Heart rate is the measurement of the number of heart contractions, or beats, that occur per minute. The target heart rate is the optimum rate for people who are exercising. Exercising within your target heart rate zone will ensure the optimal intensity for your body, according to HealthyForms.com.
Fat Burning Zone
For most people, burning fat is the main goal of exercise. To figure out your fat burning zone, subtract your age from 220. This will give you your maximum heart rate. Maximum heart rate is the highest number of times your heart can contract in one minute. The fat burning zone is between 60 percent to 75 percent of your MHR. For example, a 30-year-old will have a MHR of 190. The target heart rate zone to burn fat is between 123 to 161 BPM. Exercises such as running, swimming laps or hiking are best for getting in the fat burning zone because they are high intensity and require the use of the major muscle groups.
Maintenance Zone
Exercising between 50 percent to 60 percent of your MHR is best if you want to keep your heart and lungs healthy or maintain your current weight. Again use the MHR formula, 220 minus age, to calculate this range. This zone is ideal for people looking to maintain a healthy cardiovascular and respiratory system. Exercises such as jogging, recumbent bike riding or power walking will get you in this range.
Cardio Zone
In the cardio zone, your heart rate is 75 percent to 90 percent of its maximum. You will strengthen your cardiovascular system and burn more calories here than in any other zone. Although only 50 percent of the calories are from fat, you will burn more total calories, according to ArticleBase.com. To attain this heart rate zone, vigorous exercise is required such as plyometrics, sprinting or mountain biking.
H.I.I.T.
High-intensity interval training alternates between high-intensity exercise and moderate-intensity exercise. This form of exercise helps keep the heart rate in the fat burning zone without doing continuous high-intensity exercise. An example of this would be running on a treadmill at a speed of 5 mph for one minute followed by running at a speed of 7 mph for one minute. Repeat for 30 minutes.
Checking Heart Rate
You can check your heart rate by using a heart rate monitor or by checking your pulse. While exercising, take your pulse, via side of neck or wrist, for 15 seconds then multiply by four to get your heart rate for one minute. This is helpful to find what zone you're working in and motivate you to increase intensity. Checking your heart rate will also help you estimate how many calories you burned during exercise.
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