Knowing if you are in your target heart rate zone
Here’s a little bit of information for those of you who exercise but don’t know if they are in that target burning zone.
You take 220, subtract your age, and multiply that by .60% and that will give you the minimum %. You want to go as high as .85% and that will give you the high end of your heart rate. So here’s an example, we will figure out mine to show you.
220-33 x.60%=112
220-33 x.85%=158
So my range is 112-158. So as long as I stay in that range I will be burning fat.
Below is a chart thats called RPE (RATE OF PERCEIVED EXERTION) it’s used to gauge the intensity of your cardio workouts.
1-2 very easy you can talk with no effort
3 easy you can talk with almost no effort
4 moderately easy talking with some effort
5 talking but a little harder to carry on a conversation
6 talking but in broken sentences
7 talking but very hard
8 conversation requires maximum effort
9-10 peak effort you’re in a no talking zone
So I hope this helps you guys if you didn’t know where your target heart rate zone is. In terms of RPE, you might wanna stay between the 5 and 8. Thanks guys for reading, til next time! email me with any questions you might have.
Jennifer
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Categories: Weight Loss
Great Post, Jennifer!! :)
Are you referring to the supposed “Fat Burning Zone”? You will actually burn more calories at a slightly higher heart rate, as long as you don’t overdo it and injure yourself. I try to stay in the 160-180 range, which for me is an RPE of around 7. It depends on whether you’re a beginner to cardio exercise or have a lot of weight to lose then you’re probably better off taking it easy at first and working up to the higher intensity workouts.
I highly recommend a heart rate monitor, regardless of skill level. It really helps me separate the tiredness from physical exertion from the mental I-wanna-stop feeling. If I feel tired and want a walk break during my run I can just look at my heart rate monitor. If it only says 160 then I know I just need a better song on my ipod :-) Plus, some of them will allow you to get a much more accurate count of how many calories you are burning.
Great idea, Kirsten - However it is important to use a medically approved guideline to begin with.
For example, my numbers go like this:
255-30 X .60 = 135
255-30 X .85 = 191
So in that respect, yes, 180 or slightly higher would be my high-ended target heart rate.
I think we need to be careful that it’s definitely different for everyone, based not only on weight, but age.
Let’s look at a 45 year old woman who currently weighs 250 lbs. 123 - 174
Or a 20 year old woman at 160 lbs: 84 - 119 - she’s practically burning fat by sitting there. :)
Of course much of this has to do with your muscle/fat ratio too. Depending on that 20 year old’s extra 20 lbs being fat or muscle, would make a world of difference. Your resting heart rate and metabolism have everything to do with it as well.
Either way - I like the idea of wearing a heart rate monitor, but make sure it’s a high quality one. The ones that come standard on the cardio equipment at the gym are highly unreliable. I once did a 45 minute, fast walk and it said I burned 5600 calories.
Where did you get the number 255 from? I don’t think you are supposed to subtract your age from your weight. 220 is a fixed number for that particular formula. Other experts suggest a different number for men and women. I think it’s 220 for men and 226 for women. So, mine would be:
226 - 29 * .6 = 118 (this is ridiculously low…this is me standing still on the treadmill)
226 - 29 * .85 = 167 (this is in the mid range of my workouts, a very light jog)
So, if I’m working out at a max of 180 bpm, that would be around 91%. A pretty strenuous workout! I’m definitely at an RPE of 9 at that point, and I certainly won’t/can’t maintain that intensity for very long. If I look down at my heart rate monitor and see it is near 180, that’s my signal to slow down.
Or if you want to get fancy, you can use the Karvonen method, which factors in Resting Heart Rate (HRrest) to calculate Target Heart Rate (THR):
THR = ((HRmax – HRrest) × %Intensity) + HRrest
There’s another way which is even more accurate, but requires taking a stress test with a breathing apparatus to calculate something called VO2max, which I believe has something to do with the volume of oxygen which is used during exercise. I’m curious to try it, but the test is expensive and probably won’t give me a much different number than I’ve already calculated with the simpler formulas above.
The bottom line is to keep track of where your heart rate is during your workout and pay attention to trends. When you’re working at an easy RPE of 3 or 4, what is your heart rate usually at? When you’re working a little harder at 5 or 6, what is your heart rate at? And when you’re working really hard, at RPE of 7-9 what is it at? That way, once you get to know your body and how it responds to different levels of exercise intensity, you will have a better idea of when you’re pushing yourself too hard or not hard enough to get results. No formula can really tell you that, only experience can. But it’s an excellent start :-)
Whoops - I thought it was that you were supposed to take your weight and subtract your age! Shows you how closely I was reading that early in the morning! LOL
I agree that RPE is a much better way to judge the effectiveness of your workout. :)
hi Kirsten iI was using my self as an example to the numbers everyone can use their own judgement on how their body is responding and how out of breath they are,i never go as high as the 180s,I’m glad you can go as high as you do keep up the good work