Understanding and Measuring Your Heart Rate

Cardiovascular fitness is important to our quality of life and fitness goals. It can determine how well prepared you are for a task, or how you might not be able to handle a fitness activity due to your inability to fuel it properly. Cardiovascular fitness will determine whether a 5K is an easy warm-up or an activity that will greatly challenge you. To better improve your cardiovascular fitness, it is important to understand heart rate zones and what they mean to your training.

To understand your zones, you need to know your max heart rate (MHR). The easiest method is 220-age. For example, if you are 36, your max heart rate is 184 (220-36= 184). All five zones below will be based on this number. There is another, more accurate way to measure these zones, but the equation is a bit more complicated, and not worth the extra time. Most smart watches/wearables will figure these zones out for you very well. If you don’t have wearable technology that measures heart rate, you can place two fingers on your carotid artery in your neck, just to the side of your voice box. Measure for 30 seconds, count how many times your heart beats, and double that number for your heart rate.

Zone 1: 50-60% MHR (92 – 110BPM)
This is a good “recovery zone” and will help contribute to an aerobic base.

Zone 2: 60-70% MHR (110 – 129BPM)
True aerobic base building, and what’s known as a fat-burning zone. However, as people continue to train and improve their cardiovascular capacity, they better utilize fat as a fuel source at all levels of effort¹.

Zone 3: 70-80% MHR (129 – 147BPM)
Can contribute to aerobic base-building, but not as well as Zone 2. Good for tempo work, and easier to recover from than Zone 4 intensity.

Zone 4: 80-90% MHR (147 – 166BPM)
It helps contribute to anaerobic threshold increases and the ability to maintain higher levels of effort in training, whatever that may be for you.

Zone 5: 90-100% MHR (166 – 184BPM)
Peak capacity training and improving speed/maximal peak. Usually, short bursts with longer rest times.

Cardiovascular training is a smart idea for everyone, and the information above will help give you some insight into your training. In general, you can do a lot of great things with Zone 2 training, with some 4 and 5 sprinkled in for heart health. If you are looking to improve your cardiovascular endurance and are struggling with what you can do to accomplish this, reach out to your local Athletico and schedule a free assessment today.

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*Per federal guidelines, beneficiaries of plans such as Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, VHA and other federally funded plans are not eligible for free assessments.

The Athletico blog is an educational resource written by Athletico employees. Athletico bloggers are licensed professionals who abide by the code of ethics outlined by their respective professional associations. The content published in blog posts represents the opinion of the individual author based on their expertise and experience. The content provided in this blog is for informational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice and should not be relied on for making personal health decisions.

References:
1. Purdom T, Kravitz L, Dokladny K, Mermier C. Understanding the factors that effect maximal fat oxidation. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2018;15:3. Published 2018 Jan 12. doi:10.1186/s12970-018-0207-1