Heart Zones and Fitness Explained

                                                                                          Table. Heart Rate Zones (c) M. Grigsby 2024

If you're not sure what your maximum heart rate is, it can be calculated using this equation: 208 – (0.7 × age in years). For example, I'm 32 years old. 208 – (0.7 x 32) = 185.6, so my predicted maximum heart rate is around 186 beats per minute.

What do the different zones involve?

Zones are determined by measuring an individual's lactate threshold, which indicates the point at which an activity program shifts from being primarily aerobic to primarily anaerobic. Aerobic exercise ensures we can continue for a long time without getting tired since it uses oxygen to keep our muscles moving. On the other hand, anaerobic activity burns stored energy during exercise. Because anaerobic activity produces metabolic byproducts like lactate, which increase fatigue, our ability to create energy anaerobically is limited. Athletes may have a greater lactate threshold than usual, with most people's thresholds falling between 85% and 100% of maximum heart rate.

Striking a balance

You must establish a balance between training as much as necessary to see improvements and avoiding overtraining, injury, and burnout in order to maximize endurance performance. Zone 5 is the most taxing, even though it is expected to generate the highest improvements in maximum oxygen uptake, which is one of the strongest indicators of endurance performance and general health. This implies that there's a limit to how much you can do before it becomes too much.
Spending time in each heart rate zone ensures a range of benefits for both performance and health, as training in different zones improves slightly different physiological attributes.

How to Train Using Heart Rate Zones

You might be wondering what resting heart rate has to do with all the data your heart rate monitor (HRM) or other electronic  device that monitors heart rate could provide if you recently acquired one. Heart-rate feedback is a great tool for tracking exercise intensity and creating fitness enhancing training regimens.  The one I use can be purchased here Buy EZON Heart Rate Monitor and Chest Strap, Exercise Heart Rate Monitor, and Sports Watch Here: https://amzn.to/3wnwaPo 

The way heart rate data is displayed varies across HRM models and brands. A monitor will at the very least show you your heart rate right now.In addition to showing your resting heart rate, the majority of HRMs let you train within preprogrammed or custom heart rate zones. It's beneficial to comprehend a few fundamentals concerning the facts HRMs supply before you start training: The heart rate that occurs when you are not physically exerting yourself is precisely what it sounds like. It could range from 60 to 100 beats per minute (bpm). While endurance athletes may be below 50 bpm, very fit individuals are usually below 60 bpm. If your HRM does not record this value for you, you can find it on your own by monitoring your heart rate after a prolonged period of rest—it is best to check it as soon as you wake up.

Resting Heart Rate

Your resting heart rate is influenced by many factors, including age, gender, and even the medications you take, so don't worry too much about what it is at first. However, when your level of fitness increases, so does your resting heart.

Recovery Heart Rate

This is how long it takes, following intense exercise, for your heart rate to recover to resting levels. It is comparable to resting heart rate in that an improvement in it (a shorter recovery period) indicates an improvement in your fitness level as well. If this is something that your HRM tracks (not all of them do), monitor its evolution  over time.

HR Max (Maximum Heart Rate)

This is the absolute fastest rate at which your heart is able to beat. It's also the key specification for setting up your personal training program. Not all HRMs measure and display HR max; if yours doesn't, then it's a clever idea to calculate yours (see below) so that you can set up an exercise program that's precisely synchronized with your body, age, and fitness level.

Heart Rate Training Zones

Training levels should be matched to certain heart rates because, as you increase the intensity of your training, your heart rate increases as well. Simply put, heart rate zones are ranges of heart rates that match the training intensity levels you select.  As your training gets more intense, your heart rate rises, so a good way to control exercise intensity is to tie training levels to specific heart rates. Heart rate zones are simply ranges of heart rates that correspond to the intensity levels you choose to train at.

How to Calculate Your Maximum Heart Rate (HR max)

Calculating your personal HR max can be done in a number of ways, including the following:

• Use an age-based formula: the classic 220 - your age formula is now considered inaccurate for older people. A revised formula, 208 - 0.7 x your age, is better, but it is still based on a statistical analysis of large numbers of other people's lab test results. Formulas like this also miss the mark because factors like genetics, physiology, and certain prescription medications can lead to different HRmax results for people who are the same age.

• Get a stress test in a lab: This involves your cardiologist setting up a session; or, if you aspire to be a world-class athlete, heading to an elite training facility. Some universities might also do a stress test if you agree to be part of a study they are conducting.

• Do your own field HR max test: If your doctor gives the okay, you can do a field workout that gets your heart up to maximum intensity. Short of a lab test, this is the best way to get a result that accurately reflects your personal factors and physiology. Below is one example of a DIY HR max test:

o Run as fast as you can for 3 minutes.

o Rest for 3 minutes.

o Repeat the 3-minute hard run again. The highest reading (which should be from the second run) will be your HR max.

Note that there is no one best test to determine HR max. You can find a range of test ideas online. To get the most valid result regardless of test method, you should be energized and well rested, then warm up adequately and push yourself to truly reach your maximum-effort threshold at some point during the test.

How to Use Target Heart Rate Zones in a Training Plan

A typical training plan utilizes multiple training zones. You won't train in each zone for an equal amount of time, though. The time you spend in each zone will vary, usually with more time spent in lower heart rate zones. Here's one example of how a training plan might allocate your time spent in each heart rate zone:

Zone 1: 30%–40% of your time

Zone 2: 40%–50% of your time

Zone 3: 10%–15% of your time

Zone 4: 5%–10% of your time

Zone 5: 5% of your time

A typical training plan will designate precisely how much time you spend in each training zone. As mentioned before, not all training plans use the same exact zones. 

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