The tendency for most people when exercising is usually not working hard enough or working too hard. Exercising in either of these zones is not beneficial to your overall well being, and this is where learning how to use a heart rate monitor properly, can help. Using a HRM as a tool to gauge your exercise exertion level can be an objective way to train more intelligently and achieve your fitness goals more efficiently.
Maximum Heart Rate
The first place to start is to figure what your maximum heart rate, or MHR, is when exercising. The classic formula for finding this number is by subtracting your age from 220. By finding this number, you now have a standard to use to figure your heart rate zones during your exercise. The Sports Fitness Advisor website, however, states that because of individual differences, the most accurate way of determining your MHR is by doing a maximal stress test. Use caution when doing this and have a certified trainer or exercise physiologist on hand to monitor your effort.
Heart Rate Zones
Understanding how to utilize heart rate zones is where the real objective learning comes in using a HRM efficiently. The American Heart Association uses a very broad-based heart rate zone chart, according to your age, of exercising anywhere from 50 to 85 percent of your MHR. The Sports Fitness Advisor is more precise in stating that working out at 60 percent or less is useful for fat burning and if you are just starting an exercise program. Exercising at at 70 to 80 percent of your MHR is the zone to shot for as you become more fit, and 85 to 90 percent is the zone of your maximum effort.
Setting Heart Rate Zones
While most basic, low-end heart rate monitors show only your current heart rate, the higher end, more expensive HRMs offer the option of setting heart rate zones to accurately gauge your exercise effort and how long you stayed in the desired zone. According to a Rice University article on HRMs, a good HRM allows you to set the lowest beats per minute, or BPM, and the highest BPM. As you exercise you can see exactly if you are exercising at the level you desire. You can go back and see your BPM average, amount of time you stayed within the desired zone and even download your statistics for review later.
Using Your HRM to Improve
The Rice University article aptly points out that your HRM can be a wonderful learning tool to help you improve your overall fitness level. In the example of a 30-year-old male that consistently runs 9 minute miles at an average of 145 BPM, his aerobic capacity and fitness level will increase in which his heart works more efficiently and with less effort. As this occurs, using a HRM will show a gradually decreasing heart rate, allowing him to see his actual fitness improvement. With the HRM's capability of downloading the BPM statistics, he can see a graph showing his fitness improvements.
Heart Rate Monitor: Learning Device or Toy?
Words of caution in the use of a HRM comes from the Rice University article in that by not using it consistently and consequently not making any fitness gains, you can become bored, and it becomes an expensive toy. On the other hand, you are warned not to become a slave to your HRM in that it can cause you to ignore any warnings your body is giving you during your work out. It is appropriately pointed out that a heart rate monitor is just that, not a speedometer.
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