Women know they SHOULD exercise and maybe you ARE walking daily. Fantastic! You are doing great. But, how do you know if what your doing it\s making a difference in your health and getting an adequate workout for your heart? heart rate training!
So many women have apple watches, fitbits and other trackers which track many things about your health. There are apps to track your food intake, your calories, steps and even how hard your heart is beating. But just HOW hard should you be working according to your age and fitness level.
By knowing your TARGET HEART RATE.
Before you learn how to calcuate those numbers, you must now your RESTING heart rate. Your resting heart rate is how many beats per minute you can count for one minute.
Average can be anywhere from 45-88. Its best to check early in the morning right after getting up and recomned you take it at least 3 mornings to take an average.
How to find it:
Trace 2 fingers down your left jawbone about 2 inches from your ear. Press in under the jaw bone and feel your pulse. Count how many beats you get for 60 seconds. Write that down. When you exercise, you want to maintain a steady pulse between 50-85% of that number. Chart below to help
THEN
Subtract your age from the number 220
Example if you are 60 220-60 = 160
That is your MAXIMUM heart rate is 160
No worries if you hit that maximum number, you most likely won't pass out hitting it, but you do need to be aware that if your heart rate is that high for over 20 seconds, you want to bring the intensity down by slowing down your walking or activity pace.
If you want to be more specific, try usling this calculation.
http://www.briancalkins.com/HeartRate.htm
For endurance training or long walks its best to stay in your 60-70 percent zone. For HIIT training ( high intensity interval training) you can alternate between your higher zones for a short period like 20 seconds followed by an active rest period of the same or longer.
Learn this and more in one of my classes that I offer or challenges coming up.
www.live-well-fit.com/events