and once you have calculate your maximum heart rate, you can use that number to find your specific target heart rate ranges. You dont always need specialized equipment to monitor your heart rate, but having equipment can make monitoring your heart rate more precise.
For example, a chest strap is a tool that provide high precision, but a smartwatch is also a tool that can monitor your heart rate. You can also monitor your heart rate manual by checking your pulse, or you can use the talk test to gauge your intensity. The talk test is a method where you use your ability to speak to determine your heart rate zone.
If you can sing a song, you are likely in a low heart rate zone, but if you can only speak in short sentence, you are likely in a high heart rate zone. Your heart rate is not a constant number, and your heart rate will change based on many different factor. For example, heat can cause your heart rate to increase because your heart must work harder to cool your body down.
Hydration and sleep also affects your heart rate, so a lack of hydration or a lack of sleep can cause your heart rate to be more higher than usual. This increase in heart rate due to external factors is called cardiac drift. Additionally, you should monitor your resting heart rate in the morning because a high resting heart rate can signal that your body is tired or that your body is fighting an illness.
Training should follow the principle of progressive overload, which means you should gradually increase the demands you place on your body. You should not make sudden or massive increases in intensity, because sudden increases in intensity can lead to injury or burnout. You should use your target heart rate zones to create a balanced weekly plan that include both high-intensity work and recovery work.
By monitoring your heart rate, you can ensure that you are training at the correct intensity, and by training at the correct intensity, you can continue to exercise safely for a long time.
