If you are bored with your current workout or finding yourself in a bit of a slump, heart rate interval training may be for you! You may have heard of training in your "target heart rate zone" but aren't sure what that is. A person’s heart rate during exercise tells a lot about how hard their body is working... more so than workout time or running speed. What is intense for one person may not be as hard for another and by observing your heart rate you can personally challenge yourself. Heart rate training doesn’t have to be complicated and everyone can and should learn the basics of this valuable exercise concept.
Before we get started, practice finding your pulse using your radial artery on the thumb side of your wrist, or your temple artery on your temple in front of your ear. Try not to use the carotid artery in your neck to find your pulse. The receptors here amay cause your heart rate to slow down when you apply pressure to the area.
Find your heart rate training zones using the formula below or by visiting this website and using the Karvonen formula: http://pages.prodigy.net/edc3/imusa/heart_rates.html
Karvonen approach
Step 1: Find your estimated maximum heart rate (MHR) 220-age.
Step 2: Find your resting heart rate (RHR) by taking your pulse for 10 seconds while you have been resting for at least 5 minutes. Multiply this by 6 to get beats per minute (bpm). You should get a value between 60-100 bpm.
Step 3: Plug your numbers into this formula:
Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) = MHR – RHR
Step 4: According to the American College of Sports Medicine, to improve cardiovascular performance, you should work at 65%-85% of your HRR. Use this formula to find your target-training zone.
Target Heart Rate = HRR x Intensity + RHR:
65% = (HRR X .65) + RHR
85% = (HRR X .85) + RHR
I recommend a heart rate monitor to accurately monitor your heart rate without having to stop during exercise (these can be found at any sports store). You can also take your heart rate during exercise by briefly slowing down and taking your pulse for 10 sec. Make sure you multiply this number by 6 to get your bpm!
Interval Training can help improve cardiovascular fitness, increase speed, improve overall aerobic power, burn more calories, break-through a plateau, increase workout duration, reach new exercise levels, expand your workout options and increase your workout threshold. Whether you are running, swimming, cycling, etc, warm-up by gradually increasing your heart rate to 65% HRR for 5-10 minutes. Then, do some intervals. Increase your intensity or speed so that your heart rate reaches a value close to 85% HRR or higher. Keep this pace for 30 sec – 2 min (depending on your current fitness level). Slow down and recover at a heart rate of 110-120 bpm for 1-2 minutes, and then repeat. If you have a stopwatch, you can set your watch to beap every 1-2 min. to keep track of your intervals, or alternate between work and recovery every time your song changes on your mp3 player. Interval workouts can be intense so try to start at 15-20 minutes of intervals and work up to 30-45 minutes, 2-3 days/week. Make sure you finish your interval workout with a 5-minute cool down and lots of stretching!
If you are new to exercise, use your rate of perceived exertion (RPE) rather than or in addition to your heart rate for interval training. On a scale of 1 (Easy)-10 (Extremely Hard), alternate working between a 3-4 for your recovery intervals and a 7-9 for your hard intervals.
Happy training!
