Whether you’re focused on weight loss, metabolic conditioning, or building muscle, heart rates matter. Read below if you’re curious about heart rates and how they impact your workout.

Facts to help understand your heart rate

1. You can measure your heart rate, or pulse, by counting the number of times your heart beats in a minute.
2. During exercise, keeping track of your heart rate provides you with real-time data so you can adjust your output to suit your fitness goals.This means your training will be more efficient and you’ll be more likely to lose weight sooner.

 

Using your heart rate for fitness

To use your heart rate as a reliable tool in a fitness program, you need to know what your max and resting heart rates are. 

If you have a cardiologist appointment coming up, they can get to perform a stress test for the most accurate result of your maximum threshold. 

However, you or your trainer can calculate your max heart rate with the standard formula of 220 minus your age. Your resting heart rate is easiest to measure first thing in the morning, before coffee and after a decent sleep. Do this for a few mornings in a row for better accuracy.

Both your max and resting heart rates are numerically expressed as beats per minute or bpm. 

A range of 60-100bpm is a typical resting heart rate (or HR) for much of the population which widely varies due to age, fitness and health conditions.

Watch: Quick guide to heart rate training | Polar

 

How do you measure your heart rate?

You can measure your heart rate, or pulse, by counting the number of times your heart beats in a minute (beats per minute, or BPM). 

During exercise, keeping track of your heart rate provides you with real-time data so you can adjust your output to suit your fitness goals. This means your training will be more efficient and you’ll be more likely to lose weight sooner.

While it is possible to record your heart rate manually, it’s quicker and often more accurate to use a heart rate monitoring device. This includes a specific heart rate monitor, or a wearable device like an Apple Watch, Fitbit or Polar.

Many models will also upload this data onto devices like your smartphone and illustrate how long you spend in each heart rate zone. 

This makes it a valuable tool during your workout, and you can monitor your efforts post-workout and track your resting heart rate. 

Wearables also tend to be more accurate than heart rate readings on cardio machines and they are portable so you can check your HR while doing weights or are on the go.

 

Measure your progress with wearable technology

Tools like Fitbits, Polars and other wearable devices will measure your heart rate via your wrist or a chest strap. Many models will also upload this data onto devices like your smartphone and illustrate how long you spend in each heart rate zone. 

This makes it a valuable tool during your workout, and you can monitor your efforts post-workout and track your resting heart rate. 

This helps you know when to make your workouts harder as your fitness improves and resting heart rate becomes lower. It also helps indicate when you should take it easier after illness or injury. 

Wearables also tend to be more accurate than heart rate readings on cardio machines and they are portable so you can check your HR while doing weights or are on the go.

 

What zone should you exercise in?

Once you know your max heart rate, you can identify your target zone to train in. 

• 85-100% of your max HR is considered Peak/vigorous exercise
• Cardio/hard is considered 70-84% of max HR
• Fat burn/moderate exercise is 50-69% of your max HR.

The zone you should work in will depend on your fitness goal. If you’re new to exercise or deconditioned it’s a good idea to train in the lower end of the range you are aiming for. 

Once you have established a workout pattern and have built on your base fitness, vary your workout so you can operate across several HR zones in one workout for best results.

 

What is my target heart rate for weight loss?

You burn calories and fat in every heart rate zone, but the best HR zone for weight loss is often at the lower end. Your fitness level and goals will determine which heart rate zone you should be working in. 

If you’re new to exercise or haven’t worked out in a long time, you’ll find that lighter exercise puts you in the optimal HR for fat burning, but you’ll eventually need to work your way up. 

READ: TRAINING FOR THE TIME POOR

As you build stamina, you might start to plateau and don’t burn as much fat with light exercise. 

You can start to increase your target heart rate as your heart grows stronger, but you’ll also want to introduce strength or resistance training. 

Having more muscle mass increases your metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn at rest), helping you continue to burn calories throughout the day.

Depending on your goals, a great workout might have you exercising in all heart rate zones at different points.

 

Tips to improve HR

If you want to modify your work out so you exercise across more zones in each session, you might add some of the following to your workout:

• Weight
• Incline
• Shorter rest periods, intervals or HIT
• Power sets
• Drop sets

Don’t forget that with the right configuration, your weight session can be used as a cardio workout and you can add resistance to your cardio program! 

Calories are expended in any of the three HR zones, so if fat burning is your ultimate goal, mix it up and vary your training frequently for best results on the scales and to avoid weight loss plateaus

 

How to calculate your target heart rate zone for weight loss

Your fat-burning heart rate will lie between 50% and 80% of your max heart rate, with less fat (but more calories) burned the higher your heart rate is. 

Men’s and women’s fat-burning heart rates don’t differ — they only vary by your maximum heart rate.

One easy way to calculate your target heart rate for any level of exercise is to use the heart rate reserve method:

1. Start by deciding which zone you’d like to aim for — for this example, we’ll use the Moderate zone of 70-80%.
2. Calculate your heart rate reserve (HRR) by subtracting your resting heart rate from your maximum heart rate.

For this example, we’ll assume a resting heart rate of 75 bpm, and a maximum of 190 bpm. The HRR is then 190-75 or 125 bpm.

1. Multiply your HRR by 0.7 (70% — adjust for your target) and then add your resting heart rate to the result. 

In this case, that’s 87.5, plus the resting heart rate of 75, or 162.5 bpm.

1. Repeat for the upper end of your target zone. For this example, that’s 80% so we’ll say that’s 100, plus the resting heart rate to get 175 bpm.
2. These two numbers are the upper and lower end of the heart rate zone you want to be in. It’s not reasonable to choose a single heart rate, as it will fluctuate while you’re exercising, so selecting a zone means you’re setting more realistic goals. 

In this example, the target heart rate zone is between 162.5 and 175 bpm.

READ: GETTING FIT IN 2022 WITH SMART GOALS

 

Get guided training and achieve real results with personal training at South Pacific Health Clubs

It can be hard to keep yourself on track. If you need a hand forming great habits or pushing yourself past a training plateau, you’ll benefit from personal training. 

We have teams of talented, professional personal trainers in all our 7 venues to support you in your fitness goals wherever you work out. And remember, it must be fun, we will assist here too. 

Contact us for more information about personal training with South Pacific Health Clubs

 

MEET A TRAINER